Happy Birthday to and .

So…what has the last year brought? It is tempting to think of the negatives first. But…I must think of the positives.

First, and foremost…continuing good health. Even though the chronic “nuisance value” bits of ill-health take their toll, I continue to be hale and hearty; able to trek with others less than half my age, and to enjoy life without having to talk about my knees, cholestrol, or blood pressure…topics which I see creeping into others’ conversations sometimes! This, indeed, is a great treasure.

Next….another treasure…is the friends I have. Without exception, KM and I are extremely lucky in our friends. Our friends like us for who we are, and don’t care how we are dressed, what our (probable) bank balance is, or how we live. Through times of adversity, they have been the rock-solid foundation that has supported us. I can never, ever, be grateful enough for the fantastic people that have come into my life….Actually, my friends may be an even greater treasure than good health, because these friends will stand by us even when we are ill..and they have done so.

Another thing I am grateful for is that I am generally of a sunny and happy outlook on life, and am able to see a lot that is wonderful about life and the world. For a happy disposition, I am very thankful indeed. A sense of humor, of fun of the ridiculous, has kept me smiling throughout, and that is a very big gift. Many people have remarked that my humour has cheered them up, too,during difficult times….and that makes me very happy.

I have also been able to retain the ability to learn (though much more slowly) the things that I have become interested in. I think fossilization begins when the learning process ends…so, I am not yet turned to stone….thanks to the several friends who have patiently taught me and taught me again, and perhaps watched with amusmement the slowness of my learning curve, but have yet not despaired of me.

This year has tested my mettle in many ways; bereavement is something which I have come to terms with. One life was torn from our midst before it even took shape on earth; and yet I came to know how much of one’s heart can be given to someone not yet born, someone who yet wound his extremely tiny fingers around my emotions and wrenched them out when he had to leave. Minnal….my grandson-who-almost-was…you will always be very special to me. This is the first time since those dark January days that I am allowing myself to address you as a person.

Today is also the day my brother proposed to my sister-in-law; I remember his always-happy face, telling me, a day or so later, in an oddly formal-sounding sentence, “ I asked for her hand in marriage!” The delightful young woman who was already a close friend of mine subsequently bore a lot from her own family and ours, is yet an unsoured, nice person who is still close to us, though my brother is no more. So…rather than grieve for his loss, I feel happy that she entered our family because of him. I think he lives on through her, and her love for him….

Life runs on its pebbled course, sometimes smooth, sometimes fast, sometimes turbulent…but as long as I have my friends and my health, life seems good to me, and I am enjoying every bit of the ride….

I have been extremely fortunate in my life…I hope to continue to be so.

OK, nuff said…here’s one of my favourite pics from Kodaikanal lake….I want to live life like these lilies, beautiful and serene even while existing in the stagnation of the world.

I can never be the most beautiful, talented, wise, wealthy or anything-else person in the world…but I want to be a good-hearted person, with the ability to see the other person’s point of view even if I can’t share it, and know that my presence can make my friends as happy as their presence makes me.

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