How does amma do it?

To keep herself cheerful and positive and jolly all the time. She is 81 years old now and has been a chronic arthritic patient from the time she was a young mother. With age she also has her share of health issues which trouble her with unfailing regularity. Suddenly she lost her hearing a few months back. She went to bed able to hear well and got up with a ringing feeling in her ears and she could not hear a decibel. She is an ardent carnatic music enthusiast and listening to music is one of her pet passions. She misses the sudden snatching away of music from her life. She is our local BBC and is a clearing house of family and extended family happenings. She also reads a lot and likes to share the interesting stuff with others.

But then, she is resilient.She does not sit down and mope. She is up and about. She calls me everyday and tells me all that she wants to say, which is quite a lot actually. Then she asks me to message her any of my reactions to her talk or anything I want to tell her. She has recently learnt to read messages on her handphone. She says she will soon learn to send messages also.Today, her entire talk of half an hour, did not have an iota of self pity or sadness or resignation to her fate. She shared the interesting stuff she read in the papers and various deepavali special issues that she has subscribed to.As also the silent tv that she is watching, the various programmes thereon, especially the  svbc, bakthi channels. She commiserates with all the people who are suffering due to the heavy rains in chennai this season and feels herself so blessed that she is spared any suffering because of rains.

She started todayś conversation with the information that she has made puffed rice balls for karthigai pandigai with the help of the nurse at home. She did feel the strain and had to take painkiller for that. But then she said I have not been taking painkillers for quite sometime now. How is that for positivity?

She remembers numerous songs she learnt in childhood and sings them to us. In addition she also composes songs on the spur of the moment for special occasions. She composed and sang a song for Dś birthday.

How does she manage this attitude and cheerfulness? Because, that is how she is and that is the only way she knows how!