Soul Food

It was June 16th. A Thursday. I was staring at the blank canvas of this blog when my adorable son, Sohan, came to hug me and noticed a serious expression on my face. I told him I had been wanting to write for a while but couldn't think about what...He simply smiled and told me to write a poem. A poem on happiness. How sweet! But the words just wouldn't come and happiness was the last thing I was feeling that day. The temperatures were soaring, a very close friendship of mine was on the outs and I just wanted to go on a really long evening drive...

But a week away does a soul so much good. Especially when hotel sheets smell of pure bleach. The smell of sweet dreams to me...endless thoughts of the past, present and future. Like the feeling of staring at the back of an airline seat...where the mind can zone out to perfection. Saloni had a one week STEM camp and our road trip down got us into new music, a new vibe and a much needed break from the everyday.

I read The Economist every hour I could. Listened to new dance songs. Hung out with my sister from Bombay who was visiting my niece in Miami. Seeing them all was just awesome. Visited my best friend Shivani in Boca. Yup...lots of driving, music and sightseeing...yes!!! All the talks about life, marriage, kids, business, errands, food, life again, immersed my mind. Drenched it with color and more. Something about the balmy Miami air took me back to Bombay. Even the architecture was reflective of India.

Then I met en elderly couple from Bolivia. I was waiting for the elevator as we started talking at the hotel. They were searching for a bus to take them to a mall. I was en route to meeting my sister at the mall, so I offered them a ride. I felt so blessed to have had the chance to do something like that. They were ever so happy to get out of the hotel - she was a teacher visiting the University for a class and he was a physician. It was like taking my own parents out - they were so loving. A few days later, I met their son who came down from D.C. - he thanked me and said gestures like that are unheard of these days...so he was happy we had met. Life had meaning again. Life felt sweet.

And Woody was with me. My new car companion. A VW that just has cuteness written all over it.

While suitcases waiting to be unpacked are staring at me, I am ready to head for bed with all the lovely conversations I had. The phone calls on the way down and the way back up to friends and family were not rushed for a change, thanks to how long the drives were! My 7-day sabbatical from Facebook made for more face time with my kids and more importantly, myself. My husband arranged for Marlins - Cubs tickets so we had awesome seats at a baseball game.

It's here. It's life. Good night.