It’s the end of “Part 1” of our adventures, and I’m back to my official base at my in-laws in Rockford… back to having milk and cereal in the morning… making my lunch, putting away the dishes, cleaning up after myself, and all of it with a tiny bliss of privacy. Yes, it was a novelty to get fresh, hot, delicious breakfast, on demand, arranged on the table and in my plate when I wanted it. But I wouldn’t say I miss that yet, with an odd feel of content when I whip out a quick bite myself and getting a head start for the day, with no one to answer or explain myself to.
We started on this journey with one list of priorities, and ended up with another list of accomplishments which gave birth to a new set of goals. We have no regrets though. I think we were lucky enough to get the chance to be there for my grandpa and mom when they needed it. Though I can never give back the same love and sacrifices they have made for us (my brother and I), just knowing that our decisions directly caused their happiness is gratifying. Being occupied with the family’s health, finances, social obligations and our start-up initiatives, my priority to keep writing went way down the wunderlist (highly recommended app by the way). We did however, manage to make some progress on our ventures/experiments – enough to give us a boost of confidence and excitement for our return on “Part 2” in 2012.
I have a lot to write about – thoughts and experiences, both interesting & strange that I encountered in the political, moral, economic & human points of view during our stay in Hyderabad. Good news is that I won’t be boring you with a book to read right now. I’m saving some of my thoughts to mature a bit, so I can make sure I truly get what I think I know right now.
Anyway, I’m glad to be with the other side of the family now at the time when it matters to them the most – Christmas! It’s not all fun and play for me, as this month is going to be quite hectic with b-school visits, applications, essays, GMAT, and start-up work while trying to do justice to Christmas & New Years eve.
We had a lot of travel planned, as one of our priorities before we left to India was to travel across the country. Well, the only travel we have had together so far is a quick family pilgrimage to Tirupati for a few days before we returned for the holidays. After celebrating Aarna’s (brother’s baby) 1st birthday, we had to make a trip up to the temple to get her head shaved as part of our custom of presenting the child’s first hair to God. So, no travel means limited opportunities to discover my photographic skills. This will change soon, and I’ll have a better game plan to enjoy and share my art. I am also making an open promise to kick up my writing frequency and try to make this more fun for my readers.
Though we’re back in America for a while, I can’t seem to stop myself from the urge of wanting to do something random and erratic. Let’s see what the next thirty days has got in store for us.
P.S. My only gripe is to have missed a solid Hyderabad flash mob… makes me proud!
