A quarter of a brand new year is over; almost. Yet, it seemed the shortest month of the year, was the longest. Simple ironies of life, you see. February reared its wicked head at me in more ways than one. But instead of bludgeoning it with the defeatist question, “Why me?” I looked it straight in the eye and said, “Try me!”

You Lose Something, You Gain Something: Losing a parent, I realise is the hardest thing. But when you have a circle of friends and family standing by you rock solid, holding your hand, the pain just dulls a bit. Though, it never goes away. It just doesn’t cut through your being like a sharp sword, leaving you impaired for life. In our moment of grief we had phone calls, and messages pouring in from various people, including those we had lost touch with; reminding us of all the wonderful memories they had shared with our beloved Ma. Some friends and family travelled cities to come visit us and cheer us up. I’m thankful for the beautiful memorial service we had as part of our Soka Gakkai Buddhism practise, to celebrate a versatile soul and a life well lived.

Health: A bout of cold and cough caught me off guard and I’m glad I took the decision to go meet dear Doc (a friend too), and tests revealed there were a few deficiencies. Nothing that could not be sorted with supplements and a diet. Though the bout prolonged beyond those few days, as I stopped having the medicines half way through. But I’m glad I re-started them, and have now, in the month of March taken her advice of putting together a food journal. This journal will help her track whether I’m eating the right or not. In my head, I mostly eat healthy with an aberration here and there of sweets and eating out sometimes. I’m to keep up this journal for 10 days and then my doc will help me plan a food chart.

Another dear one afflicted by ill-health in the month of February was my four-legged daughter of 12 years, Cotton. It’s uncanny how she fell sick during Ma’s last days. She had an unexplained connection to Ma and would never leave her side when she came to stay with us. Cotton kept getting high temperature every week-105 C. The cycle repeated again after I had written this post, hoping she was on the mend. Her haemoglobin and platelets were alarmingly low. The doctors suspected the worst. But we kept our fingers crossed, prayed hard and took her diligently to the vet for her drips, till finally since last week she has been fine, minus any fever. She is back to her active self, and become one greedy girl, always ready to grab a bite. So, far so good. Touché.

Fitness: My fitness goals suffered owing to my ill-health and travel, but March promises to be different, as I returned with a bang towards the end of February. Managed to do my strength training classes all of last week. I also clocked a 48 km ride to Qutub Minar, just yesterday with the cycling gang and a school friend. Just that now I need to be watchful of what I eat, by not bingeing on sweets which I had done most of February. Paying a price for that by being 2 kilos overweight, but determined to knock that off soon.

 

Art & Culture: I’m immensely grateful for a few art and culture events that kept me ecstatic and joyous in the month of February. The outstanding displays at the India Art Fair, a Sufi concert by the Nizami Brothers of Rockstar and Dargah Nizamuddin fame and watching the splendid, live performance of Mughl-e-Azam, the musical play.

Gifted Children: My nine-year-old showed immense self-reliance and responsibility by preparing for her upcoming final exams, mostly on her own, as I kept busy or unwell most of February. I’m so proud of her dedication and determination. My nineteen-year-old had a sudden debacle at college and dropped out late last year. In February she signed up for a three-month long, Raghu Rai photography course and took up an internship as a content writer in his photography magazine, Creative Image. I hope she is able to utilise these wonderful opportunities that have come her way. After all she managed to get the internship on her own steam. We worry for her, but hopefully the lights will guide her home.

I believe the winter of our life will always transform to a bountiful, blessed spring. Share on X

Blooms and Bounty of Greens: I’m grateful for the blooms that have been covering the landscape of our locality right through the month of February till now. Spring is such a beautiful season. Perfect weather, heralding new beginnings with renewed promises. Our terrace garden nurtured by my DH has given us a bounty of spinach, rocket leaves, lettuce, methi, kale, pakchoy, celery, lemons, tomatoes and we also have a bunch of Carnations blooming amidst the kitchen greens. In our holy book Gosho there is a passage that reads, “Winter always Turns into Spring.”

 

I believe the winter of our life will always transform to a bountiful, blessed spring. After all winter does not tarry backwards and turns into Autumn, it always transforms into a Spring of good fortune and blessings.

Despite February lending me a frosty shoulder now and then, I believe I managed to transform my ill-fortune into good fortune each time. Notwithstanding, challenges will continue to greet me time and again, but I’ll give them a fair fight with my head held high. Amen to that!

 

 

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Linking up with the super ladies; Corinne, Mackenzie and Vidya.