The year in passing..

Some days are always itched so deeply in memory that you really don't have to make an effort to remember them. They come crashing and you are left drenched in the memories that come gushing down. Three years ago yesterday, we had embarked on an adventure with our little toddlers on an unforgettable journey. Even after so many years later, the details of every minute spent, stays fresh in my mind. We were visiting my Parents in Calcutta and it a first trip for us as a family traveling so far and especially to my home. Home always meant being next door, for the first time it was so hard not having them close by. And the joy I felt seeing them again can't be expressed in mere words.
 
I wrote about the trip a year later and yet I never felt I forgot any detail from that trip. Calcutta during the Christmas time was beautiful. The whole city was celebrating and the joy was contagious. We had a Santa coming to gift us a cake and balloons for the kids. Their joy knew no bounds seeing those balloons. Small are the joys of tiny tots, wish we could say the same. Yet it was such for me too, basking in my parent's love and seeing their happiness, playing with their grandchildren.
 
When we cut the plum cake, I was reminded of how much I always longed to bake my own fruit cake for Christmas. Hubby dear always says the day ought to be remembered with a cake and wine. And every year we get it for Christmas lunch. Though I have been baking since I was 20 years, I never baked a plum cake. And when I stopped baking, I had no hope I would ever do it.
 
I remember reading somewhere someone saying "One should always dream, how else will you experience the joy of your dream coming true?" How very true, my dream of so many years finally happened today, thanks to the many wonderful friends I am fortunate to have around me. Their generous sharing not fails to rub and you are filled with warm with those unexpected gestures and kind words. A soul sore after being pained, feels warmth from such gestures. Certain things have to be accepted. Life goes on...
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Speaking of friends, this year has been truly remarkable. I finally met my childhood friends, some after a span of 18 years. Some though I have been in touch for years, got connected again which meant so much. One can never outlive their childhood right! As you grow older, you stop growing. You become a spectator to the life that happens in front of you. Happy at times, Sad at some, the strings that hold seem to have no handle for you to do much. You are a mere puppet doing your part in the show.
 
Still there is so much joy in knowing your friend is just a phone call away, not somewhere in the unknown, beyond grasps. Talking to whom, reminds you of those moments from past, that brings a joy to heart, reliving those glorious days again in mind. How much ever fulfilled and meaningful your life is now, childhood will forever remain that exalted state for all.
 
The fun we had when the gang got together over the phone across continents, I could sense the happiness tingling all the way through. I may yet to still achieve what I had set out for this year, there may have been many hardships that came our way, I am grateful for the year that is passing, for the wonderful days that will remain forever fresh in memory. We are stepping ahead with heart full of hopes, of achieving more than what we can, put the best step forward, things are bound to happen right! There is no dearth for optimisms', it is all how you look at!
 
Come tomorrow, we will take a toast with a slice of homemade fruit cake, store bought wine for our new business venture to go long way. And to wish my friends and family joy in the days that come ahead. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, then Happy Pongal..Cycle goes on..