Tuesday, November 22, 2022

From Balaghat to Boston - a very small world in a beautiful way

 There are some nights when I cannot sleep, I waste my time over social media and do mindless browsing on net. There are times when I browse through various Boston Autism Facebook groups and read, look for Desi parents and reach out to them.

One of those night ( Covid times March 2021)I found a young mom and sent her a msg. Her profile showed her current town here in MA - same as mine :)

I went to bed and woke up with her msg. She was in India and had time to look into my profile too. Her msg said her mother was from Balaghat (In India) too that is my hometown. Imagine - Mom and daughter shared the towns with me. 

We both jumped on the phone call right away only to discover so many common threads. The call was supposed to be with her, a young mom with 3 yrs old on spectrum but I ended up talking to grandmother about our hometown and connections.

Soon we realized her uncle taught me in college and she was my sister in law’s classmate( Mr. Husband’s sister). I added my SIL to the call too, she was pleasantly surprised. Those two friends saw each other (on video call)  may be after 35 years. another fun fact - I share the birthday with the kid. 

It was an amazing morning. I made another call next day to talk about her son, IEP, town and services.

Soon in couple of months she came back from India. I loved meeting her and she lives so close to my home that we meet frequently. After that first call I became mami ( Uncle’s wife) instead of Jaya(ji). People wonder how is she related to me and we both enjoy narrating this story. When she was coming from India her mom sent me this beautiful saree. 

Our story is so much fun and this saree is a reminder of my that one sleepless night and its beautiful ending.

What is your insomnia story? 

She is a darling, helped organize Desi Moms Network's first Diwali party. 
As I said I am very fortunate to share the Bday with her son. She invited many children from the group and I got to cut the cake too. 
She opened her son's bday celebration to anyone in the group. many of the moms met for the first time




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