Yes,
you read it right… I’ve started my Diwali preparation from now only. And NO, I don’t
mean by cleaning house and shopping for Diyas & Kandils.
My
Diwali preparation begins with making the festival as comfortable as possible
for my bachlings. Loud noises scare the heebie-jeebies out of them. They do not
eat, they shiver, they find places to hide like under the table or bed. They
have elevated heart rates and poor guys look mortified for those few days.
“The
few days” range between one-week to one-month as people have enough money to
burn on firecrackers for a whole f@#$ing month. Though I love the festival of
lights, I absolutely detest the smog, and the noise created by the firecrackers!
Oh and I also hate the drunken people on the roads who consider being a jerk as
being somewhat of an item.
My
only aim during the festival is making lives a little less scary for my babies.
Things I am doing to make life a little simpler for these guys are;
Ordered
Anxocare from Himalaya
It
is an ayurvedic medicine which I will start from after Dussehra and will
continue till November.
Ear
Muffs
My
cousin is creating crocheted ear muffs for the guys with Styrofoam and what
not. I understand that the noises will not be drowned out completely but it
would be less. So I am very hopeful for that.
Changing
their walkie time
Normally
they’d go at 9:30 AM and 9:30 PM and once in the afternoon if they are dying to
go. But during this month we try to change it to early evening and early
morning as the crackers noises are less and the smog is at this lowest as well.
Keeping
windows closed
Since
people in our area are so work-less that they start with the crackers from a
week before the actual day, so the windows will be closed and thick curtains
will be drawn from evening till late at night until the noise stops.
Preparing
their favorite meals
I
have created a plan for their meals. Usually they eat kibbles for lunch and
home cooked meal for dinner. For these days, they get yummy home cooked meal
during the day so that they can peacefully and happily eat their nom noms and
pedigree will remain un-spoilt for a longer duration at night in case if they
wish to eat after the noises have stopped.
Staying
with them during those days
Like
every year, I’ve made plans to be with my babies for that 1 week. Since 2010
(when I got Ole home), all my Diwalis are spent with Ole and since 2 years with
Thimpoo as well. I strongly believe that the babies should not be without their
trusted humans on those scary days. This, in no way means I will be stuck to
them. Nope! Nada! Nien! I don’t molly coddle them when they are scared, else
they’d know it is good to be scared.
What
I do is, I stay with them in the same room, but they have their hide outs and
spaces to chill wherein I keep their toys (for Thimpoo, Ole does not care for
toys), pillows, blankets etc… anything that helps them keep calm. I keep on
talking to them in a normal tone and continue with my work.
Each year I request people everywhere (in person & on social media) to say NO to crackers and sincerely hope that someday they will listen!
Image
Courtesy - www.pharmacy4u.gr www.tumblr.com www.thepequodblog.blogspot.com
Note:
Images used are strictly for representation purposes only!
