While a new year dawned , it made me think long and hard as to what should I open my 2017 series of blogging with. There were many thoughts and stories dying to wriggle out of the corners of my mind. But which and what would be apt to set the right tone for the rest of the year , was indeed a big question? I finally decided to take gratitude as the epicenter of my first write up of 2017. Rhonda Byrne author of "The Secret" says " If you make time to list all the things you are grateful for, and feel the feelings of gratitude, you will feel amazing everyday".
A year and a half ago my husband got posted to New Jersey, for a project for six months. I was already around four months into my pregnancy then. The thought of shifting base to an unknown country away from friends & family , at a time when I desperately needed them, if nothing but for comfort and valued advice, made me skeptical. But there were not many options to make desired choices . With our bleak finances, it was the most logical move, to make circumstances better for our future. I became even more cynical when my husband had to fly without me because my visa was still work in progress and his project leaders became adamant about his immediate reporting, like a soldier summoned during emergency 😞. Guess that's how IT companies work. So I flew 2 weeks later , alone and pregnant, to join my husband. The journey was uneventful but tiring. I reached USA in June of 2015. The moment I came out of the exit gates of Newark Airport, I could see my husband waiting for me with flowers and almost tearful with joy. It is moments like these when you realize the deeper meaning of a man-woman relationship. The next few days we were in a hotel until we found a nice apartment in New Milford, NJ. The moment I stepped inside our tiny one bedroom apartment, it felt like a never before home sweet home. 15 days of stay at the hotel, which was situated on a highway, with nowhere to go, and no one to talk to, made my days long , dreary and boring until my husband, the knight in shining armor arrived from office to listen to my constant chatter. I quickly got busy in setting up our kitchen. We were living on bare essentials since we were supposedly to be returning back to India post six months.
Slowly I started venturing out of the house on walks and spending more time on the Internet, learning how to cook Indian recipes😉. Yeah you are right , I barely ever cooked before. My social media connect was on a all time high. Last but not the least , something which I otherwise would hate to do but now , with so much time to kill, I became a typical TV series enthusiast. Of all these activities the one which I loved the most, were my walks. At times solitary but by evening my husband would tag along. We would also walk down to the grocery store to pick our weekly groceries. The best part about these these walks was , I got to meet people. Even on my solitary walks most Americans passing by would smile and say a polite Hello'. I cannot express the joy I found in these greetings. Somehow it made me feel welcome to this country and a relief to realize I had friendly people around. I come from a genre who love to have fair bit of social connect. I feel extremely delighted to have guests at home and to have friends, family and neighbors to exchange pleasantries. Before marriage, due to a demanding job , I hardly ever had time to socialize though I still did my bit once in a while.
As days passed, my circle started to grow. I had lovely American neighbors next door and across the street. A neighbor from a nearby apartment became one of my best friend, infact almost a soul sister. We would talk for hours about everything under the sun and we felt a connection instantly. Different cultures, customs, nationalities, festivals always intrigued me and hence these conversations with people from various backgrounds were fabulously interesting. Throughout my pregnancy my next door neighbor, Lisa, who is a part time Uber driver, took the responsibility of dropping and picking me up from my doctors appointments and the many ultrasound and tests that I had to go through at the hospital and doctor's clinic. While driving me to and from the clinic, Lisa and I would talk about parenting. She has single handedly brought up a 17 year old daughter. I have seen her working relentlessly just to give a better Life to her daughter. My interactions with all my American friends, mostly in the middle income group, made me understand the hard American life that most people lead here. With no domestic help life here gets quite tough managing, job, household chores, children, finances, insurance aah! The list just never ends. In fact it could be quite daunting at times. I became one among the bandwagon too, the only difference was, it was lot harder for me to adapt having always had the luxury of domestic help and a fiercely independent life. But the more conversations I had with my friends here, I became more grateful thinking about my life back in India. I also began appreciating American way of living. Specially single mothers who I think could be literally called super women, at least I would love to call them so😍😍
My shift of base to the US, spread like wildfire amongst my school and college friends living here with their families. Thanks to FaceBook, a small update and the world can know your whereabouts. What followed after that was rendezvous with friends whom I havent met or seen in years ,dinner and lunch invitations, get together and celebrations. Even the ones who lived in different states called often to wish well and offer valuable advice on how to deal my pregnancy efficiently. These calls became quite customary later and honestly, today when I look back, don't know what I would have done without them.
It's been a year and half in the US for us and everyday I start with a little prayer of thanks and end with one. Everyday I have found many reasons to be happy and to make others happy. Some of my life's firsts has been celebrated in this country. My First Anniversary, Birth of my baby boy, Baby's first birthday, First Snowfall, First Halloween, First Thanksgiving dinner .....Life just became a celebration of gratitude. Merci Merci America! These days shall be carved in my memories as one of the bestest days of my life. In hope of making many more memories of love and gratitude. CHEERS to a beautiful 2017.
A year and a half ago my husband got posted to New Jersey, for a project for six months. I was already around four months into my pregnancy then. The thought of shifting base to an unknown country away from friends & family , at a time when I desperately needed them, if nothing but for comfort and valued advice, made me skeptical. But there were not many options to make desired choices . With our bleak finances, it was the most logical move, to make circumstances better for our future. I became even more cynical when my husband had to fly without me because my visa was still work in progress and his project leaders became adamant about his immediate reporting, like a soldier summoned during emergency 😞. Guess that's how IT companies work. So I flew 2 weeks later , alone and pregnant, to join my husband. The journey was uneventful but tiring. I reached USA in June of 2015. The moment I came out of the exit gates of Newark Airport, I could see my husband waiting for me with flowers and almost tearful with joy. It is moments like these when you realize the deeper meaning of a man-woman relationship. The next few days we were in a hotel until we found a nice apartment in New Milford, NJ. The moment I stepped inside our tiny one bedroom apartment, it felt like a never before home sweet home. 15 days of stay at the hotel, which was situated on a highway, with nowhere to go, and no one to talk to, made my days long , dreary and boring until my husband, the knight in shining armor arrived from office to listen to my constant chatter. I quickly got busy in setting up our kitchen. We were living on bare essentials since we were supposedly to be returning back to India post six months.
Slowly I started venturing out of the house on walks and spending more time on the Internet, learning how to cook Indian recipes😉. Yeah you are right , I barely ever cooked before. My social media connect was on a all time high. Last but not the least , something which I otherwise would hate to do but now , with so much time to kill, I became a typical TV series enthusiast. Of all these activities the one which I loved the most, were my walks. At times solitary but by evening my husband would tag along. We would also walk down to the grocery store to pick our weekly groceries. The best part about these these walks was , I got to meet people. Even on my solitary walks most Americans passing by would smile and say a polite Hello'. I cannot express the joy I found in these greetings. Somehow it made me feel welcome to this country and a relief to realize I had friendly people around. I come from a genre who love to have fair bit of social connect. I feel extremely delighted to have guests at home and to have friends, family and neighbors to exchange pleasantries. Before marriage, due to a demanding job , I hardly ever had time to socialize though I still did my bit once in a while.
As days passed, my circle started to grow. I had lovely American neighbors next door and across the street. A neighbor from a nearby apartment became one of my best friend, infact almost a soul sister. We would talk for hours about everything under the sun and we felt a connection instantly. Different cultures, customs, nationalities, festivals always intrigued me and hence these conversations with people from various backgrounds were fabulously interesting. Throughout my pregnancy my next door neighbor, Lisa, who is a part time Uber driver, took the responsibility of dropping and picking me up from my doctors appointments and the many ultrasound and tests that I had to go through at the hospital and doctor's clinic. While driving me to and from the clinic, Lisa and I would talk about parenting. She has single handedly brought up a 17 year old daughter. I have seen her working relentlessly just to give a better Life to her daughter. My interactions with all my American friends, mostly in the middle income group, made me understand the hard American life that most people lead here. With no domestic help life here gets quite tough managing, job, household chores, children, finances, insurance aah! The list just never ends. In fact it could be quite daunting at times. I became one among the bandwagon too, the only difference was, it was lot harder for me to adapt having always had the luxury of domestic help and a fiercely independent life. But the more conversations I had with my friends here, I became more grateful thinking about my life back in India. I also began appreciating American way of living. Specially single mothers who I think could be literally called super women, at least I would love to call them so😍😍
My shift of base to the US, spread like wildfire amongst my school and college friends living here with their families. Thanks to FaceBook, a small update and the world can know your whereabouts. What followed after that was rendezvous with friends whom I havent met or seen in years ,dinner and lunch invitations, get together and celebrations. Even the ones who lived in different states called often to wish well and offer valuable advice on how to deal my pregnancy efficiently. These calls became quite customary later and honestly, today when I look back, don't know what I would have done without them.
It's been a year and half in the US for us and everyday I start with a little prayer of thanks and end with one. Everyday I have found many reasons to be happy and to make others happy. Some of my life's firsts has been celebrated in this country. My First Anniversary, Birth of my baby boy, Baby's first birthday, First Snowfall, First Halloween, First Thanksgiving dinner .....Life just became a celebration of gratitude. Merci Merci America! These days shall be carved in my memories as one of the bestest days of my life. In hope of making many more memories of love and gratitude. CHEERS to a beautiful 2017.
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