Petrichor

First sight! Definitely NOT love  It has been raining almost continuously for the past 2 months. The ground was saturated and could take in no more. I found myself looking up to the sky and wondering what's wrong? It doesn't seem right. This kind of weather in Calgary? Everything was so green that it should've been Vancouver. Most people(almost the entire population) who live in Canada have a vitamin D deficiency. I am one among them. So, the Sun being absent is noticed. Missed. Even if it is for a day. The trees in the middle is what remains of  Princes Island Park As it is, we get nice weather for 6 months in a year. I wasn't ready to part with 2 more months.  We live farther away from the river. In fact, until people called/emailed to check on me(thanks all) I wasn't even aware of the flooding situation. The part of the city I live in has more open area. If the rain stopped for 2 hours, the road dried up. I had no idea that all that storm water...

This Summer is spelt and felt in Vancouver, BC for the family. It is a crazy land. Hippie land. water-land. Hope land. Ridiculously beautiful land. Many more positives hold good here. The city is so close to my perception of San Francisco, only better. I have never seen this city with more grateful eyes. But my first view of Vancouver was not this great. If Vancouver is the big city, Calgary is the quaint, faint town/village. And it definitely felt so the first couple of days. My being was filled with thoughts at the first sight of homeless people. Where did they come from? Are there such people here too, in Canada? The freeze-to-death winter in Calgary probably made them non-existential there. And it took me this city to realize that I had settled down in my own world(with my own idea of it, of course)...in just over 2 years!!! I found myself looking in all directions. I had no clue where I was. Not to bother what I was doing here. I was everything from resistant to suspiciou...

I have not been hibernating. Trust me. On the contrary so much has been happening in life, my life, our life that I am at loss of what to write about. Should I write about incredible Canada, where every corner I look shows me a family from a country so far away? Should I write about our travels, our recent road trip to Alaska which has changed me unlike any other road trip? Should I write about Munira , S's pre-school teacher, who goes to India to volunteer with organizations & sets up montessori schools there? Should I write about how S is teaching me every single day to be a mother? Should I write about how grateful I've been feeling about my parents lately for they allowed me to be ... just me? Should I write about the joy I have when I see my school? How so many emotions are tied up with that second home? I could pour my heart out & still barely scratch the surface. I feel blessed. To have all these people in my life, I currently have.

Point Reyes. Pacific coast. The famous 101. Golden Gate. San Francisco skyline. The sequence of what I saw as I landed into this country. Familiarity. Smile. I know places like the back of my head and it sure felt like home. Home for 7 wonderful years. Even in my wildest dreams I did not think I would find myself in SFO and someone would pick me up. It seemed surreal. Too good even for a story. I am probably creating drama, but this city brought back memories. Sadhguru's Shambhavi Program & Yantra consecrations! I did not think what I'd receive being here. I just came. I could not be anywhere else. And what I have received is more than I even realize right now. Just being in such a space, doing what I could do, in the most efficient way possible that there is no me anymore. That is the best part of being a Volunteer. Each of us do everything possible to make this happen for others, WILLINGLY. There is really no difference between me & others. We all become one with one ...

I owe today's post to Deepak . I was alone at home in the afternoon. Someone knocked on the door. I opened to find some kids. Though soliciting is not entertained in our complex, I somehow did not feel offended seeing them. One of the kids asked me to buy a piece of chocolate for $2 as donation for their school. I did not even think. Just said, "I don't have cash. Maybe some other time". They replied, "oh, okay" and found his way to the next apartment. I locked the door. But something struck me. I looked in my purse to find $20. So, picked up some laundry coins & went back after the kids. Fortunately, I found them. "Found some change", I admitted sheepishly. The boy smiled. "Thank you", he said. The chocolate tasted divine, no doubt. I don't know what made me refuse the first time. I told myself that it was ok(absolutely) to buy something unnecessary for myself. The kid's smile lit up my face. I am still smiling.

Ok! Here's how stupid I got last night. G was working late last night. He came home after I went to put S to sleep. I heard some sound outside & conveniently assumed that G had returned. As usual it turned out that me slept with S. About 2 hrs later I heard some noise, like someone bouncing a ball. Wondering why G would bounce a ball at 11pm, I was wondering if I should get up. Just then G entered the room & whispered, "I came in after 2 hours". Half asleep, I was like, "whaaaat??" Then when I asked him, he replied, "The door was locked from inside. I tried to open since 9pm & came in by 11pm. So went to eat at Tim Hortons. It was yuck! Filled up gas & came home. Planned to sleep in the car but was concerned that you may get worried not seeing me when you wake up". And he said this with no anger or frustration. This taught me a lesson or what... I felt so bad. How more stupid could I get? Could I have not checked the door before I went ...

I've heard so much about this temple. Somehow, I haven't been here even once in 4 yrs. Maybe, its the distance. Or maybe, it was not until late that Livermore temple became commercialized. Our 4th anniversary marked my first visit to Concord temple. It is actually a church converted into a temple. It can be a challenge to find this place, though. In no way it resembles a temple from the outside. In fact, it does not resemble a church either. G had a borrowed Magellan GPS from a friend & he proudly says that he found the temple with the GPS. ahem... It really was not that big a deal of a temple. That was my first impression. A small Vinayagar idol, A decent size praharam that was screened(6pm is marked for Shiva Murugan Abishekam) & a small Amman idol. That's about it. But when they opened the screen & I saw the way the Kurukal(pandit) performed the pooja, I was simply jumping with joy. It was all in Tamil, my mother tongue & he even performed archanai ...