A Good Year!

As I was looking at the calendar today I realized how time flies. And as usual, I drifted into the thoughts of the year that passed by. Memories, events, mundane things, exciting moments, re-unions, new friends, new places…the year was filled with all this, and more. No better opportunity, to jot down all that, than now.

Well, my year started off with a bang, in more ways than one. I was jobless by choice (see the catch), ‘just married’ to a nice guy (you know how difficult that is), and was looking forward to my honeymoon (always wondered why it is called that). I was a ‘one week old new bride’ and was in Palakkad (Kerala), Vinay’s hometown, on the 31st of Dec last year. I always wanted to go to Kerala, especially the backwaters. And that exactly was his wedding gift to me. We took a house boat from Alapuzha to Kumaragam. The beauty, the peace and the simple form of nature, captured in the camera, does not reveal its true self. It is beyond beautiful!

And then came the time for reality. Vinay had to leave to get back to Saudi and I had to wait a little more than 3 months for my visa. I used this time to get to know my in-laws, make a trip to my hometown (Vizag), spend time with my cousins (which I couldn’t do when I was working). But, after a while it started getting to me. Not that I wanted to get out of there, I just wanted to get here to him. After all ‘Home is where the heart is.’

On day one, both of us made a pact never to sleep over a fight. It’s a different story that we did not have a single fight till today. Contrary to what people say, we believe that there are a lot of other ways of making a marriage interesting. Then why fight? Save up the energy for some more laughter.

Inspite of Vinay preparing me for life here I got a major cultural shock. But then I thought to myself, ‘One needs courage, love and commitment to live in a place like this’. Besides, I can always say ‘Been there, done that’ about this too.

I was sure I was going to have a good life with Vinay. Him being a simple, uncomplicated and a focused guy I knew I wouldn’t have to struggle keeping our lives simple. But what I did not anticipate was the amount of humor our lives would be filled with. Even through my PMS he manages to make me laugh and I manage to make him meditate through his PMS (Post Marital Stress…remembering important dates and all that.)

I must admit that I was excited about donning the role of a home-maker. Ofcourse there is quite a bit to do in the house, and then I can, anytime, sit back and enjoy a hot cup of tea without thinking of getting back to my ‘desk’. I learnt lots of new recipes, made some of them, read quite a few books, did a lot of catching up on movies and took lots of un-interrupted naps. Now, is that not a luxury? I learned Malyalam well enough to converse with my malayali neighbor. Made a few friends, saw some new places and ate new cuisines. And above all I learnt never to say ‘never’.

We took a trip to Dubai and had a gala time. The dune bashing, camel ride and the desert camp were a once in a life time experience. The Lebanese food is rich and bland with a variety of salads. Bahrain is another place we have been to. Have been there 3 times, over weekends, to get recharged. The last time we went there, we saw ‘Dostana’. How I miss watching a movie on large screen, with popcorn and Pepsi.

Over the year I lost some weight and again put on more than what I lost. Experimented with my hair cutting it shorter than I ever did. For the first time I experienced the temperature above 50 degrees and now below 10 degrees.

One thing that I used the maximum this entire year is Vinay’s laptop. From blogging to chatting to maintaining my calendars and reminders. He probably noticed that I was more dependent on his laptop than I was on him. He said I deserved better and bought me my own. He gifted me a Sony Vaio in Luxury Pink for our anniversary.

On a scale of 1 to 10 I would rate my year a 9.5. Its been a good year for Vinay too. A 9.5 apparently. Stating that, could I ask for more!?!