Happy New Year.. May this year let you achieve what you couldn’t last year, along with keeping you and yours safe and happy! I don’t normally make new year resolutions but seeing how terrible 2020 unfolded for many, I realized how thankful we are by not getting affected by it. I also realize how I take things for granted and do not express gratitude when needed. It is not that I am not aware of being privileged in so many ways but mostly due to me being reserved and self contained, lacking expressiveness. Recently I started reading Neil Pasricha’s book – You Are Awesome, gifted to me by a close friend, whilst I haven’t finished the book yet, I got an idea to have a resolution – To write one gratitude (or something good) a week in 2021. This is inspired by Neil’s 1000 Awesome things where he publishes one awesome thing a week, this blog went on to become the best blog in the world, two years in a row! I don’t even remotely aim for such widespread recognition, I just wish to thank people and goodness around me, to feel more positive and be grateful towards life and it’s offering. To begin with, I plan to append one short paragraph to this post, each week for 52 weeks and see how it goes. 😊
#1 (01.Jan.21) – Wife is Life
I met my better half (far far better actually) 20 years ago which is like half of my entire life! As much as I am fully aware of how she make our lives joyous and easy, I must admit I don’t thank her enough (if not at all!) for her tireless contribution. She’s the binding gel who pitches in for everything – be it household chores, emotional support or most importantly making our house a home. She does it ALL for us and make it look so effortless that we often take her hardwork and dedication for granted. I realize her importance and in fact secretly hates it when she isn’t around even for few hours! Her juggling abilities with her own work which also consume a considerable amount of time is admirable. Reflecting back on all these years of togetherness, we have dealt with our fair (or unfair) share of thick and thins and her rock solid support is nothing but a blessing. With my constant struggle with health, I couldn’t have asked for anyone else to be my partner in fighting through it, be it pumping a needle to staying up all night in a hospital. I can’t thank her enough for all she do for all of us and being so supportive and I am fully aware of how lucky we all are for having her in our lives. 🙏🏼 💞
#2 (08.Jan.21) – The First Born
Most father can resonate with me on their experience for their first born! I simply can’t do justice to my feeling towards my elder daughter in a paragraph, too difficult.. but I will try. I still clearly remember my expectation with our first child when we came to know we are expecting, I was very particular in what “I wanted” – a GIRL, extremely demanding, hot headed and spoilt, who can exhaust the freak out of me. To my amazement and joy (and a bit of sweet pain), we were blessed with exactly what I longed for, and more! Now I will also admit that after 10 years, many a times, she gives me complete nervous breakdown and headache but it vanishes in split seconds, when I look at her or hug her, every single time. I now feel (and gladly so) I am born to serve her, right from day one when I lifted the carriage off the bumps so not to disturb her sleep to present days where anything she wants (or even vaguely mentions) automatically comes to my mind when I go shopping. From putting an extra blanket on her in the middle of the night to not moving my arm when she slept on, from completing stories even when she’s asleep to hugging her little extra tight; I am so thankful that so far I am able to provide for her (..oh well a Pet is a big no-no) until she starts asking for a Louis Vuitton or a Lamborghini! So what that she turned into a bit spoilt and lazy and delicate, she’s my precious child and special, my second love. I am so glad to have you in my life, you bring our daily dose of love, affection and challenges, I wish you the best of health, all the happiness and success in life. ❤️ 🤗
#3 (16.Jan.21) – Blessed Again
When we expected our second child, I must say at least my requirement was cloudy, all I wanted was a healthy child. There was no clear expectation on gender or personality, not even names, in fact we finalized the name of our daughter after coming home from hospital! Don’t get me wrong here, I was super excited but since we had gone through the experience earlier, we quite knew the feeling (and the routine). But oh boy.. we were in for a joyride! We immediately made the “connection” and needless to mention, she’s precious and really special in her own little ways. She amazes us every single day as she’s so different than her elder sister (..makes me wonder if both are our children only), be it her desire to do everything on her own (no matter how messy it gets..) to asking smart questions and giving thoughtful responses! She need to know what all road signages mean and even want me to explain the meaning of hindi songs. Once I told her the meaning of Suhana Safar aur yeh mausam haseen, Humein dar hai hum kho na jaye kahin, and she immediately says – silly Papu we can’t get lost, we have a GSP. She is a non stop chatterbox and if asked to stop, she gives back – Its my house too and I can talk when I want, can’t I? She is just three but would randomly appear out of nowhere and say Papu.. and on asking what is it.. she will say I love you or give a hug! If she finds me lost in some random thought she immediately inquires.. What are you thinking? or will snuggle and say Let’s talk. She’s such a joy to be with and an absolute stressbuster in any situation and I am just blown away by her curiosity (..she even wants to know why are we proud of her!), ability to relate to different things, kindness and her immense care for all of us, at this early age. I didn’t even remotely expected this and we all are so so blessed to have you in our lives and I wish you the best of health, the happiness and all the goodness this world can offer. ❤️ 🥰
#4 (23.Jan.21) – Parents, the Creator
Life is a relentless pursuit towards betterment and progress of oneself and people associated with you, so much that we don’t get a chance to retract our moves. While there is always an option to reconsider and go back to our roots but at times our needs become the necessity and retracting is not easy. In my chase for a better future, heightened responsibilities, desire, and a bit of helplessness; I lost both my parents and both times I wasn’t there in their last days. No guilt even remotely compares to this feeling and believe me it saddens you every time you think of them and moist your eyes. I have immense respect and admiration for people who can hit that reset button, take a step back. Only solace for me is I had my siblings to take care of my parents and I am heartfelt grateful to them for their backing and being there. Both my parents were humble, down to earth and more than anything kind and helpful to anybody and everybody. I remember back in the days, my dad housed a total stranger (..and later his family as well) and ensured he is self-sustained before letting them go! They took every opportunity to assist family and others as needed, within and many times outside their means. I recall most of my phone calls with mom were around helping others and “won’t-you-give” conversations and now when I think about it, I feel so proud to have them as my creators. I am so thankful to both of them to instill values such as care, share, going above and beyond to help people (..even random stranger) and stay away from the noise and greed. Love you Didi and Pappa, while I can’t bring back the past, I try to live by your beliefs and legacy and I am so blessed to have you as my parents. 🙏 😔
#5 (30.Jan.21) – Three Cheers for Laziness!
In my mind laziness and laid back attitude in personal life is a blessing and not everyone possesses it. Work that need to be done, gets done in its due time so stressing it out or making a fuss is unneeded. Once in a while, just focus on a single chore instead of multitasking all the time. In this fast paced environment, your body and mind deserves to be indulged with laziness. There is abundant enjoyment in occasionally lying in a cozy bed till late morning and let the mind go blank, trust me. If you have an option, talk to a child, uninterrupted by anything else and bask in the power of their innocence and purity. Regrettably we live in a world of high expectation and need to excel, all around, all the time. If we are fortunate enough, we also have a special knack to put ourselves in pressured situations! If you can afford (like me..).. go slow, smell the flower, stop to admire the “view”, feel the breeze (..or raindrops), or just stop for a coffee. Laziness is a pleasure. 
#6 (9.Feb.21) – Pleasure of Cooking
I find cooking joyful and calming, it is an effective and a cheap (..well unless you fancy cooking with saffron or truffles) way to relax. You should give it a try but don’t get burdened to dole out delicious and exquisite cuisines. You don’t have to go through high hopes and expectations, consider it as a therapy. The chopping, dicing, mixing, simmering, tossing with a music in the background and sips of beer (..or whatever), transports you altogether to a different zone! It will bring delight to the faces of your loved one if you master the skill.. but even if not, the whole process is quite therapeutic and worth a shot. 
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