Life - the celebration never ends.

Dear friends,

I have finally settled into our new home, in our new station and at the cost of blowing my own trumpet, its a delight. And all thanks to my wonderful wife for the same. Converting a house into a home is a mammoth task - so I have heard people say, and being there I saw those lines actualizing in front of me. Oh boy! It really was a tough ride, but well worth it too.
The next few days are really crucial for me...a few exams lined out for Babi and me...have taken a few extra appointments which is going to cut down on the domestic time...Brownie is at her naughtiest best...and most importantly - the year is nearly over and its about time to introspect and evaluate.
While I am at it, I get reminded of a few things my mother always told me at various junctures in life and that which when I put together makes me believe that no matter how hard you try to avoid, life almost always dishes out the best for you in whatever ways it can.
When I was a kid, my mom says I used to rant and cry telling her that I wanted to go to school with the other kids. Now this is when I was just 02 or maybe 2.5yrs old. Then she would say, "Son, once the schools begin, you are going to miss the no-school phase. So now just play and be happy." Mom says she could not convince me into buying that and I finally joined my first school when I was nearing 03 yrs of age. It did not take long for me to see those lines mom told me unfolding right before my eyes. And then I wanted to quit school at 05, but then you know what.
Then as I grew older, I would tell mom that I wanted to launch into college asap and that I hated school. Then she would tell me that what one misses most in their lives are their friends from school and the care free days of that time. How they grow up together and become friends for a lifetime. Again, I would call it 'bullcrap!' in my mind and pray for the 'suffering' to end.
Thus ended school and over to college now. The first few days in college was terror personified for me. Armed Forced Medical College, with a junk of seniors armed to blast you into the minutest pieces possible - that was my initial impression. And again, the voice of mom haunted in my ears. And like how I couldnt stop going to school, I couldnt go back to school again ever. That phase was long gone now.
About college, well, you all would have guessed. Because those seniors I mentioned above went on to be my best friends and in college, like all of us, I made a few friends I cant live without. But the complains remained then too. I again told my mom that I would rather slog and work my ass out at work than be here in the college and hostel studying. And by now you can guess what my mom must have told me. And even today after all those years, one place I want to go back is college – the place that made me what I am today.
When I was an earning bachelor, mom told me that the good times have begun because I have no responsibilities now and I had money in hand. She then told me the importance of money and how to use it wisely. She also told me that the carefree days will end after a marriage and so to live life to my own terms then. Then I got married, and contrary to popular belief I don’t think its really tied me down at all. Infact now I have a full-time companion and life’s been a roller-coaster ride from there. But there have been times when I have thought of my days as a bachelor and how nothing meant more to me than my own freedom and my own happiness. How anytime was the right time and how any day could be a late-night party day. My mother still holds fort. She says, restrictions come with the arrival of a baby – till then you are free birds in the sky.
And as I think about all these wonderful things that she has said, I know that when a baby comes in, we couldn’t be more happy. And then maybe I might miss the time I am in now. And as the children grow up and get into doing all those annoying things that I did when I was growing up, I might want to see them as the naive innocent babies they once were. And when they grow up into nice and responsible citizens of the nation, I would miss their growing up years when I would see them doing their homework or studying or watching tv or updating me about their latest crushes in school or of a baseball match.
Then to see them go through all the triumphs and failures that you have gone through and share the moments with them as Babi and I grow old and count our last days on the planet - I will always remember what my mother told me. Every second of our time is precious. You may not realise it at the moment you are living it, but every one of those countless moments will be cherished like priceless jewels at some point of time in life. The sooner one realises it, the more time one has to live life to the fullest and make the best possible use of it.

"A life spent making mistakes is not only more honourable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing." - George Bernard Shaw.

Live life to the fullest people, because these times will never return.