Life is a movie!
This post is in continuation to a previous post (To Infinity, Beyond…. and Birds (Part 1)).
Scene Three: The Bird Conference at Venice Beach
The next morning we marched to Venice Beach with umbrellas, chairs, snacks and lots of sunscreen. We were ready for round two of family magic.
As we got out of our car and headed towards the beach we saw folks coming back smiling nervously towards us. I smiled back, unaware about what’s to come.
We were expecting long stretch of golden sand, instead, we found 200-300 birds gathered on the sand. Not flying around chaotically, oh no. They were sitting and organized, like in a TED Talk.
Photo by BehindTheTmuna on Unsplash for reference, we were too scared to click our view.
They probably flew in from around the world for their seasonal Vegas style conference.
Topic: How to Scare Humans Who Just want A Beach Day
As we walked down with our gear, my body went straight into panic mode.
My vegetarian brain whispered: We are not apex predators. Abort mission.
We turned around so fast, it looked like a cartoon dust cloud.
Scene Four: Dogs At Poplar Beach
Plan B : Poplar Beach. Maybe fewer birds?
Yes..but…
Poplar beach was not kind to us as well. The cold wind slapped our faces the moment we stepped out. It was probably not the best day to wear beach shorts. Well, you live and learn.
My legs stung and my cheeks burned, and before I could settle in, I heard it,
“ALFIE! STOP, BOY!”
Photo by Bobby on Unsplash for reference as I was busy running away in my mind
I turned around and saw a 9 year old clutching an empty leash.
In front of him was a tall orange, gruff dog charging towards me, mouth open and saliva flying like a slo-mo sports replay I never wanted to star in, and definitely not without safety gear.
This may sound cute in theory, but a nightmare in practice.
A part of me screamed, “RUN!” Another part of me whispered, “Don’t run, he will think it’s a game!”
So I stood frozen, calculating my odds, thinking is this worth it? How many Dosas will it take to heal this trauma?
Scene Five: The Buffet Redemption
By 11:30 AM we surrendered and gave up on the beach. Hunger had taken over.
We drove to Mantra in Mountain View, and oh my god!
We turned our table into a monument, plates stacked like Eiffel Tower… and leaning like Pisa by the end. There were curries in all colors of the universe, baskets of Garlic Naans, Gol-Gappas that popped with spicy water, hitting the back of my throat like fireworks in Diwali.
The first bite of the crispy golden yellow dosa nearly made me cry.
The asparagus croquettes melted in my mouth like a peace treaty after war.
Plates stacked with Gulab Jamuns, rasmalais were wiped clean like a rumba just glided over them.
After escaping birds, dogs and even radios, we ate like, ironically, crazy dogs. And it was glorious.
Final Credits: Lessons From My Daughter
By the end of the day, I was drained, full and grateful.
My sister laughed through every twist, helped me at every turn and I kept hoping she is enjoying her visit despite our family comedy tour. My daughter, as always was the calmest of all. She did not care about lights, radios or dog stampedes.
She just loved the movie, loved sitting in her aunt’s lap and loved the popcorn.
When we reached home, she looked at me with total seriousness and said, “Mumma! You forgot to give me juice!”
And that was that. The final punchline of our adventure.
Moral of the story?
Don’t expect “perfect.” Perfect is boring. Go for messy, tape-covered, radio-static, bird-conference, dog-chasing, buffet-saving chaos. I understand now that the world does not owe me comfort. It offers me moments and it’s up to me to hold them with gratitude. Every smile, every frustration, every little twist stitched us closer together. Frame by frame, our own messy masterpiece.
And maybe that’s the real movie we were meant to live.
I would love to hear your messy adventures and do share if you were able to relate with mine.
Notes From Shivani 