I know it was a long absence from writing. A full 12 months!

Life became too busy with a new job that my days got drained of my energy and my evenings made me equally busy with household chores.

A lot happened this year…

The year with covid…. did some good and some bad. Lost some dear ones , family members…. sadness filled life, a feeling that visiting India has become a rarity now also creeped in….

The arrival of vaccines brought a fresh breath of hope and a sigh of relief. Before we knew, received both doses and the booster too. Are we safe now? Only the doctors can tell. All we can do is believe them and have faith in our luck.

Work became hectic… from 5 day week, it turned into a 6 day week with increased hours . But the achievements, the encouragements at work, the appreciations galore soothed the aching eyes and the tired bones , day by day. Learnt a lot of life lessons working with faceless work friends, working for the unknown voices across the country, with a feeling of giving back to the society through the disaster loan sanctions. It also fulfilled my linguistic thirst of listening to different dialects and accents across US. It allowed me to realize the different accents of different country people ‘s English.

Life took a turn all of a sudden, on the personal front….

My younger daughter left home to her college leaving the walls of the house gapping at the emptiness. From prom to dorm, the journey continued as my heart came to a standstill once again. It happened once when my older one had gone to college in 2016. I try to keep my sanity intact and not get bogged with the empty nest syndrome. But, once in a while, I just walk into my daughters’ rooms and my eyes search around for know not what!

Our drives to and from Austin to drop or pick up my daughter, worked in a different dimension. My husband and I talked a lot and shared memories. The 3 and half hrs made us chirping away like long lost friends. It reminded us of our courting days.

It changed things at home too. Now , I worked full time from home , and my husband did too. He took up on himself to make the tea as a routine every evening. His experiments with his teas, adding a new flavor every day, made it interesting. I looked forward to the chai after my work every evening. Our lunch time, tea time and dinner times were special. We joked, talked ,and shared memories about kids.We ate anything and everything, had TV diners too.

Life is so predictable but yet so unexpected and different, year by year. Looking forward to another year of hectic work , another year of missing kids, missing going to India, hanging in the emptiness, yet finding me-time and a togetherness moving us into our mid age.

Leaving another year behind, bundling up the gathered memories, waking up into another year of hope, happiness and health.

All is well that ends well! Enjoyed the fireworks at Dallas downtown with family and welcomed the new year!

Good bye 2021! Welcome 2022!