Choti choti baatein

My parents are over for a vacation and, between working and spending time with them, life is crazy busy right now. Yet, for all the action, time seems to have slowed down somewhat. I feel like there are more minutes in the day now than there were before, when I used to live alone. I work eight or ten hours at the hospital but as soon as I walk through the front door, a new life takes root. Ammi's usually in the kitchen cooking something, Abbu's at the dinner table, studying for an exam. He has a mess of books spread out in front of him from which he makes notes, diligently, meticulously, as if it were his very first time. Actually, after a long time, it feels as if everything is happening for the first time, all over again.