HAPPY HOLIDAYS

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Happy Holidays everyone.  Best wishes from my family and me for the Holidays, for the New Year, and the years to come.

Tension building up - - -

The scene at work has totally changed from what it was a week ago. It is interesting and painful at the same time. I mean the happiness and chuckle that was in the voice of customers just a week ago has suddenly changed into rudeness and defensiveness. When people were helping each other and exchanging coupons and letting people cut in line a few days ago it was like Christmas was already there in the store. Now people are getting impatient and fiesty and insensitive about other people's needs. It seems like they are entitled for the best and fastest service. Am I right in attributing this tense situation to bad planning on some people's part or is it that the fact that some of us cannot afford to get presents is making things seem darker than they are? Or maybe a lot more is going on with people who are tense more than they have to be.

I must have sent half a dozen blessings to Paul, the trainer who taught me how to be a good sales person a long time ago. I must have had six different jobs since then, but this holiday period each one of the tips  is coming handy.  So today when customers come and ask me what they can get for their spouses or kids, the first thing I ask them is how much they can afford. Then when the customer says that he can charge, I simply suggest that they get what they can afford without having to charge, so they don't get "after holidays" worries. They look at me strange, but believe it or not a couple of young people actually told their parents that they are fine with just one gift each. It was then like a blessing was around us. People heard each other talk. Then they wanted to do the same. Three other customers got the idea of buying only one gift each for their family members. While I was standing calmly hoping that I have solved a problem or two, someone who worked in the store was complaining that instead of selling I was stopping people from spending. What are we to do? Let the tension build just so our numbers go up?

Michael Offutt: I'm a Pied Piper and the Easily Flushed Blog Hop

Michael Offutt: I'm a Pied Piper and the Easily Flushed Blog Hop Congratulations on the award you just recieved. All those bloggers are new to me. I will read their blogs one by one as soon as I get a chance. Also I will tweet about the polar bear and post it on my blog too, as soon as I figure out how. I am tchnologically challenged so it may take some time.
Please read Michael's blog. He is a Sci-Fi writer soon to be published and is a recipient of several of blog awards.

Pains behind gift giving

My brother, a retired US Navy Chief is loved by family and friends and coworkers alike for his hard work and his sense of humor. However, when he came to the US in 1977,  he was not very confident about how he would survive as he had not finished his college. Our Mom used to worry about his future as well, you know how people worry about a man supporting his wife and kids. Then he joined the Navy and soon after that he met a very nice girl. She became an inspiration for him. He pulled through the verbal abuse that comes with the basic training and the physical hardships as well. They had a simple wedding and he would sometimes take her on his ship and sometimes leave her home with her parents. When they had a beautiful baby girl, he did the same thing. A year later, they had one more cutie. Now a father of two little girls, he would go abroad sometimes leaving them with his in-laws and somtimes with our Mom and very rarely taking them with him. Now that he is retired, he spends a lot of quality time with his wife and his daughters who are in their teenage years, teaches them how to stay away from troubles and the importance of education. However, when it comes to spending money, anyone who knows him thinks that he is spoiling them. He says that when his wife and kids ask for something, no matter how expensive it may be he will not say no. His logic is that they were very patient when he was away and very supportive when he would be too tired to do anything fun with them. He always says that what they gave him is more than he could ever give them, so he tries to buy them what ever they want.
When I come home from work and talk to my husband about how people are spending money, he tells me that I do not know what they could be going through. He tells me to look at my brother and understand people's pain behind their gift giving.

Gray Hair Representative

Corporations do not really have room for comfort. So my comfort days are over, at least for this year.
Instead of sneakers and khakis I have to wear black pumps that kill my feet and polyester/silk blends that don't allow my skin to breathe. Instead of getting my daily walk, I am standing behind a counter helping people with spending their money like they grow it in their backyard. Instead of being behind the scenes I am working up front.

One good thing came out of this change in my job. I am learning how much people still have to learn.

A father of three kids wanted me to help him decide whether he should get a five hundred dollar winter jacket or a diamond teddy bear pendant for his daughter who is in Junior High School. I showed him different options within his budget of five hundred dollars for each of his kids and two thousand dollar budget for his wife. I thought that it was very generous of him. After he spent close to three thousand dollars and got free gift boxes he was really happy. He also got a free wreath as he had spent so much money.

My next customer started whispering things that I really did not want to hear. I did understand her point though. So I just said, "When it comes to parenting, we are all work in progress."

Happy Thanksgiving

  HAPPY THANKSGIVING  to my family, my friends, my blogger friends, my neighbours, my coworkers and my bosses. I hope everyone's wishes come true.

Drive carefully everyone and stay safe.

Elite go green - - -

We saw this tote bag in Barnes and Noble today. It looked interesting to me, so I went close and looked at it. This is made from empty juice boxes that were recycled. I was really tempted to buy it and it took a lot of strength to stop myself. I found the price to be a little steep for a tote bag. I mean, my mom always sewed tote bags, from gabardine pants that my brothers wore out in the knees. We used those to buy dry groceries. Plastic bags for carrying groceries was a foreign concept to me when we moved from India to New York State in 1974. I wanted to take those bags back to buy groceries in them, but I was told that it looks cheap. So instead, I started using them as liners for small garbage cans in our rooms. We were still buying the big hefty bags for the kitchen and for leaves. Then somewhere in the eighties, supermarkets started giving back 2 cents per bag we used over again. Still my friends told me that we get looks from the packers if we brought our own bags. So I felt ashamed. So we all went with the flow and hardly recycled anything until almost the end of last century, when we started bringing our own bags. Now why did I go with the flow? Fear of looking cheap?

Last time when my son came home from Hawaii, I told him how I am a closet environmentalist as I washed and saved plastic forks. He laughed and said that everyone is into recycling, I do not have to be ashamed any more.

Would I listen to myself ? Now why did I feel ashamed to recycle when I come from a place where recycling is the way of life? We left India to make a better life. Does it mean that we start copying the elite ? Well, who are the elite? I would not know.

The snowstorm of last month left us without power for forty hours. Then there were people without power even up to a week. So a lot of people went to hotels, but some hotels and businesses did not have a working generator. People were forced to do without refrigeration and hot coffee and even heat. They had to make use of blankets and live minimally. Then they realized how difficult it is to do without resources. Now just about everyone, especially the elite, is trying to be careful with hot water and heat and electricity. 

How often do we need storms like these?

A Gift Of Gardening Experience

 These were grown in Orange County New York.  However kids in Junior High and High School in Texas will not be able to complete their garden that started growing.  Thanks to Donors Choose program a lot of kids throughout the United States are able to work at projects or receive necessary equipment their school would not be able to provide. This year in spite of getting help, from Donors Choose Program, Texas kids are not able to enjoy the harvest of their hard work. Please help if you can. I am sure they will appreciate a lot.

Here is the link if you would like to help.

October

It was few years ago we were driving on route 9, through Beacon and Cold Spring New York, my husband asked me to write a poem on the month of October as he loves the fall foliage. By the time we got home, I had the poem ready for him. He loves it. Being a science person he does not look at poetry in a critical way. As long as I conveyed his feelings he is happy. Here it is.

October

Colorful leaves of New York Autumn

your beauty is so mellow

Orange, Red and royal Maroon,

lightest Green and Yellow

Heavenly horticulture

surrounding all the highways

you cover majestic mountains

and shine through the sun rays

Graceful, delicate and short lived,

like Tulips and the Daffodils,

you always surrender to winter land

and make room for the sleigh bells

I remember that he pointed out the word "the" before Daffodils as he too had read the famous poem. Then I realized that I should not have assumed that just because he is a science person , he would have nothing to do with fine arts. I was ashamed.

Some thing Fun

Some thing fun or spooky.?  My brother sent these to make me laugh.

Look Out

We do most of our learning by the first four years of our lives, they say. I tend to minus the first nineteen years, (up to twelve years in childhood, then the emo teenage years.) I mean besides our activities of daily life, what aspects of serious life business do we know before we are out of high school? "Plenty," says my husband, because according to him a lot depends on where we come from. He thinks that if you are sheltered you don't learn much, but if you suffer through childhood and teenage years you learn a lot. So, would we know how to recognise kids who are distressed or stressed even and are thinking of killing themselves? I mean if you are a teenager and you see a young girl in deep depression because she is watching her parents go through a divorce would you think she would OD? Or would you just think that it is one of those things emo teenagers go through? Even as an adult if you see an otherwise pleasant co-worker unusually quiet or even complaining that his wife is always putting him down would you think that he would kill himself after killing his wife and kids? How do we know how to help people preemptively? Can we learn?

If you are that one person who is always ahead of the game when it comes to arranging secret Santa or are the person who buys a birthday card and collects wishes for someones birthday, then you can be that person to suggest to the HR of your company to see if there can be a counselor who can come and lecture at your facility. If you are a parent of a kid in high school, you can ask your school board to train people to watch out for signs. I think what we need to do is look out for each other.

Two murder suicide cases on national television are more than enough to make me break till I shatter. It is time we say something to the people with clout.

Value A Life

It was very hard for me to blog yesterday.  I have been to the walkway before, but I never felt tired as I did yesterday.  Then I realized that emotional stress can be even more tiring than physical hard work.  I felt selfish for thinking about myself, when there were people who had lost their children, their siblings, their parents, their friends and their spouses to suicide.  At the end of the walk all I wanted to do was to remember the Hudson as serene as I always found it to be. So I asked my daughter to take a picture.

What does it take for people to educate people about the seriousness of suicide? I wouldn't know. It was a hard reality for me, forty years ago, when my classmates and I lost my best friend to suicide.  Yesterday we saw quite a few people wearing different colored beads to honor the loss of loved ones.

 When we saw the actual faces of the people on the quilts people had made for their missing loved ones it was extremely hard to look at the survivors. Yet they were very brave.

There were many more quilts, I just did not have the heart to look at them, let alone take picture.

We were not prepared how upset we would be. So I came to an understanding that we have to learn to value life.

Let the echoes of love and understanding resonate.

Learn about mental illnesses.

If you feel that your family is dysfunctional get help.

There is help out there, get it before it is too late.

Tell each other how much you care.

Just remember that your life is very valuable

Also you are not alone in this world.

You are always loved you just don't know it yet.

Understanding?

When it comes to science, botany was my limit. I love plants. When it comes to the human body, it's a different story. I leave everything to my doctor. I always have. However, for the last couple of years the whole infrastructure and protocol of medical practice has changed. Now when I go in, I think I spend less than 20% of the time of my visit with the doctor. The rest is spent in the waiting room, then in the examination room with the PA who asks me the questions that a doctor is supposed to ask me, then the doctor walks in with a smile and after a handshake spends five minutes with me, talks to me while looking at the computer, barely looking at me. I told him in my last visit that I feel funny, and that I could be losing my mind, I have become irritable and forgetful. He smiles and says that everyone forgets a little bit as they get older, the less I think about it the better.
Before I forget:-  I urge all my family members, my friends, my neighbours, my blogger friends, my coworkers and my bosses, please, please, please, understand the disease or diseases you may have. Learn all the names and dosages of every medication you take. Do research. Understand contraindications and side effects. It seems like our doctors who we used to depend on one hundred percent are not in their own control. Tired of paying the overhead and competing against HMOs they have given into working for HMOs and are subject to their rules, one of which is the limit of time they can give us - the patients. So now it is up to us to take care of ourselves. See a specialist when you need to. That is where I made a mistake and it is not because I am ignorant but because for something as simple as Diabetes I thought that an Internist would have been sufficient. No hard feelings against my doctor. He has his hands full.
I am not a fan of alternative medicine and I will always depend on modern medicine. However a doctor of alternative medicine was telling on the television that a medicine that is used to treat diabetes is actually causing Pancreatitis. Now Diabetes has a lot to do with Pancreas, so, I did research on the medicine that I take for maintaining my blood sugar level. I read a lot of complaints against that medicine including the foggy feeling in the brain, forget fullness and irritability. I stopped taking my medicine last week and what do you know, all my symptoms are gone. My fasting sugar level is within the high normal numbers. My guess, since I had started going for really long walks my sugar was getting metabolised and the medicine was actually making my sugar level go to extreme low levels. That can cause a lot of different things. I am glad that I did the research. the thing is I am not supposed to stop medicine just like that.
"So, what do I do now?" I ask myself. According to my daughter I should see a specialist. As far as my own doctor, he is still good for my BP and my asthma -  until something else comes up.

We will always love you

People every where make a big deal about break through discoveries in medicine and technology. We also see on the news, stories about the world's politicians trying to solve war related problems. I wonder, how many times we as people and as parents and grand parents remember the people who have brought smiles to the faces of children all around the world. When it comes to kids' writers and people who have revolutionised kids' lives, I have almost given up on the television. Lives of rich and famous have taken precedence over the lives of simple but heart warming people. I will be surprised if Hollywood Stories would have time to narrate the lives of people who made our children laugh. One such person was Jim Henson. (Sept 24, 1936 to May 16, 1990)  Hollywood Walk of Fame has honored both himself and Kermit the Frog  (this privilege shared by only Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse and Mel Blanc and Woody Woodpecker and Bugs Bunny).



Kids who grew up watching Sesame Street are very responsible people holding important jobs and most of them are such good parents that they never cease to amaze me.

Out of the Darkness Walk

This is going to be very hard for me to write. As much as I worry about getting forgetful and am afraid of the "A" word, sometimes I simply want to forget what happened in my second year of BA summer vacation.
A little over forty one years ago (June of 1970) my classmates and I received the horrible news that one of my friends had commited suicide.  We were all very young and full of hope for our future and dreams about being educated and having it all. Then one very quite morning I got a call from my best friend that our other best friend had killed herself. She was engaged to be married a year later, after her graduation. She liked and cared for the young guy she was engaged to. Then what happened? Needless to say we were all devastated but the cause of her suicide was even more shocking. Something no one could ever think of. She was tired of her parents fighting with each other.

To this day whenever I hear news about anyone commiting suicide, I break down. How could they do this to themselves. Was life really that hard for them? Do family members and loved ones miss the signs they would not if they knew better?  What can we do as human beings to save another human being from taking their own life?  Do they even realize that suicide is so final? I have always wished that there were people who can educate people to watch out for signs. I guess my wish has come true. In our area  ie the Hudson Valley people are organizing "Out Of the Darkness Walk". I hope that there are areas where they are doing this as well.
Here is the link to my daughter's fundraising page. Please check it out especially if there are growing children in your family or even adults with special concerns. We always grieve for our loved ones, but suicide is not like any other way of dying.

THUMBS UP

Have you ever felt extremely angry in high school? I mean fumes coming out of ears angry ? A lot of us  felt angry at some point or the other and a lot of us got over our anger and some of us did something wrong.  I mean  pressures of life itself start pressing our temples from Junior High onwards and and they keep giving us headaches going on to high school, well into college. So how exactly did the popular kids escape from things boiling inside them? To my shock I found out they really don't. A co worker of mine said that he was very popular in high school because his mother started him out as a very fashionable young man and he would wear nothing but designer clothes and as a result he got a great job in our company. At home, it was a different story. His mother got yelled at almost every month by his father for wasting money. When he interrupted, he was almost thrown out of  their home by his father. Then there were kids who were so angry at jocks that they took steps to hurt all other kids along with jocks. They made the big news unfortunately. Also unfortunately, kids who do something good don't really make headlines too often.
Peekskill High School - just across Hudson River, made some rules that are not fair with students.  Mike, our radio station host of Mike and Kacey said yesterday that a student wrote him a letter about an unfair rule their high school had made and some of the students are really angry about it and want to take their case to the board members. One of the students "J" ( we need to protect the kids ID) would like as many people as possible to know about the petition. He says that as angry as he is he rather take care of the problem through a petition. I called the radio station to check with Mike if it is OK for me to blog about this as more people might know about the petition. Also the reason I am writing this is the fact that as angry as the kids are they are going through the right means versus violence and vandalism.
  Blogger friends  from Peekskill School High School area can help out these kids by checking out the sitauation. Maybe the rule itself is not so bad after all and there could be misunderstanding on the kids part.

Back To School

It was at the end of August last year that I had started writing my blog. My desire to write stemmed  from my wish that my grandson who was entering Kinder Garden last year does good overall and has a good self image and a good level of self esteem. Hence "Project Sept". A lot of my friends thought that it was cute and some thought it was childish as the word "SEPT" was for Self Esteem Protection Team.  This year my grandson goes to first grade and according to him, his two younger brothers will be looking up to him. Imagine being six and having your two year old brother and a two month old brother looking up to you.

 A coworker of mine was complaining that men do not like her because she is heavy that in turn makes her go to comfort food which is not good for her. Then I suggested to her that she should not worry about men not liking her but try to eat right for her own sake.  Later on at my last job, an other coworker who has low self esteem because of her weight asked me about the National Sport of India. I know that the state sport of Andhra Pradesh was "Kabadi". It was a different story that no one who was affluent would play that game. Rich people always played "Cricket".  Then my coworker asked me if the PE department gave importance to Cricket alone. I was then very much surprised as our "PT" department in school had nothing to do with Cricket. They just gave us basic training in how to keep ourselves fit. She said that she wished they did that in American Schools. I then asked an other young girl about the corelation of self esteem with PE in schools.She said that PE has a lot to do with kids' self esteem.. She says that when she has children she will make it a point to tell the school that they better have physical education like the description and national sports can be an extra curricular item. This way all of the children will get equal attention in PE rather than only those who are good in National Sports.
I say we can start giving importance to general physical eductation right now. Those kids who are not fit can slowly become fit if not looked down upon.

Sunshine Amidst Storm

I have to thank Lenny from Lenny's World for teaching me the real meaning of the word "Love". I know, I know,  it's me, my simple self who will not hesitate to learn even from someone as young as Lenny will always find the kid to be an inspiration. Lenny quotes Winnie the Pooh "Some people care too much. I think it is love".  So why am I hung up on the word "Love" ? Because in India, couples (I mean husband and wife) do not express love for each other in front of anyone, including their own kids (never mind Bollywood movies.)  So when I was extremely concerned about my husband's health our doctor who happens to be from India found it to be amusing and somewhat westernised as he asked me if I grew up here.  I very politely asked him to excuse me as I always have been the one to cross boundaries and step out of a box, any box including culture especially when it came to safety and well being of my family including my husband. He was quite but still had the smirk on his face.  The good thing is that my husband's BP is finally normal and if I had not expressed my concern who knows how much longer it would take for him to feel healthy. I wish though, that he does not have to take extra two pills. Oh well.
Why have I not been writing? Our son from Hawaii was home from the day after the Earth Quake until the day after the storm.  When you get  a home full of sunshine when Hurricane Irene was uprooting even strong and age old trees who has time to write?

Taking Charge

Before I forget :-  I would like to thank everyone who reads my blog postings. My postings make me feel that I am able to connect people somehow.
Two months ago I was worried about losing my memory and a lot of people suggested that it could be because I have been overwhelmed with a lot of things happening at the same time. Then for sometime I have been free of that fear. I would like to remain free of fear. I am trying to ward off thoughts that enter my mind but somehow I keep getting those thoughts again and again and I notised that this happens at times when any of my family members did not get a clean bill of health. So everyone please take care of your health so somebody who loves you does not feel that they are losing it.

When you drive on 9W and pass Storm King Mountain and look down you feel the presence of the Creator of this Universe.
This is our Holy month and it has been said that whatever we ask for is granted provided it does not hurt us or anyone else.  So when I am asking that my husband take charge of his health why doesn't it happen? How can his good health hurt others?
My parents always told us that our wishes may not come true right away, we just have to be patient . Today my daughter confirmed that. Her wish of seeing Cindy Lauper did not come true when she asked for it, but later on in life a friend took her to the concert for the Holidays.
So why am I being so impatient? It is the fear monster. My mother had a stroke when she was sixty-four and died four months later. I know high blood pressure is number one cause of stroke. My fears are not unreasonable. Also I would like our kids to be free of worries and concentrate on their jobs and enjoy their life as well.
So, please everyone take charge of your health. Listen to your doctors, eat right and exercise.
If you love your children take care of yourself so they can have a care free life and enjoy their youth.

LEFT IS COOL

GREETINGS EVERY ONE
Today is International left handers day.  August 13 was declared to be International left handers day in 1976 to create awareness of the difficulties left handed people face in the world that is mostly made of right handed people.
So, to all my loved ones, my friends, my neighbours, my blogger friends and my coworkers and bosses, I wish a Happy Left Handers Day. Please give yourselves a treat or give you left handed buddy a treat.

Creating Awareness

"Say what you need to say."  John Mayer was on the PA system in the mall this morning. It made me feel good because it felt like someone was on my side. I know, I know, they randomly play any song at all, but maybe I needed to hear it and that is why I felt good when they played it. When I write something, my intention is not to hurt anyone or any culture or tradtion but to let people know that those traditions hurt people more often than we would know. I really don't know how else I can fix things. As of now, all I know is that music makes a certain sea animal very happy. Enjoy !

Time has no effect?

In 1972 my husband and I had a telephone in our home in England but  my parents did not have one in India. Letter writing was the only communication my mother and me had.  As I would finish writing a letter and fold the aerogram, I would cry for good two minutes as I wrote the address, Anand Nagar, Hyderabad, AP India. As beautiful and serene our neighbourhood was in dry times, it was just as messy whenever it rained. Our neighbourhood not only got it's share of rain, but also the rain that fell on Banjara Hills, would come right down. My parents would get so much rain on their front veranda, that it would become unusable. My parents would save up money to get an awning for the veranda but when they almost had enough there would be some unavoidable expense that would make them postpone getting the awning. So when I was able to earn money in England, I wanted to get them an awning for their veranda.  Do you think they would accept that gift? Not in a million years. The reason? I am their female child and people in India do not take money or material gifts from their daughters. I remember all this because tomorrow will be ten years since we lost our mother. A lot of things start coming back in my mind, including the helplessness of being a female child. My parents were considered lucky, because they had four sons and two daughters. I am considered lucky because my husband and I have two sons and one daughter. Anyone who has no sons is still considered to have a hard life. Still people do not accept gifts from their daughter while they expect their male children to help them get out of debt that they incurred arranging for their daughter's wedding. Time passes, we learn to live with the fact that our loved ones are not around but it would be so much comforting to be able to remember that I was  able to share their pain as my brothers were able to.
When my sister in law sends a gift to her mom, she gets a gift back from her mom, which would be twice as expensive. She tells me she feels helpless and wonders as to when our people will break this tradition.

Food

Anand Nagar  (Happiness Town) is the name of the neighbourhood where my house (my parents house) was, before I got married. My parents must have moved half a dozen times between the time I was born and the time when I went to Junior High. Although my father was an accountant he loved construction work. He would buy a house, renovate it and then sell it. My mother did not want to sell our house in Anand Nagar because it was a very pretty place, beautiful flowering plants and fruit trees, a huge prairie in the valley of Banjara Hills (now a lot of Bollywood Actors have built their vacation homes there). When we first moved there my parents friends and some of our relatives were worried for us because besides one more family, we were the only Muslims there. My father always believed that we need to be a good human being (maumin) before we can be a good Muslim. Being scared of other human beings (even though they are not from our faith) is not a good way of starting off as a good human being.
Today on the first day of Ramadan (we say Ramazan), I remember all of this because Ramadan is a month of sharing and caring, more than anything else. In this month we fast all through the day (sunrise to sunset), refrain from all kinds of pleasures and give charity. People who have health problems, travelers, pregnant mothers, nursing mothers and kids under fourteen years of age are exempted. We can opt to feed a meal a day to someone everytime we miss a day of fast when we are fourteen or older and have medical condition. My father did not fast becuase he would become lethargic and would be in danger of passing out if he did not eat every couple of hours. Today this condition is called hypoglycemia. Therefore my mother would give someone a meal a day, to take home and enjoy. That gentleman was not of our faith. In spite of a lot of criticism my mother did not care. Her answer would always be, "he is a human being first, then a believer in whatever faith he belongs to."

Good Television

I just finished watching a rerun of the television show "Community".  I watch it a lot and by now the characters are real for me.  This happens to a lot of us so I am not embarrassed to admit it.  The show is about some students who meet as a study group. They are a cross section of what a typical community college is. Every week there are a couple of issues that the group deals with.  So coming back to tonight's episode I wish that there are actually real people as good as these students. The study group that makes a plan to save an overweight student from attempting suicide. They invite him to a game of Dungeons and Dragons and so he can feel good about himself. It turns out that - I'm not about to give away the ending. Here is a trailer.

Good Samaritans

Exactly one week ago,  four men took a chance with their life to pull out a woman from a vehicle that was burning.  Palisades Parkway is like our backyard. We drive on it almost every day of the week.  A lady who was driving an SUV on the Palisades had to steer away from driving on some kind of trash. Then she lost control of  her vehicle. People who witnessed the accident said that the vehicle actually was four inches above the ground and then ran into woods and overturned and caught fire. From among the stranded traffic some people got down to see what was happening. Then four people got out of their cars and pulled out the lady who was driving before the police could get there. As soon as the men pulled out the lady, the SUV was a blaze. If those four men did not pull her out, she would have been burnt beyond recognition. I am hoping that those four men get rewarded somehow. I mean they took the risk of their life.They say in my country that the reward that comes from up above is much better than any human can give. My husband says that the feeling of being able to save a life is in itself a reward.
So why did I not blog about this incident sometimes last week. Could it be because I heard this only once on the radio?

Nice

It is helping. I mean staying away from the television news. My brother sent these pictures to me. I would like to share them.

This is a beautiful bridge. If there are people in the world who are building such beautiful bridges, I guess the world is not such a bad place after all.

Acceptance

I would like to thank Drora for taking me back to my childhood. I cannot leave a comment on her blog. Also I like to thank Hilary for taking me back to the two years I spent in England.
My husband tells me that I should be thankful that I can read and write.  Also he tells me that trying to make this world a better place is an unrealistic goal. We taught our children good from bad and they should do that with their children and so on.
Also he thinks that too much shelter for me by my parents developed unrealistic expectations that bad people will somehow turn into good people. He says that greed, hate, and violence are as real as generosity, love, and peace. So just accept the facts and pray for the loved ones.
We have a six-year-old grandson who is ready for first grade and two grandsons even younger than him. There are hundreds of kids throughout America and the murder case of the eight year old is an isolated case but what if it is not?
 I am sure my husband will be angry when he reads this because he wants me to stay away from the worries of the world for my own good. I promise though that I will not let this effect my memory. I am learning to compartmentalize and take notes. I am learning to accept that there are problems beyond my reach. I will pray that this world becomes a safe place for everyone's children and grandchildren.

Float On

Last week my son and my daughter were having a lot of fun singing and playing guitar and drums on Wii on the television screen. Digitally animated boys and girls and back up singers and crowd were a lot of fun to watch. One of the bands was Modest Mouse. Since I pay a lot of attention to lyrics, I came to an understanding that their song "Float on " is actually about moving on after hearing a bad piece of news in the hope that good news will come across. I think that I am going to try to adopt that philosophy. It seems a little callous but maybe I am taking the fixing up of this world a little too much to my heart. I remember that someone had told me that too much empathy can be a concern for depression. Who knows, maybe too much empathy can be a concern for forgetfulness.
Earlier this week a middle aged business man committed suicide by jumping off of the Newburgh Beacon bridge. Also the same night a couple jumped together off of the Tappanzee Bridge. The girl died and the man is still in critical condition. As usual I did not feel like having my dinner. My husband then told me that a teen age boy was able to save a middle aged man from drowning. I guess "Float On" may work, I thought. Then the television news announced a heart breaking tragedy. An innocent eight year old was kidnapped and killed. His body was dismembered. I cannot imagine how his parents must feel. I don't know how I will be able to "Float On" now. There will have to be a very big piece of good news to take this tragedy out of my head.
Before I Forget:- I would like to thank everyone for their concern and support. I will do research and try things that people have suggested. I will also post as I try various things so my experiences can help others.

Counting On Positivity

BEFORE I FORGET :- 
I would like to remind my self that I have a great family, wonderful friends  and wonderful blogger friends.
I would like to write blog entries about experiences I have been having with not remembering things. In case  anyone who is reading my blog is having similar experiences, I would like to hear them as well.They could be people  my age or have loved ones my age who are getting forgetful.

My last blog entry was two weeks ago. What happened to the two weeks? Thankfully I write that  after coming back from Philadelphia I was talking non stop about the new baby and praising the new parents for their love and devotion for their kids. This would be during the day. At night I would worry about their well being outside their home, in school, and what the world would be like when they grow up. I don't know if the effect of being worried worked on my mind and I was getting forgetful or if it was my age. I then did a lot of research. The "A" word works on my mind like the word Monster works on kids' minds. Maybe I should just stop being afraid and things will be OK. I hope so. There are way too many nice things that I would like to put in a safe place in my mind. Just in case.Maybe I will write them down and keep reminding myself.

The beginning of this month was full of joy as I had a chance to visit my son in Hawaii. Last time we went there was in 2004. He made plans for me to go there. It was very soothing to be with him. He took us a lot of different places, including beautiful beaches, museums and botanical gardens. I was amazed at the number of plants I could recognize and name after so many years of studying them in college. I can never thank him enough.
The first evening I got to my son's place, he let me read the book, Eat, pray, love by Elizabeth Gilbert.  I woke up at two thirty in the morning because of jet lag and wanted to continue to read the book. I could not remember the right name.  The "nook" was not letting me go to my page as I had forgotten to book mark it. I kept on thinking and it seemed like my brain had two parts, one telling me that the name of the book was live love and pray and the other one was telling me that the book is love, travel and live. The right name was not coming in my mind at all. This is something that worried me. I know that Julia Roberts has worked in the movie based on the book and there is a lot of travelling. So was my mind able to relate and not remember? Has this happened to people out there?
On the way back I forgot my ID. I was in luck that the right people found it.
Today, I noticed that I have to ask my daughter the name of the person she is talking about, before she finished her sentence. Has this happened to anyone before?

Daddy Time

I think that there should be a general rule that we should be allowed to wish Happy Father's Day (or Mother's Day) up to the following Sunday.  There could be some scatter brains like mine who get overwhelmed and excited with every good news and get worried with every hurtful news and forget to wish people the due greetings and blessings. I have to say thanks to some of my blogger friends whose blogs reminded me that a message for Happy Father's Day is due. There are some terrific fathers that I know like my husband, my son, my brothers, my brothers-in-law, my boss, my boss's boss, some blogger friends, some blogger friend's husbands and some of my neighbours. So Happy Father's Day to all of you.

I remember some young people at work had hurtful memories of their fathers being tough with them. I am not sure what could have gone wrong, but a lot of times us parents copy the kind of parents we had. Sometimes that may not even be the case. So I do have a message for all the young fathers out there. The young dude that is standing in front of you  is a toddler today but he is going to grow into a fine young man. His only needs (besides food, shelter and clothing) will be respect and approval. All of the material goods are secondary. In the process of providing the American dream please do not forget to look in those innocent eyes and say a nice comforting word. A lot of things need to be fixed in this world.When it comes to parenting each one of us is a work in progress.

GRAND MOTHER FOR THE THIRD TIME - - - -

"BOY OH BOY"  These words were written on one of the gift bags  that I gave the new baby with cute outfits in it.  I was in a hurry as the baby came a week earlier than expected, but boy is he cute. Everyone says that he looks like my husband (his grandpa) and my husband does not stop grinning at the comment that "he is cute and looks like his grandpa." The important thing is that he is normal and healthy. I am dying to show his pictures to everyone but our kids have a rule for not putting baby pictures on the internet. Oh well.
So, spending a week with a six year old and a two year old is out of this world but spending a week with a newborn is heavenly. It is also so charming to see my daughter-in-law wanting to do everything herself not only for the new baby but for her other two little ones and then checking on my son and me to see if we were all right. I then had to keep reminding her that she is the one who needs rest.
Times are changing. People are multi-tasking and that includes new parents. Families are living hundreds of miles apart. I came back home with a heavy heart.  My son calls me and reassures me that everything is OK and Philadelphia is not far from New York. As of now I just close my eyes and be with the baby.

Dolphins need to be free, just like us

I thought that only humans attempt suicide. I did not realize that sea or land animals would commit suicide. Here is a request from animal lovers for us to just sign a petition so lives of Dolphins can be saved. I need not write further as this will explain a lot.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/saddest_dolphins/?copy

My spelling IS Getting Better

I have been afraid of the "A" word. They say that when some people come to my age they start losing their memory. Although I remember most of my math facts, I was beginning to get worried about my spellings and my grammar. I have been writing superlatives instead of just regular facts and some of the homonyms got mixed up in my mind. Now I have decided that I am going to love English. They say in my country that if you like anything to improve, you have to make an effort and actually love what you want to see improved. Therefore I am going to strive to get my spellings to be almost perfect and my typing skills to be better. This is because I want to write correct sentences when I visit and comment on Lenny Lee's blog. He has become my inspiration. Thanks Lenny!

Take Care Of Your Health

If you are a universal donor, it is a blessing to so many people who need blood. I knew this fact for almost forever. One of my coworkers had told me that she had signed on the back of her license to be an organ donor. I was feeling bad for her. She is still very young. She was then only twenty-one.  She laughed and said that she was a reckless driver anyway. I got mad at her and told her that she should drive carefully for her daughter's sake. Unfortunately her sister who was also very young died in an auto accident and then she realized the hard realities of life and started driving carefully. An other coworker told the both of us that we do not have to be dead to be of help. We can be living and still donate blood and maybe a kidney, or even bone marrow.
Today, I found out that an elementary school age girl needs a kidney. Her kidney function is down to twenty percent. At home I had the discussion with my husband about me giving a kidney to her because I have lived my life. To my dismay, my husband said that  doctors, surgeons and even hospitals will not let me do that because I have multiple health problems and I can be more of a liability than help. What a bummer.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DRORA

I would like to wish Drora Hed Happy Birthday. I am not able to leave  even a Happy Birthday wish to her on her blog.  I read Drora's blog all the time. I also admire the little pieces of miniature furniture she makes.

We Have Hope

Almost everyone here in Orange County N.Y is effected by the tragic murder/suicide loss of a mother and three of her children.  When we drive on the river side to go to Newburgh-Beacon bridge, we still get the goose bumps. I think that this will happen to us for a long time. The ten year old survivor of the tragedy is now holding pretty good, thanks to community efforts with time and money. A couple of days ago my husband happily told me that an NFL player has not only given him an undisclosed amount of money but is also mentoring him.
It is now up to the boy's father to help him cope with the tragedy and convince him to forgive his mother and move on. Most important he should talk to him as much as possible even from the jail.

THANK YOU and - Oops !

I would like to thank some new people who are reading my blog. As you know blogger likes to play these games with us. It is now hiding the faces of "followers". I used to just go back to the people and thank them through email and follow their blog as well. Now I cannot do that as I don't know who the new friends are. So please allow me to thank you guys. I will just have to wait until the blogger shows pictures and gives me the links. I would love to read your blogs too, and follow them.
And oops, I got tagged. Thank you Michael. I will have to read all the things I have to write and think about people I would like to tag back. Also my wall paper is made of my grandsons. They are still babies. I am sorry I can not put them on the internet. I might put back the picture of a peacock,( my old wall paper)  just for a couple of days so I can put that for answer to question number 2.
Blogging is getting to be more than just writing a diary that people can read. I like that.

Mommy Is Here

I am sure all of us need a little something charming today.

THANK YOU

I would like to thank Hilary from "Positive Letters " who guided me to enable my blog to be able to receive comments.
I would also like to thank everyone for being patient with my comment window.  My daughter (thanks!thanks! thanks!) helped me get the comment window to open. I have had trouble leaving a comment on some of the great blogs. If you are not receiving comments you may need to set up a comment window on your blog. If you go on your "Settings" page of your blog and check on "open comment window"  it sets up a comment window for you.
Have a Safe Memorial Day everyone.
Purple Heart Hall of fame is just around the bend from our home. West Point is just a hop, skip, and jump distance from 9W here. Tomorrow will be a very sober day for our town.

Correction

In my blog yesterday, I did not mean to make a concrete statement about natural disasters. I meant to say that most of the natural disasters are not the fault of human beings. I was not clear as I was emotional. It is true that a lot of natural disasters could have been prevented if we did not disturb the natural rhythm by messing with nature. I have to thank one of the readers who pointed out this fact. I do not intend to show disrespect to my elders by blaming things on nature alone.

I understand that psychology is not a perfect science, but at the same time I think we can still strive to know our kids so we can do parenting the best we can.

Get to Know Your Kids - And Kids in Your Life

Natural disasters, as nerve chilling and as devastating as they are, are not caused by human beings. Whenever lives are lost because of murders, suicides, or even an accident, we feel the hurt within our souls.
This morning news channels all over the television were saying that the suspect of the Arizona shooting from earlier this year is not fit for a trial because he is schizophrenic. His doctor says that he could see signs. I am wondering what kind of signs? Writings, or other kinds of behaviour or simply not being a young person he is? While I am not accusing anyone of not being close to their son, I am simply requesting every parent or every person who is supposed to be responsible for young people to keep a check on their kids. I do not mean that they should police them or not trust them. What I mean is that try and be close to your kids as much as possible. Trust them and allow them to trust you enough to open up and talk to you. If you find that they are somewhat sad or tense ask them in detail. Do not hesitate to take professional help if needed.
In the movie "Donnie Darko " a young man who is diagnosed with schizophrenia almost chuckles as he says "Ooo, me too," when his girlfriend tells him that her stepfather has emotional problems. He is not at all ashamed because he is getting treatment. The movie also touches other sensitive issues that effect young people and shows the sad side of society.

We need Hope - - - All of Us

When we throw a tiny pebble in the calm and serene waters of Lake Taghkanic we enjoy the circular ripples of the water but we do not realize that the tiny fish and tadpoles under the water could be scared thinking that they are in for a storm. So, why do people scare people saying that the end of the world is near?  I am not saying that I believed that it was happening. It got me thinking. I mean we all have to die one day and if we knew when exactly we are going to die, we probably pick out the ways we want to spend the rest of our days. So, on Saturday I was having a crisis with my memory. I do not see too many good actions in the mental video I had of my life. I mean common, the good things to do list that was meant for me to do by age twenty still is waiting to be finished. There are hardly any scratched out accomplishments and I am sixty. So where did the time go? and resources? First it is the car, then the house, then the furniture, then college funds for kids and now retirement. When do we really get a brake from ourselves that we can give time and energy to others? I guess, we just shouldn't wait. We should do the "helping others part" along with doing "the life chores part".
We have been listening to the news and watching the disaster in Missouri and wondering what their emotional condition must be. At this stage in our lives we cannot do much more than send a check and pray. I admire those people who go and give on hands help. I wanted to post a youtube video to share but I was not able to do that as the embed part was disabled. My husband says that they need hope and all of us need hope.
I will ask some young people in my family to post  "We Care and Hope for Good" messages on their facebook pages.

Straight From The Heart Blogger Award

Every one is talking about the world coming to an end today - they are not serious but what if it really happens? I do not want to leave this world before I offer this "Award" to some awesome people. Every one is good in their own way. Some of us write what people like to read, some of us write about celebs and national sports and what is going on  in the political world, but some people are so open that I sometimes wonder as to why they are not journalists? Or are they?

Belle  for Tales from a loser who sometimes is a winner.
Michael for SCL Kismet
Tracy for My Thoughtful Spot
Foot Print Of Peace for Step Parents Cove
Doris for Hold My Hand
Hilary for Positive Letters
Monalisa for MonaLisa Gone Wild
NormaltoeatPB for Normal to Eat Peanut Butter

There are no rules attached to receive this award. I hope this came out OK.

Serenity Prayer

I know that AA uses this prayer. However I have a slot in my brain where this prayer fits just so.

My desire to be productive and to help this place called earth to be a good place for everyone makes me say things that might offend people.

Loved ones are offended because they think that it was not my place to blog about a stranger who yelled at his son. They say that I do not know the complexities of being a father, the hardships that fathers go through at work and the troubles they go through to make a buck. Once in a while it does happen that they take their frustrations out at their kids.
I would not know the complexities of being a father, this is true. It is also true that a father may be frustrated and take the anger out on a child. A lot of us mothers have taken out our frustrations on kids and I am sure they are still doing that. I am not denying that I could have done it without realizing it. My point is that let us try not to hurt our kids because they are going through hard times anyway.  If we do not admit our wrong doings and change ourselves, where is this world going to go?
I know that about myself and unpleasant times with my kids I can only say "If I could turn back time." (God Bless Cher)

Mother's Day -- Not just for Mothers

 While reminiscing about my grandmother's house and my parents' house I recall being told not to do silly things, like reaching in the chicken coop and picking a chick then getting pecked. I know that for every little thing, we would go to my grandma and she always had nice words for us. Now, I do not remember if I was told that I was silly or stupid, or if it were my actions that were called stupid because it is an entirely different language, you know Hindi. I do not feel being hurt because we got the comfort right away.
However, when I moved to the US I realized that it is not nice to call kids names or make them feel bad when they are already feeling bad for their actions. I also noticed that a lot of couples live with little kids without their grandparents. So the family setup was different. My kids got the same setup as well. I came to understand that my kids are my world. Then  I became very careful about scolding and getting mad at kids because who would they go to if parents get mad at them? So to me, being a mother was being a friend to my kids. Now do friends call their friends stupid? I don't think so.
Last Sunday, my son took his five year old  and two year old kids and us to the zoo so my daughter-in-law could get some rest. It was a great gift. My two year old grandson fell asleep so I sat on a bench with him in my arms and everyone else walked around. I was watching people go by. There were kids getting their faces painted. I was having fun. Then I heard a man scolding his son. "How can you be so stupid? I just paid five dollars for that and you're messing up your face paint?"
The poor boy must have been hardly seven. He just started crying. His mother did not say anything, you know parents having uniformity in discipline and all. I felt like going and giving the little boy a hug. They just walked away and I had the baby in my arms. I was just thankful that my five year old grandson did not have to see that. It got me thinking, if  Mother's day is just about a mother?  I don't mean to make a big deal but times are changing. Kids are having it harder, so please don't hurt a kid's self-esteem.

A Very Special Mother

Last month when we went to check what is new in Mac and PC at the computer place in Palisades Shopping Center, a very nice salesgirl came up to ask us if we needed any help. My husband and me were just browsing so we let her know that. Then we just started having a loose talk with her, as she was very pleasant. She was studying nursing and was working to get some spending money. She said that her parents are from Haiti and they worked really hard to give her a good life and good education so the least she can do is not ask them for spending money. Then both my husband and me said at the same time that we hope there was no one from her family that got hurt in the disaster. To our dismay she said that a couple of her distant relatives lost their loved ones and that is what gave her the desire to be a nurse. She also said that being a nurse will actually give her the capacity to work with people who get hurt. She would not be satisfied just by sending money. She said that a lot of people in Rockland County, New York lost their loved ones in Haiti. Then she asked us if we have time to listen to how special a young mother was. We said that we did and she told us how the roofs and walls and doors were falling everywhere even as people were trying to come out of their houses. Sometimes the door would just get blocked by fallen debris and people would just get entrapped. So when a door collapsed and closed up the way out of a building a mother just hugged her five year old and doubled up her body over him. When the roof started falling she was the one to get a big heavy beam on her head and started bleeding. Later on when the rescue teams came, they found the little boy under his dead mother. He was alive. Hurt but alive.

Happy Mother's Day !

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY

Happy Mother's Day to every mother.

May God Bless All

                                                                         

Thanks again Doris

I am sorry I took so long to complete following the Rules of the KREATIV Blogger Award.

So, here are five facts about myself.
I have a great family.
I am an aries.
My favourite colour is pink.
My favourite movie is March of the Penguins
My favourite authors are Beverly Cleary, Judy Blume, Roald Dahl, Dr.Suess. (They got my kids into reading). Don't get me wrong, I still like my grown up book's writers. It is just that my mind has become child like.
Oops, did I write too much? Oh well.

Now these are the people I would like to pass this award on to, for their beautiful Blogs.

Vanilla Mama for Vanilla Mama's Stuff.

Ann for Ink pots and Quill

Inger the Canyon Girl for Desert Canyon Girl

Hope for Poetry by Hope

Grand Snyder for Incidental Comics

Lyndsey Lydecker for Something Clever

If I am allowed to give this award a second time I would have liked  to give it to :
Hillary for Positive Letters. 

Thanks every one for sharing your work and thanks again Doris.

Appreciation Day

My husband is (somewhat) listening to the doctor's orders.
My daughter comes and checks the windows for drafts if she hears me cough even in the middle of the night.
Both my sons sent me beautiful flowers for Mother's Day.
We might be able to see our grand kids on Sunday.
Today is also Appreciate A Nurse Day. I appreciate all of the nurses that took care of all my family members, took care of me when I had my three babies (now adults) and are taking care of patients as we speak. Nurses are there when a life comes in this world. Nurses are there when you are hurt or ill in spite of the dangers of contagious diseases and they work all kinds of hours, weekends and holidays. So I salute and appreciate a NURSE.
Today is also Appreciate an Army Spouse Day. My brother is a retired US Navy chief. I know before he retired, my sister-in-law went through a lot of hard times (especially with her two girls when they were little) whenever he was sent away to another country.We live not too far from West Point and I have spoken to a couple of women who are married to men in the army. They say it is not easy, but they respect what their husbands do. So I appreciate an army spouse.

Thanks Doris!

Thank you for this award. I hope I will live up to it.

A To Z Challenge

A Tribute to the letter "Z"

This is also a tribute to my parents who believed in eating just enough to survive while enjoying every bite of their meal. It was very hard for my mom to cook to the standards of my father's taste as he knew about the finest cuisine you could find in India. Being an accountant for the kitchen of the King of Hyderabad before India became a democracy introduced my father to not only the fine cuisine of India but to that of Great Britain, the Middle East and the Far East (as they then called it). So, after losing his job after India became a democracy my father worked for the government of India, but still had the taste buds of the royal kitchen. He did grow herbs and vegetables for my mom and always said that one does not need the heavy taste of grease but the "ZEST" of fresh herbs and vegetables. These are the pointers I will always remember.

Use lemon juice instead of heavy dressings on your salad. (I miss the spoons that my uncle had with the name of salad dressing engraved on their handles.)

Saute your food to bring out the zest. It is better then than frying.

When it comes to vegetables fresh does it better than cooked.

Don't drain the nutrients out by boiling. Try steaming if you have to cook vegetables.

Keeping a mix of lemon crystals and salt is better than just table salt. (Here in the US we keep garlic salt.)

Yogurt is always better than ice cream. ( My mom made home made yogurt every day but I would go for my father's home made ice cream any day. It was only occasional though.)

 My daughter orders unsweetened ice tea with a slice of lemon instead of soda and it smells great. I use any excuse to drink cola while eating out as we don't buy it in grocery any more.

"Zest is something anyone can afford, but you have to be lucky to recognise it," my grandmother's best friend said when I was little. I think she was right.

A to Z Challenge

A Tribute to the letter "Y"

Last night on the TV show "Community," Pierce, the elderly student, wants to learn things that younger people do. I think a lot of us elderly folks do want to learn things that young people do, because a lot of times young people do neat things, or rather cool things. Some of my friends and relatives who are my age complain that young people don't care for the elderly, they don't show enough respect. I disagree with them.  I never had a problem with younger generation. If you leave them alone they are fine. The thing with respect is that you have to show respect first before you expect any from anybody.
The show "Community" is carried by young people who I can say fall into "Generation Y." They work hard. They mind their own business and their perspective is different because they don't stick to any one culture or one stream of thinking. They like to be open minded and like to take good from everywhere, hence they may become friends with someone you would not guess they would hang out with.
From being individualistic, tech savvy, ambitious, and flexible, Gen Y-ers are good in balancing money and time at the same time not neglecting values. The Millennials may take their time and seem cold, but any responsibility they take they do their best to fulfill. They could never be apathetic. No wonder the three young actors who play Annie, Abed, and Troy carry the show.
Today my husband woke up before five in the morning to watch the Royal Wedding. However he was puzzled to have missed the word "obey" from the wedding wows. He was surprised when I told him that Kate Middleton did not want the word "obey". He asked why. I said that she is "Gen Y". She would not utter something if she did not believe .
One character that will always come in the picture when you speak of Generation Y will be Jaye Tyler on Wonderfalls. There is even an episode where she is referred to as quintessential  Gen Y-er.

A to Z Challenge

A Tribute to the letter "X"
On his late night show, Conan O'Brien was teasing David Duchovny, saying that in the year 2000, David Duchovny will be extremely unpopular when it's revealed that Duchovny is Russian for syphilis. David Duchovny replied that in the year 2000, Conan O'Brien will be unpopular when it's revealed that he has a bad case of Duchovny. I'm not worried about what ever happened to the carrier of David Duchovny because Gillian Anderson has also disappeared from the television and the silver screen.
The later episodes of the X-Files series may not be as interesting as a thriller, but the older series would keep you engaged throughout the show. These are the shows about two FBI agents who are given assignments to solve cases that had unreasonable circumstances. One of them would try and find reasonable answers within normal reasoning but the other one would always find something supernatural and beyond reasoning. If you are into paranormal phenomenon and the supernatural you would certainly enjoy the earlier episodes of the X-Files.

A to Z Challenge

A Tribute to the letter "W"

We - one of the sweetest words.
We - a beautiful term.
We - a wonderful relationship.
(No disrespect for the dictionary definition intended)
Among most of the struggles we go through in life, the struggles for the desire to be part of a "We" is most justified.
 If you are looking to be part of a "We" in future - Plans, Dreams, Hopes, Flights, Wings, Skies, Breeze, Shore, Voyage, Horizons.
If you are part of a "We" at present  -  Care, Outreach, Respect, Shelter, Shade, Laugh Whirlpool, Frustrations, Whistles, Gasping, Lullabies.
If you have been a part of a "We" in the past  but not anymore -  Dialogue, Monologue, Pain, Empathy, Sarcasm, Shadows,  Loneliness, Smiles (bittersweet),  Memories accompanied with sweet and sour chuckles, Storms, Hurricanes.
In "Rolling in the Deep," Adele captures the pain of the "We" in the past better than any artist I have heard. She makes it sound almost victorious while keeping it dignified.
"We almost had it all!!"
"We could have had it all!!"
 Here is Adele.

A to Z Challenge

A tribute to the letter  " V "
In second grade Nature Study class we were told that  Brinjal (a kind of eggplant) was a fruit. When I told this to our nanny, she accused my school of teaching us wrong things because we know that eggplants are vegetables. When my mom came back from work she explained to all of us that there is a plant science called Botany and according to that science there are different parts of a plant. Therefore a vegetable can fall under the group of fruits if it is carrying seeds or it can be a leaf, a stem, root or even seeds. Growing up in a home where we grew our own vegetables was taken for granted in most families. Here in New York we feel lucky when we have the  right weather for even a few vegetables a year. I try to buy local as much as possible.

Whether you grow your own vegetables or buy from a super market or farm market, please make it a habit to serve your familiy at least four fruits or vegetables a day.