Ms Preeti Shenoy, the author of 4 bestsellers ( 'The Secret Wishlist' being the fourth), who is also an avid blogger ( she blogs
here), is hosting TOUCH Thursdays, where every thursday, she's giving out funny, quirky prompts for us to blog about. (TOUCH is what her new book is : The One YoU Cannot Have ).
The first prompt in this series is
If I could have anyone I choose as my 'forever friend'/ 'life partner' , I would choose...............................................
Well, a very nice topic, to start with.
If I were to choose one of the two, I would choose a 'forever friend'.
And my choice might sound strange to you. I would choose my maternal grandma as a friend I could have forever.
Before anyone concludes that I say this because I'm deeply attached to her and because I want to show off my love for her, let me explain.
We all need a friend in life, don't we ? And we expect that friend to be understanding, caring, loving, sympathetic, empathetic, patient, supportive....all good qualities are associated with him or her.
All this is important, and most of us possess these qualities, though in varying measures.
Most of the time, we bond with those who are similar to us in many ways, don't we ?
But, for me, a friend needs to be more of an inspiration. She should give me the impetus to move forward in life.
And my memories of my grandma, do that to me.
My picture of my grandma is that of a lady clad in immaculate white. She was widowed at an early age, and ever since ,she dressed up in white, without any ornaments adorning her. She managed to hold on to life with the small job she had and raised her children in the best possible way. I've heard from my mother, the difficulties that grandma had to face in her long struggle for peaceful existence, and every time I've found myself weeping at the thought of it. Just the imagination of that sends shivers down my spine, and I wonder how her frail frame stood the agony then.
But I always saw her as a bold woman, ready to take on the world. She earned for herself, and even when she passed away five years back, she had kept aside a certain amount of money meant for her funeral ! This may not sound a great thing to anyone else, but for me as a person, this was inspiring, because it told me how meticulous she was with her life.
I've never seen her cry. Once or twice, on a sudden impulse of indiscretion, I tried asking her about how she faced the trials in life. She brushed aside the topic with indifference, she didn't want to dwell there !
She always gave me the best advice, be it on any matter, when I sought her guidance. All drawn from her own experience !
Now, when I face a difficult situation in life, I imagine I'm conversing with her. I get an answer out of it, nine out of ten times. It might be construed as talking to my own self, but in my own head, it's grandma answering me with her wisdom.
And the realisation, that
nothing can be more difficult than what she had to face in life, gives me courage instantly.
I still feel she's guiding over me.
So if I could have a forever friend, I would want to have her as my friend, now, here.
It is a ' if I could have' wish.....because I know I cannot have her here, in the physical sense.
In the spiritual sense, yes. She's always here. Always.
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I'm sharing below, the TOUCH banner of Preeti's New book, The One You Cannot Have....
