Fleur u Lee – Il-Fiera

Il-Kap tal-Iskola dejjem kienet tagħmel fiera għall-ħabta tal-Ewwel tas-Sena. It-tfal kienu jġibu kotba, ġugarelli, fajjenza… u din il-fiera tant kienet saret popolari li saħansitra nies minn barra Fleur de Lys kienu jiġu bi ħġarhom. Il-qliegħ kien imur għall-karita.

Sebaħ jum sabiħ minn dak li jaf jagħmel Jannar. Anzi, biex inkunu għedna kollox, kienet ser tkun ġurnata mill-isbaħ għax…

…din is-Sena, Miss Marija kienet ftehmet man-Nanna Kitty biex ikun hemm banka tal-ikel magħmul mit-tfal stess, bl-għajnuna tagħhom. Il-ħin u l-enerġija tagħhom, kemm biex jippreparaw kollox, u kemm biex jieħdu sehem fil-fiera, kien ser ikun id-donazzjoni tagħhom għal din il-kawża ġusta.

It-tisjir kellu jsir għand in-Nanna ta’ Fiona, li għandha kċina daqs illum u għada.

Mad-9.00a.m., Fleur, Lee, u xi uħud minn sħabhom kienu fuq ix-xwiek jistennew lin-Nanna Kitty u lil-Miss Marija, quddiem il-bieb tan-Nanna ta’ Fiona. Dawn fis ġew, wara li xtraw il-ħaxix, il-frott, u xi affarijiet oħra mingħand Justin, biex ikun kollox frisk.

Ċemplu l-qanpiena, u ġiet tiftaħ Fiona, li kienet raqdet hemm biex filgħodu kmieni tgħin lin-nanna tipprepara l-kamra. It-tfal kienu fasslu programm ta’ x’kellu jsir. Min intefa’ jobrox munzell zunnarija, min iqaxxar il-patata, min jilbes il-maskra tal-baħar biex iqatta l-basal, min jagħmel l-għagina, min iqaxxar u jgħalli t-tuffieh, min jgħalli l-għaġin, min iqatta’ t-tursin, min inaqqi l-ispinaċi, min jgħaffeġ il-piżelli tal-bott, min iqalli kl-kapuljat… insomma, ix-xogħol inqasam sew, u kulħadd sab x’jagħmel.

Ma jistax jonqos li kien Lee li qabdu l-ġuħ l-ewwel, u mar jgħid lin-Nanna Kitty li aħjar jieqfu ftit mix-xogħol ħa jteftfu xi ħaġa. Din ħarset lejn l-arloġġ tal-kċina, u ċapċpet idha tliet darbiet, għall-attenzjoni. “Sar il-ħin għall-ikel, tfal! Isaw, sibu postkom… Inkomplu wara…”

“X’ħa nieklu?” staqsa Dominic.

“Minuta!” qalet Miss Marija, u marret tiftaħ il-bieb, għax kienet semgħet taħbita ħafifa.

Kienet Mariella tal-Yummies, li kienet ġabitilhom ftira mħawwra kull wieħed, u munzell pulpetti milli taf tagħmel hi. Kemm kienu jfuħu. Kemm kienu tajbin. It-tfal ħargu fil-bitħa u ntasbu fuq iċ-ċint il-baxx, jidħqu, ipaċpċu, u jieklu. In-Nanna ta’ Fiona ħarġet il-fliexken tal-larinġ magħasur frisk, u kulħadd legleg tazza kbira.

Meta lestew, daħlu lura u komplew b’xogħolhom. Torti tal-ispinaċi u t-tuffieħ; timpani; cottage pie; kollox lest għall-ordni, kemm jinħmew. Din il-biċċa xogħol kellhom jieħdu ħsiebha l-kbar, meta t-tfal ikunu telqu.

Fleur u Lee u sħabhom naddfu kollox, u ħaslu u xxuttaw li kienu użaw biex sajru. Kollha, barra Fleur u Lee u Fiona, marru d-dar.

L-għada, missier Abigail għadda bil-vann u wassal l-ikel kollu l-iskola.

F’kemm ilna ngħidu, kollox kien inbiegħ, kemm l-ikel, kif ukoll l-affarijiet l-oħra kollha.

Of Bubbles and Pins

Think; why does someone want to burst your bubble?

When someone wants to burst your bubble …maybe they see you as a threat. Maybe they are fed up of being on the outside, looking in, and seeing what is going on inside your bubble. Perhaps they’re uncomfortable with the way your happiness reflects their own unhappiness back at them.

Sometimes, people try to burst your bubble not because of anything you’ve done, but because your light makes the shadows they’re carrying feel more obvious. Or maybe they think you ought to have done something that you have not done, or behaved in a way that they think was not correct – and they want to bring you down a peg or two.

It could be that they require a reality check for you or for themselves.

Sometimes people feel uneasy, or downright jealous,  when someone else seems optimistic, hopeful, or content. Popping the bubble becomes a way of dragging things back to what they see as “realistic”, and preventing someone from having ideas above their station, and putting on airs.

They don’t have the comfort or confidence inside their bubble, which you have inside yours.

If you seem protected, successful, or at peace, someone who isn’t feeling that way might try to break the spell; perhaps out of malice, or out of comparison-fuelled discomfort.

The FOMO issue has a bearing on this, too. How is it that you have this bubble, which is so different from their? Why do you have this great circle of friends, and / or network, and they don’t, try as they might?

If your bubble represents growth, change, or moving toward something new, they may worry that you’re drifting away from them. So they need to burst it to keep you “close” even if it’s a misguided attempt.

You never know. It could be that they need validation for their worldview. If your bubble contains belief, joy, idealism, or hope that contradicts their own darker or more cynical view, bursting it can feel like reinforcing their version of how the world works. You cannot have sunshine and laughter whilst they have doom and gloom.