The Sweet Spot

I wrote my first blog post one year ago about my daughter’s gap year and her experience in Iowa. This was when the clouds of “gap year” confoundment were starting to disperse from my mind. When the notion, which was originally vague at best was clearing up; when the concept of a gap year was finally sinking in. I wrote about my daughter’s experiences and mine at about half way into her gap year, when things had started making sense. I also want to address and share about the time when it all started on shaky grounds. In our desire to be model parents, ironically, we had lost connection with our daughter’s desire to live her life in her way. So, when in the middle of her senior year, she expressed a desire to take a gap year, we thought it was a phase. She had a choice of half a dozen colleges to pick from and admitted to at least one college she liked very much - now, wasn’t the next step to attend that college? As the academic year progressed, she continued to bring “gap year” up eve...

The Difficult Choice : From Politics to ice-cream I walked past Trumpland, the big chain store, which had a new flavor advertised on the window. “Go Bananas” with our “Monkey Chunky Banana” flavor! I had gone down that door once just to check it out. It was disappointing. They really only had one flavor - a rather murky looking Vanilla with an orange tint. Every week they introduced a new topping. Then they would go big on advertising and many people would swarm to it.  I was loyal to the local store, DemCream, at the end of the street. They had a rich variety of flavors before, but since the chain store opened, it had been difficult for them to maintain their flavors. I could already taste my favorite flavor, “Kosher Koffee Delight”. It was an acquired taste, with its smooth blend of nuanced flavors. I could, of course, taste the coffee with its perfect blend of bitter and sweet. There was a hint of rock salt and just enough cinnamon. The almonds gave it enough texture to...

The Sweet Spot within the chaos of the Iowa Caucuses “Oh my God! Oh my God!! They called me back and I really want to go to Iowa”. Ever since my sweet, nonconformist daughter decided she wanted to take a Gap year before going to college - a concept alien to many desi* parents - I always sat on the edge of my seat to grasp what was coming next. So far, she had worked as a refugee resettlement intern, helping new entrants to the country find a foothold. She worked at the local cafe, learning coffee brews, chai lattes, taking breakfast and lunch orders and being patient with sometimes irate customers. And her favorite job had been walking and caring for rather rambunctious dogs. Just when I thought things were falling neatly in place, I hear Iowa.  She was very very excited to spend the coldest months campaigning in the cold, midwest state of Iowa. Again a concept alien to a desi parent. Campaigning for a “caucus”! The first time I had heard the word, I thought it was a...