Meet Marietta: The woman behind the words.

 Meet Marietta

 

I’m Marietta Pereira, 61, a homemaker, a trained primary school teacher, and mother of two boys, currently living in Mumbai with my better half and navigating the empty-nest phase and silver years of our lives.  

Advancing age comes with its challenges, but you're also more at peace with yourself in many respects. 

I love being around kids, and my brief six-year spell of teaching first and third graders was some of the most rewarding years. Raising kids, as I learned later, is quite another cup of tea.

I am what I am… You get what you see. I’ve come a long way from a shy and awkward little girl that I was to a moderately talkative woman participating in activities that keep me in the public eye to a small extent.

I’m no paragon of virtue, but those who know me would say I am the proverbial ‘good girl.’ I’ve come into my own late in life, but then, as they say, “better late than never." I can't handle "fake" and "attitude."

I don’t make friends easily. I've also come to realize that after a certain age, it is difficult, if not impossible, to make friends. I've not been lucky as far as friendships go. Parties are really not my thing. A couple of friendships have stood the test of time and distance, and in the last couple of years, I have found myself drifting away from friends as we found ourselves in different places in all senses of the word 'place.'

I hate to be with people who make me feel uncomfortable, but then on occasions, I have no choice. Setting boundaries is something I’ve learned to do, and when you are okay with not pleasing everyone or not being everybody’s favourite gal, you are at peace.

On a more cheerful note, my plants give me immense joy, and so do books. I love writing and have, to my credit,
published a book of poems. Never mind that it did not set the world on fire; the joy was in writing the poems and publishing them.

I’m married into a musical family, so music is my constant companion. I enjoy listening to music, turn the volume up when I’m in the kitchen, and might even shake a leg when nobody’s watching.

I’m a die –hard romantic, love happy endings and sad movies make me cry. Comedy, I love.  I'm also a foodie with a hopeless sweet tooth. 

Marriage is sharing your life with another but retaining your identity. Well, 31 years into the institution, the sparring continues, but we are growing old together, and that’s not such a bad thing.

Motherhood is a rollercoaster ride. I’ve made mistakes and am often reminded of them by my offspring. I’m sure I will make a few more, but then again, life is all about learning from your mistakes and trying not to repeat them. However, I don’t consider all of them mistakes. My sons will, of course, disagree.

I love travelling, but I have quite a few sights and sounds still on my bucket list.

I’ve survived some major health challenges and feel blessed and grateful that by and large, I’ve been able to sustain my good health.

Life doesn’t play fair—you win some, you lose some, you accept some. You ask questions, but life doesn’t always give you the answers. It’s best to live life one day at a time and deal with it as gracefully as you can. 

I've participated in the weekly Blogchatter Bloghop challenge.  

Collage: Inshot