In this world, there are pet people and there are non-pet people. I always thought I was of the former.
And then we got a cat.
For the first few days, all was lovely. He was adorable, cuddly and all-around lovable. I thought nothing could be better than to have a cat. And then, he got comfortable. He seemed to have developed this idea that all ownership is his. Thus, all should worship him and he would deign to bestow his affection when it suited him.
You know in the movies when cats sit in their owner's laps, purring while being stroked? Wonder what that's like. And I doubt he's ever killed a bug in his life. And, of course, him being a long white-haired cat, wearing black for me is no longer an option.
Is it clear from the above that my cat drives me crazy? It also doesn't help that my family thinks that this feline is the miracle of all miracles.
But then there are those times when he'll come and sort of brush up against me and inform me that he'd like to be picked up. And he'll let me cuddle him for all of ten seconds. And, in those ten seconds, everything is forgiven. His cranky moodiness, his early morning meowings, his habit of scratching anything precious. Everything.
And so today, #5, I'm grateful for those in my life who drive me crazy, but I also can't live without.
Life isn't always easy being the older daughter of immigrant parents living in the US. You grow up with a constant chip on your shoulder, because you 'know' people are watching. Always trying to do the right thing, not because you're pious or saintly or it's the right thing to do, but simply because of log kya kahenge.
Those words. Log. Kya. Kahenge. What will people think?
Decisions taken. Silence maintained. Being walked over and mistreated. All for log kya kahenge.
And they say what they want to anyway.
So, today, off comes the chip. I'm handing everyone the mike. Say what you will. I've realized it isn't worth my life. And today, #4, Im grateful for that.
Fasting has been relatively easy so far. I've been able to keep busy enough (or sleep enough!) to not really focus on food.
But of course there are those moments. The moments when you want to eat anything and everything. Even those fried eggs you swore you wouldn't touch with a 10-foot stick start to sound pretty good.
It got me thinking. We live in a society where we take food for granted. We eat our meals mindlessly, distractedly not realizing our every meal is fit for royalty. All the ingredients in our plate. They've come from all over. People have slaved over these ingredients and often don't even get to enjoy them themselves.
Everyday, I learn a new purpose of fasting. Today I learned that I am not grateful for all the unique flavors I have been given. I learned that I am not grateful for all the experiences that have come with my meals. I learned that I am ungrateful because I can fast voluntarily, unlike so many who fast day in and day out without choice.
So today, #3, I am grateful for all this learning.
The other day I was filing a tax protest and had to go through my home and find out the things that were wrong with it. So fun!
I can hear all your sighs of envy already.
It was mind-boggling to see how many things were falling apart and how many things we'd just put off doing. And I was doing this with a friend so it was more than a little embarrassing. 😳
Really what struck me though was that in spite of the fact that currently a couple of things are falling apart, nothing is life-stopping.
So #2, today I'm grateful for the minor inconveniences that we just step over. The things that we'd like to fix in our lives if we could, but currently can't. I'm grateful for big messes and noisy traffic and hot weather. Because there have been days where they were the furthest things from my mind.
Tiny things carry such an impact sometimes. I've been wanting to start this Instagram account for so long. It started as an idea from a group of friends who suggested we keep a gratitude journal and write about what we're thankful for each day. Immediately I thought of creating this Instagram account. That was 3 years ago.
The other day, my sister mentioned creating an Instagram account for something she was passionate about. And I thought, “why not?” And here this is! I didn’t overthink it or overanalyze, I just dove in. I’m excited about starting today, the first day of Ramadan. And I’m excited about taking pictures daily and learning to write without using too many run-on sentences. I'm excited about new adventures and new discoveries.
So, today, #1, I am grateful for the tiny things. I’m grateful for the chance to share what I’m thinking and not over-analyzing and diving right in.
