My Personal Quotes Part 1

*Life is like a ping pong ball. What you serve to others comes back to you. *Don’t say that you have spent time. Say that you have invested it. *If you can’t keep yourself happy, then no one else could. *What do I love most about you? Well, your eyes of course because I see my reflection in you. *Cherish what you have and never take anything for granted. You’ll regret it when you lose it. Want proof? Try playing blind for ten minutes.

Husband Speaks!

My husband has an amazing sense of humor. Sometimes it is so subtle and sophisticated that it goes over my head. Often, his jokes make me angry and at other times, I end up smiling despite myself. Scenario 1: Husband's Friend: If she can't be mine, I won't let her be anybody else's. My husband: So if she is yours, you'll let her be everybody else's. Scenario 2: A snippet of my whatsapp textual conversation with him. Me: Call me. Him: Call you what?

Just Like That!

My daughter had “Draw something nice” written down in her notebook and she forgot to put a period at the end. So I completed the sentence for her: Draw something nice that reminds you of yesteryears, the fresh smell of rain-drenched earth, of fragrance of jasmines while walking past your neighborhood park reverberating with the screams of tweens fighting over a game of marbles while the old granny sits on a rusted bench moving her knitting needles in a zigzag pattern wondering whether she will live long enough to pinch the chubby cheeks of her soon-to-be born grandchild and the dark bride slowly unveils herself on the orange horizon resonating with the utterances of the night critters.

Did You Ask First?

It was back in 2001. I had gone with my best friend for the renewal of our bus pass. Those were the days when we had limited access to money and a person with principles like mine had fewer still (I used to earn Rs 25,200 per year from my 2-hour tuition classes and Rs 17,500 was my yearly college fee.There's a story behind how and why I started earning but that's for another time. Well, with a total of Rs 7,700 left- I had to manage my clothes, gifts for friends, books and an occasional eat-out. No, I didn't want anybody to help me. Come on, I was an adult. Though in India, kids will forever be kids for their parents no matter how old the kids get. Even now after being married for a decade, I find it difficult to spend my husband's money. Thankfully, I am low-maintenance). So here we were at the bus stop after getting our bus pass renewed for three months for Rs 100. It was a half-day for us at college and there were fewer buses in the afternoon. Green line DTC buses were scheduled to come every 15 min, sometimes two buses would arrive together. So while we were still on the other side of the road, waiting to jay-walk our way to the bustop, we saw two buses pass by. That meant the next bus would come after 30 minutes. It was really hot and we were out of water. Unfortunately, the local water vendor was also out of water. There was a small restaurant next to the bus stop and my friend suggested we get water from there. But I was hesistant as that would have meant a setback of Rs 10. She was like no- we aren't going to pay. Now, I belong to a house where we have been taught never to ask anyone for food and say yes to water only if asked. So you get the idea. So, I told her it's not worth it. To which she said- what's the harm in asking? At the most, he'll say no. Anyhow, I tagged along . And to my surprise, the restaurant owner told the waiter to give us water. Here we were two happy souls relishing the taste of sweet icy-cold water going down our parched throats. Out of habit, I still asked if we had to pay anything for it but he politely declined and also asked the waiter to refill the jug so that we could fill our water bottles. So, a simple request for water had taught me one of the most valuable lessons of my life. This memory came back to me when I got married. I am still very hesitant to ask for anything and always assume what the other person might think. To this, my husband always says- 'Did you ask first? At the most, you'll get a 'no'. If you get a 'yes', well and good; anyhow, you were expecting a 'no'. His exact words are: 'Na to hain hi , haan ho jaye to kya burayee hain?' This simple question has saved my life many times. Merely asking somebody (rather than assuming) has earned me a lot of stranger-tunred friends, change in shift timings, got me a free cab to and fro during my pregnancy, shifts according to my convenience, my first skiing lesson from complete strangers again, answers to questions from complete strangers and what not? Once my husband had forgotten my passport at home and the fingerprinting center was about to end for the day when merely bu asking, they agreed to stay half an hour more and we were able to travel to U.S. in two days. Also, another time. the social security administration personnel stayed back an hour after the office hours. There are numerous other examples but I can't remember them off the top of head. Next time you are in trouble, need help or clarification of any kind, don't hesistate to ask. Remember the one who asks a question is stupid for 5 minutes, but the one who never asks is stupid for a lifetime.

Eye of the Storm

Once I had a tift with my husband. I don't remember the exact reason (most times I think so much about the reason that triggered me that I forget the actual reason for my anger in the first place but just to keep up the act and placate my ego, I have to remain angry and I will ask the culprit do you even know why I am angry) but all I know is that it was some lie of his that I had caught. There are a handful of people I don't expect to lie to me and when I catch them in the act then the saying 'hell hath no fury like a woan scorned' holds cent percent true in my case. So without saying a word, I packed my bags and left for my mom's place. It was something really serious- that's all I remember. Now my man is a man of very few words- like if we were to pay $1 for every word he has said to me in all the years we have been married, I would still be some thousandaire. So, he tried numerous phone calls, sent relatives and friends to get to talk to me. And then one fine day, a Eureka moment happened. In the email he sent me was a very weird sounding song, the link of which I have shared below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtlO6IQyjVo A rare song by Mohd. Rafi And that one song was enough to send me packing my bags back to my kanooni maa-baaps place. He meant every word of it - just replace 'teri/tum' with 'aapki/aap' and gulabo with baraatis.

How Rich are You?

"Count your life by smiles not tears, Count your age by friends not years!" This was something I used to write in the autograph books of my friends back in middle school. Now, I have understood the true meaning of this cute little poem. Indeed, life is more beautiful when good people are a part of it. Happy to announce the addition of two new people- let's call them Adonis and BIO (beautiful inside out) for the sake of anonymity. One is the personificiation of humility while the other a living example of selflessness. Bio is already a friend; need the approval of Adonis- he holds himself back too much. Adonis- you need to take zinc supplements to add to your charm; Bio- you are too nice- always a 'yes person'. Learn to say 'no'.

My helplessness screams for help yet all it hears are the echoes of despair. Why is life so unfair? Why do bad things happen to good people? Perhaps karma is being a bitch again!