Letter from Nalini Sorensen

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28thMay 2020

Dear Readers,

I was a little grumpy this morning. I flipped back the sheets of my calendar and counted. We are on the 65th day of lockdown. 65! I don’t think I’ve EVER been, mostly home, for 65 straight days in a row. In these 65 days, my time outside our home has consisted of – visiting my mum four times, and taking our dog down, in our building compound, for a quick walk. Not much else. I just did the Math. That’s 65 X 24 = 1560 hours of lockdown. And not even seven hours of outside time. It’s mindboggling.

It surprises me that I feel grumpy this morning. I’m normally a very happy person. They call people like me, those who look at the glass half-full. Not half-empty. I’m normally a ‘hoptimist’ – I hop my way out of things that get me down. It’s weirder, because I actually love being at home. Before lockdown, I’d make excuses to try to be home more. It’s funny how these things work out, right?

In all my grumpiness, I walked into my kitchen, and flung open the doors of the cabinet where I store all the junky snacks we buy… Chips, sugar-laden cookies, munchies… And guess what? It was nearly empty. I got even more grumpy. The only thing left in it, was a box or two of granola bars. Gah! I slammed the cabinet shut, opened my fridge, and grabbed an apple.

That’s when it struck me. Isn’t it funny how it took a pandemic, and a lockdown, to make me eat more fresh fruit and vegetables? I’m not ordering in food; I’m eating only home-cooked meals. I’ve always considered myself to be an average cook, but I’m trying my hand at different recipes. And some of them have turned out to be surprisingly great. Also, isn’t it funny how little we actually need to survive? My junky snack cabinet used to always be overflowing. It’s something I thought my family and I needed. Turns out, no.

That put a smile on my face, as I crunched through my apple. I even shared a teeny bit of it with my dog, Sydney.

I hope you are well and safe, and thinking about the changes in your life too. I hope you’ve tried your hand at something new. Maybe reading new book genre? With a book in your hands, you travel, even when you are in lockdown at home. And, who knows? You may find that genre to be your new favourite.

Much love,
Nalini








Nalini Sorensen is an award-winning children’s author, who loves spending time with children and looking at the world through the wonder of their eyes. She believes that life is too short to not laugh, and seems to always attract highly humorous situations in her real life. She lives in Mumbai, with her husband, two sons, and dog. There is a lot of love, a lot of laugher, and a lot always going on in their home.


Nalini’s books include, ‘Lucky, It’s Summer!’, ‘Lucky, It’s Not Just a Christmas Story!’, ‘Lucky, It’s Diwali!’, ‘While You Are Sleeping’, ‘Papa’s Marathon’, ‘Dada’s Useless Present’, ‘The Star That Saved the Day’, ‘Number March’, and ‘Alphabet Dress-up’.

She’s on Instagram (@nalinisorensen) and on Facebook (@NaliniSorensenAuthor).

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