Putting "Thanks" in Thanksgiving

It has been a while since I last updated my blog posts. No serious issues, but life just happens. Been very busy with work, my family, my voluntary activities and visiting family from India. Overall it has been a wonderful year, spent in the company of family and friends and will be cherished for a long time.

Ever since we moved to the United States, Thanks Giving has always fascinated me. I have learned to say "Thanks" and "Sorry" and "Excuse Me" many more times than I would have in India. From that perspective my adopted land's ability to be polite and courteous is something I have come to respect. During this month, I usually reflect on things I am thankful for. Sometimes I post them on Facebook on a daily basis, some years I don't. That is not to mean I have suddenly become thankless...it is just that I have not found the time or energy to post them :-)

Here is a list of 30 things I am thankful for(1 for each day in November).

1. I am thankful for my amazing, wonderful, fantabulous husband. The biggest gift he has given me in our marriage is my freedom of choice. I can choose to be whoever I want to be and he encourages me in all my whims and fancies. He is my rock and I am grateful for having him in my life these past 26 years. Not only is he a dream to look at, he is also such a nice person on the inside. Life is better with your best friend, that is why I married mine!!!

2. I am thankful for my 2 wonderful, beautiful children. They are the reason I feel so fulfilled and they make me want to be a better parent every day. It is a joy to be around them(even though sometimes I do it kicking and screaming, no really...literally :-). Their unconditional love is so inspiring. My children are a blessing and they make my life worth living!!!

3. I am eternally thankful for my phenomenally devoted, respected parents. Appa, forever my inspiration. He was, is and will be with me every step of my way. Amma, gentle, yet a reckoning force in my life. She is my first teacher and my first critic :-) Nobody on earth can ever love you more than your parents !!!

4. I am so thankful for my marvelous brother. He is my biggest supporter and fan(and continues to be). We squabble, we snap at each other, we annoy each other, but we also love each other and are always there for each other. I have the best brother in the world. Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero !!!

5. I am forever thankful for all the mom role models in my life - my Amma, my Sarala Athai, my Banu periamma, my Shanthi Chithi, my Chaya manni. God could not be everywhere, so he made mothers!!!

6. I am thankful for all my uncles. Big shout out to Murthy chithappa who was, is and always be there for me. You think I am adorable?, you should see my uncles !!!

7. I am very thankful for my "best ever" first cousins. I have 24 of them (2 more that are gone, but never forgotten) and each and every one of them is near and dear to my heart. I have spent many a summer with many of them and those memories are the stuff blockbusters are made of. Cousins are people that are ready made friends, you have laughs with them and remember good times from a young age, you have fights with them but you always know you love each other, they are a better thing than brothers and sisters and friends cause there all pieced together as one!!!

8. I am humbly thankful to all my awe-inspiring gurus. I would be nothing if they had not invested their time and nurtured me. From my KG teacher Mrs.Iris to my MCA HOD Lakshmi Kantha, from Arul Ranjitham miss to Gunasekaran Sir, from Radha Aunty to Sarojini Sherry, from the past years to today in Sudha Modur Aunty and Amisha Shah - they have inspired me with their dedication to teach and spread knowledge and encourage me. I owe them so much. Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu Guru Devo Maheswaraha. Without teachers, life would have no class !!!

9. I am jubilantly thankful for all my super-duper in-laws - sisters-in-law Chaya manni, Rajashri maani and Subhashree. Brothers-in-law - Kishore anna and Prasad anna. All my cousins-in-law - Kalyan, VP, Vinutha, Sangeetha, Prashanth, Nirmala, Roopa, Savitha, Mike Sill, Viji, Siva, Poorna, Pavithra(2). Family is not an important thing, it is EVERYTHING !!!

10. I am thankful for all my incredible, out of this world nieces and nephews. If nephews and nieces were jewels, I would have the most beautiful gems ever!!!

11. I am so thankful for my extraordinary, formidable array of Friends. They are my jeevan rekha or lifeline. I am blessed to have so many people I can call my friends(and they would in return too!!!) Too many to list, but feeling euphoric to call you a "FRIEND". You know who you are. Friends are the family we choose for ourselves!!!

12. I am very thankful for a great career. From my first job as a green MCA graduate to my current job, I have been granted incredible opportunities and I am thankful to God for those. I like to dream about retirement or wonder what it would be to be a stay at home mom full time, but I always keep coming back to work. It is a place where my dreams come true every day. It's not what you achieve, but what you overcome. That defines to your career!!!

13. I am delightfully thankful for all the good mentors I have had in my career, in my life. Advice is never taken well, but I am grateful in spite of that cliché, people have taken the effort to mold me to who I am today. From my appa, to my husband, to my bosses past and present, to my teachers, my well wishers - I have always been blissfully blessed with an abundance of well meaning mentors. A truly great mentor - hard to find, difficult to part with, impossible to forget!!!

14. I am thankful for divine music in my life. It is stunningly uplifting, soulfully soothing, powerfully inspiring and spiritually satisfying. Music has always been part of my life - be it as a child listening to all those cassettes my uncles loved, to being a teen and recording my favorite music, learning Carnatic music and now the violin, still hankering for those old Indian movie melodies, music never ceases to move me. Lose yourself in the music!!!

15. I am thankful that "Dance" is an integral part of my life. Hauling my child to multiple dance lessons, coordinating dance competitions to learning dance, my life has been enhanced by dance. Dance like no one is watching!!!

16. I am super thankful "Spirituality" is interwoven in to all facets of my life. Growing up in India, the land of spirituality, the karma bhoomi to being and adult and understanding the Gita to evolve to a better human being, spirituality is a fact of life, a way of life. Spirituality is a brave search for the truth about existence, fearlessly peering in to the mysterious way of life!!!

17. I am tremendously thankful that Impressive India is an integral part of me. My roots are Indian and I will never forget them. The very name holds so many nostalgic happy memories for me. I am Indian and I am proud of it. I get speechless every time I try to describe what India and being Indian means to me. Being Indian is not so much blood as it is culture. Jai Hind, Mera Bharat Mahan !!!

18. I am thankful that I am in the US now and while Indian in roots, I am American in reality. So much so, when my Indian relatives make "American Jokes" it rattles me no end. I love the politeness, the courtesy, the trust in fellow countrymen, the patriotism, the tolerance the melting pot culture. I could go on and on. Land of the free and home of the brave!!!

19. I am thankful for the love my family has for "Travel". We have travelled far and wide. We have travelled thousands of miles to move to a new country. We have travelled thousands of mile within 2 great countries. If it were not for travel, man would be so lost. We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us!!!

20. I am thankful for traditions, old and new. Growing up in a very traditional household, I still work hard to preserve all the traditions around Indian festivals. With that, I am mixing in new traditions like Thanksgiving and Christmas trees for my family. Add to that the eclectic mix of traditions we add for our family. At the heart of every family tradition, there is a meaningful experience!!!

21. My eternal gratitude for "Good Health" - physical and mental of myself and my immediate family and those that I care for. I have but seen very closely what a lack of good health can do to the most wonderful people. I have seen very close people ravaged due to disease. If I have the power, I will wish for good health for everybody. Your happiness is a reflection of your health!!!

22. I am thankful for all those people and all those organizations that trust me to undertake and execute volunteering opportunities, be it religious, cultural, literary or otherwise. Volunteering adds a new dimension of fulfillment and blessings to my life. I am thankful to my family for giving me the freedom to volunteer, even if it means little sacrifices they have to make. The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others!!!

23. I am thankful for all those that fought for "Freedom of expression" for everybody and made it a reality. It is the best freedom one can ask for. Laws alone cannot fully secure freedom of expression; in order that every man express his views without fear of penalty, there must be spirit of tolerance in the entire population!!!

24. I am thankful to all those that taught me the difference between "Friends" and "Acquaintances". Call yourself what you like vis-à-vis me, but even in those life lessons, I am richer for knowing the difference and guess what?, I appreciate it. Acquaintances we meet, enjoy, and can easily leave behind. But friendship grows deep roots. Friends are forever!!!

25. I am thankful for giving me "Religion:" so I stay rooted. I am grateful for practicing my religion and the freedom to do so. I am thankful for belonging to a religion that is a "way of life". I am grateful for the tolerance in our society and in my life for differences in religion. The purpose of religion is to control yourself, not to criticize others!!!

26. I am thankful for centralized air conditioning. I truly am. Without it my summers would be less pleasant and my winters unbearable. No pleasure, no rapture, no exquisite sin greater than...central air!!!

27. I am so fantastically thankful for bewildering "Books" in my life. My constant companion since a tender age, my deepest gratitude to my wonderful Appa for investing in them for me. I am always reaching out for a book. Biggest fan of libraries in the world. If you ask me about what is my absolute favorite thing to do for myself I would say either buying a book or reading a book. I have to read when I eat. I have to read when I am sad. I have to read when I am happy. I...HAVE...TO...READ. Why can't I just read every day all day!!!

28. I am so thankful for my children, I am also tremendously thankful for after school care providers. As a working mom, these angels come to my mercy all the time, providing trusting, loving care of  the two most precious possessions of mine. It takes a big heart to help shape little minds!!!

29. I am thankful for the spectacular divine for providing a roof over our head, clothes on our back, food on the table. I know we are richer than most people for having these things and taking them for granted. There is always a blessing to be thankful for. The ones you are aware and the ones you are not. Be grateful everyday!!!

30. Last but not the least, I am truly, sincerely thankful for the startlingly difficult people in my life. They have shown me exactly who I do not want to be. Difficult people are the greatest teachers.!!!

As I express gratitude, I am reminded that the highest appreciation for all that I am thankful for is not to merely utter the words, but living by them. Looking forward to another year with plenty to be thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.