40TH Birthday!

Forty, as per current trend, is the celebration of the half way mark of your life. If you are lucky, as I have been, you are , by the time you hit this milestone, mostly done with the job of growing up. Your insecurities lie in your past, as do your grudges, your confusion about your priorities, and your haziness about which relationships matter, or should. And what takes its place is a searing clarity about what really matters and who really matters, or should. Fortunate as I am about having discovered the ‘what’s’ of my life, I am even more fortunate to have been blessed with several ‘who’s’ that enrich my life. These are the people, who entered my life at various stages – in school, in undergrad, at IIM, at my various workplaces, in the various cities that I have lived in – Nasik, Bangalore,Bangkok, Pune – and then never left. They are the people who have chosen me and who I have chosen as a part of each other’s lives, not because we have a blood bond, but because we share something deeper – a soul connection, a deep friendship, a love that has seen and weathered several storms, and maybe an unconditional acceptance of each other, with all our flaws. When so many of these incredible, warm and generous people, whom I am lucky to call my friends, take the effort and the time – to come down from Bangalore, Delhi, Chennai , Bangkok, Pune, Mumbai, to prioritise my special day in their incredibly buzy lives, I feel humbled by their love. When my family – my husband, my aging inlaws, my daughter – do everything in their power to make me feel cherished, I feel nothing but gratitude to experience their selfless, tireless love. When colleagues at work put toegther a thoughtful special surprise, I feel surprised to deserve their care. And then there are the loved ones who, even as they are unable to be with me in person, make it a point to let me know I am in their thoughts – calling me, sending me video/audio messages, whatsapping me or sending me a personal note – gestures of love that let me know they care. Life, I know by now, is filled with searing highs, sweeping lows, and lots of blah days in between. The infinite big and small gestures of love I have experienced in the last three days – make these, by far the most cherished, memorable, days ever. These are indeed the best days of my life.