Three birthdays and a joyful blog

Twenty years ago, I met a little girl, standing at the entrance with her brother, holding a drawing book with blank pages. It was a cold, snowy winter day in Chicago, and all I could think of was getting inside and warming up. As soon as I took off my coat and shoes, I was handed the books along with crayons and pencils, and asked to paint. I am not sure what my aunt told these kids, but they pretty much stayed by my side until I had painted a few flower pots, and the only reason I finally got to stop is when one of the kids, I don't remember which one, asked me if I knew how to paint anything besides flower pots. Phew, saved by the boring flower pots!

One of them celebrated a birthday this month! An amazing young woman, who remembers me for the popcorn and soda at the movies, and not the (thank goodness) flower pots I painted when we first met. She tires me with her constant talking (sounds just like me at her age), annoys me with her defense of Tiger Woods' multiple affairs, baffles me with her checklists, exhilarates me with her willingness to take selfies, but mostly, inspires me with just who she is - a talented, committed, beautiful, young woman who is doing great things, and will always be an inspiration to many!

Three people I love celebrated a birthday this weekend. Unlike my cousin above, I met this friend on a somewhat warm, extremely late evening (if you call almost 11pm an evening) in Bombay, at her wedding. I was trying to get to the wedding reception of my friend, and after several expert directions from locals which made us go around in circles for 2 hours, I finally made it after the dinner had been cleared, the wedding cake was gone, and the bouquet was about to be tossed. I could not wait for her to move to Chicago so I could clear up my sterling reputation of always being on time. Over the years, she has become one of my closest friends, someone in whose presence I can completely be myself, someone who makes me laugh often at her own expense, someone who is always there for me, and someone who probably has never had to take selfies with anyone besides me. The jokes we have shared are not repeatable even anonymously, as she will surely kill me.

Last, but not the least, a charming and joyous human being who I have known less than a year, who makes every day, or at least weekdays, something to look forward to. Always calm, almost always smiling (yes, there is the occasional frown), always dapper, always willing to help, and always available for a hug, he makes open office plans kind of awesome for those who sit across from him.

I am very blessed that I get to celebrate amazing human beings like these everyday, even when it's not their birthday.

Yearful - a reflection on my first year of blogging

Last January, I created this blog, with lofty goals of blogging at least twice a month. I had quite a good run in January with 9 posts, which helped average out for the occasional decline that happened during the following months. The blog was a stretch goal for 2014, and accomplishing a stretch goal in the first week of the year was the wind beneath the wings of the other goals. Since I sometimes struggle to keep up with the twice a month, I am going to start the first post of 2015 with a reflection on why do this at all.

First, the goal itself. Why blog? A few years ago, a friend's mom, a woman I admire and love deeply, said to me, "you have a lot to say, you have a way of expressing an opinion and you must write so it is never forgotten". Inspired by her words, I started a journal. Soon, the journal was buried amongst a stack of other things, never shared with anyone, and the writing completely forgotten. When setting goals for 2014, my biggest challenge was personal goals. I did not need to lose weight (I do this year, but not then), I already had an exercise goal, and some of my professional goals were tied to personal development as well. I randomly picked a chapter in a book, in which the author wrote about how starting a blog was one of her biggest challenges, and once she started one, it was one of the most satisfying experiences. I created one on the same day!

Ah, the joys of picking a color, a background, a picture. Red - easy, my favorite color. Picture - when in doubt, just go with the Facebook profile picture, right? Background - the profile picture. That was mostly impulsive at the time, but when I look back, subconsciously, I picked a picture that is a reflection of myself. Wearing one of my favorite outfits, a hairstyle I love, with my favorite cocktail in front of me, my phone right where I can reach it, a gift box from my favorite store, and most importantly, in the company of some of the people I love the most, at a restaurant celebrating my birthday.

After writing a few posts, I wrote what I call a birthday blog. The first of a few, it made me reflect on the many valuable friendships I have, and the amazing memories that bring so much joy and laughter.

It wasn't all just personal. One of my Lean In articles was included in another blog, a recipe was included in a food blog, an article about Merline Saintil was tweeted by none other than the amazing woman herself, and I have a recipe published in a book!

It's 2015 - what now? Coming up - the January 17th birthday blog, and a new recipe.

Thanks to all those who read my blog, and always send me encouraging words which often inspire the next blog (or at least a Facebook post).

Cheers to 2015!