Challenge 44: Home

243. Describe the perfect home.

I wake up at around 8:30 a.m., take a quick peek at my watch only to realize it's too early to get up. I throw back the covers and try to fall back asleep.
My sister is snoring next to me. Irritated as I am, I can't help but notice the way she clings to me, with her arms thrown over me like she can't let go.
No matter how many times I tell my father the dangers with the covers over his head, he still prefers to do so. As I try to catch up with the sleep that has long left me, I think about the long hours he spends at night, trying get this done and this sorted.
My grandparents, who live on the topmost floor of the house, are early risers. They get up so early in the mornings that it is still dark outside with the stars gleaming pitifully in the distance. As my helper makes them both some hot tea before heading off to college at 6 in them morning, my grandparents offer their prayers to the heavens, hoping for peace and prosperity in our larger, extended family.
My mother has woken up far earlier than me, taken a quick shower, changed into fresh clothes, and already performed her ritual puja for the day. She heads into the kitchen, ready to make breakfast for the family.
My brother, being a bright child, has woken up at the wee hours of the day. Whenever I sleep with my brother and mother, his screams and demands in the mornings manages to knock the sleepiness right out of my head. He gets ready for school and my mother rushes him outside to catch his little white van.
This is how another ordinary day starts at this perfect home of mine. It is simply perfect for its harmony and coherence. It is perfect because everybody lives happily, under one roof, as a single united family. Once everybody gets home after leaving for the day, whether it be for school, for the organization for the upcoming family gathering, for some deposits in the bank, or for office work, we all have our dinners and warm ourselves up next to the heater. My grandfather is a tough, strong man and refuses to waste anytime by the heater, and instead, prefers to go up to his room and get some work done on the long pedigree chart he is working on. However, my grandmother is rather energetic and chooses to spend her time with the rest of the family as she watches my brother play and destroy one thing or another. My parents catch up on the day's events as my sister and I fool around. If there is load shedding, which is when all the lights are out, then we gather even closer to the heater, sharing jokes and stories with each other and just enjoying out time together as a family.
This is how a perfect day goes by at a perfect home. I love my family just the way it is: ordinary and perfect.