A little smile - A little magic!

21st may 2014...
Since I started the blog, I knew I wanted to post something special today.  However, with my crazy work schedule, I feared I wouldn't have time to write something deserving. I was having a cup of coffee  where I saw this person I admire so much again, Gnanendra!

To give you a little background, I met Gnanendra a few months ago, when Mom and I decided to have a little tete-a-tete with some of the ladies in the family. As we entered Costa Cafe in GK 2, I called the waiter, he was busy and probably didn't hear me, and since we needed a few more chairs at the table, I started pulling some. He was immediately by my side, smiling and getting the chairs. I looked at his name tag, it said 'Gnanendra'. I then proceeded to tell him my order, he pointed to the cash counter, and then to another one of his colleagues. He was still smiling when he put a notebook and pen in my hand, pointed to his ears and mouth and shook his head sideways. A mute, and deaf waiter serving us with a smile... and we complain! 

I sit here on the 8th anniversary of the greatest tragedy my family has known, reflecting on the last 8 years. Hindsight is indeed 100 percent. Some of the things I once knew, I have moved away from. I have made it my personal journey of making everyday count. Sometimes I wonder: Would he be proud of me? Would he see how far I have come? Am I proud of myself? Do I even realise how much I have accomplished in the last 8 years?

Yes, I have had to deal with tragedy. But through that tragedy I have BLOOMED.  I have learned to appreciate each day as a special gift.  I try to look at people with just a little more tenderness in my heart. I try just a little harder each day to smile and to make others smile. Even though I cried throughout the day today, as I'm sure I will every year on this day, I know in my heart of hearts that I will see him, who I miss so much, someday.  I have no doubt that as he look down upon me, he is telling his co-bridge players:  "She has made such wonderful choices".  

I know there are so many more stories that have happened in the last 8 years, as I moved halfway across the country. From making pepper rasam and jalebis, to giving a helping hand to those in need, to running towards danger rather than away from it, he is remembered now, and always will be. As I get ready to start another new year, I hope that this next one will be smoother, and I will have a strong support system on earth as I have in heaven.  

'Life is not about hoping for a better tomorrow, life is about living in today'. Who knows if there will be a tomorrow, for my Dad, there wasn't one beyond 21st May 2006. Life is about finding workable solutions for today. For counting the blessings we have, rather than what we will have someday. Life is to be lived, to the fullest. Oh and if you meet someone along the way, who you think needs a little magic in his/her life, give the person a little smile, like Gnanendra does, like my Dad did, like I hope someday I will be able to!