Counting my birthdays with gratitude #GratitudeCircle

“There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy.”

– Ralph H. Blum

Seems like just the other day I had a birthday—and seems like this one arrived way to early. But who can control the speed of Time? In a way, it is probably a good sign because Time is slow only for those who wait, and way too fast for those who are busy. Busy is good.

Today I am grateful to cross yet another milestone in my life. To be loved, to live in a comfortable home, to do work I enjoy, and to have reasonably good health, to be able to make a difference in lives.

In the face of that, every perceived disadvantage seems negligible in comparison.

It has been a month of ups and downs—I think I just described life in general with that line—and while I’ll touch upon the downs, it is only to offer a background for the ever-present silver lining, and definitely not to complain. I, more than anyone else, appreciate the necessity of having those “downs” in our lives; how else would we know the difference when there’s an “up”? Why would we deprive ourselves of the joy of that adrenaline rush that comes with happiness?

Last month, we had some shocking news. My son developed a rash which was assumed to be an insect bite, but the very next day, it spread rapidly and was diagnosed as chicken pox. Rude shock, because he’s far away, and we wondered how, because he’d had the requisite vaccination. Still, what is served to us has to be dealt with. He was immediately isolated in a room at their health center, with instructions that he was not to step out of that room for ten days, perhaps more, to contain the infection. I rushed over and stayed for a week on campus.

I am deeply grateful to each and every kind soul for giving their time, their love and their care to him during this difficult time.  Tough times ahead recovering, catching up on studies due to missed classes in an already tough course… but love does conquer most things, if not all. Glad to say he’s back to the grind.

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Once I returned from there, I had the opportunity to attend a basic photography workshop by Canon and thoroughly enjoyed it. Learned a little more about my camera and framing shots. Grateful for the knowledge, considering how much I love to take photos. It is tangible magic!

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I am back to decluttering. While I keep setting myself deadlines, I am sad to say I do not have the stamina to go at it like I used to. A couple of interruptions and my plan goes for a toss. To add to it, I managed to scorch my left hand and quickly followed it up with a nasty injury, so that slowed me down somewhat. Still, grateful I work from home and have the freedom and flexibility to work around it. My latest goal is to make a noticeable difference before Navratri, which is from Oct 10-18. Let’s see how far I go. Every tiny bit of progress counts!

Although, after a day of tearing paper, my finger joints just go stiff and give me hell the next day.

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On the work front, I’ve wrapped up one book I was editing and have received the next manuscript that I’m tackling at an easy pace. Peace!

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While I haven’t written as frequently as I’d like, I realized how much I enjoy posting the Wednesday Wisdom series. And while going through my photos for something, I decided to revive the Sundays in my City series. I am looking forward to doing this every Sunday now.

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Technology is still not always my friend–and now it is my phone’s turn to act smart. It just refuses to ring sometimes. Sigh. Lucky I use the landline most of the time, but still!

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Grateful for my sister Vanita, who’s always encouraging, often telling it to me like it is without the sugarcoating, which is good, considering my diabetes. I need these wake up calls sometimes. But that’s not all; she’s the first to appreciate and support me with everything, besides seamlessly taking care of glitches related to my blogs. I am blessed to have her in my life.

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The past month, I was also fortunate to walk to our local market, which is always a joy for me. I bought mango ginger root, Indian gooseberry and ginger and have been going berserk pickling everything. The market also means street shopping and oh, so much fun!

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What did I do for my soul? With the heavy rains we’ve been experiencing, I’ve also been guilty of skipping my regular walk. So, I decided to check out yoga classes. I’ve scouted my area and found several. Now, to go visit them and enroll in one! Grateful to live in a locality that literally has everything!

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Thrilled to announce that I am the Asian Mom Blog Award 2018 Winner. My heartfelt thanks to everyone who was kind enough to vote!

I also received an email to let me know I am listed in the top 51 travel bloggers list by Treebo. Nice to be recognized.

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My birthday was different this year.

I was musing over how times have changed. A couple of decades ago, celebrating was all about the phone ringing nonstop, friends coming by all day and the fun that comes with being with our “gang” of friends. I missed the one on one chatting, the physical hugs, the laughter… etc. But I am blessed. I don’t know how many people are lucky enough to have their schoolmates, who are wonderful friends now, wish them. I am grateful for social media for keeping us connected. My son was the first to wish me and as per tradition, I received a poem from him at the stroke of midnight. Vanita’s kids emailed me to wish me, my son’s school teachers remembered to wish me, my ex-bosses messaged me–and I feel so touched. I have my family and close friends—what more could I want?

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Join me for the September 2018 Gratitude Circle blog hop. I am kind of thrilled it coincides with my birthday!

Join me!

Write your post, add he badge and link up below.

Thanks to everyone who joins me in celebrating Gratitude.