Trickling thoughts - Just like heaven

Wanted to type something scene..but the best line i could come up with was this..

Aiyaaahhh...naanum NYC paathuten :)

But this post is dedicated to a very special person and a very special family. Few posts back and in several other posts, i had always mentioned about my fetish for time travel to my happy place. While planning for the trip, it was a happy coincidence that, my friend was staying in a close by town and invited me to her place. To me, more than visiting NYC, the best part of the trip was to meet her family and the time i spent with them.

My friend (SSN) - she had always been one of a kind and surprisingly, she still retains the same persona, even after marriage!! But the astonishingly happier part is that, her husband matches her letter for letter. If at all there are marriages made in heaven, i am sure, their union was solemnised there. One word to describe that family - Heaven. A picture perfect family. En kannay patrum nenakren. Postuku drishti suthi poatukaren :)

Its a world known fact that guys can be in touch maintaining almost the same level of friendship, post marriage too. But thats hardly the case for gals and if the friend happens to be a guy, its almost next to nothing. But SSN was more than a friend. To me she was the sister who was not born into my family. We shared lot of common friends and the tag name for her in our friends circle used to be 'Mom' :) She was so caring and fussy that we used to nag her and trouble her like anything :) When she got married and settled in US many of us felt the void. Phone chats and conference calls could make up for only a few lost bricks on the otherwise huge gap caused by distance. Also, as i said before, post marriage, with gals atleast i feel, there would be an obvious chill in any of their relationships. I had all these running on my mind, when i visited her. She had two kids and i was so terrified of meeting. Yes. The word was terrified. I that badly wanted to create a "good uncle" impression on them :) I was pestering her with what kind of "bribe" i can bring to mesmerise them. But one look at them i was floored. Like their parents, the kids also carried the gene of unconditional love.

What was planned as a one day visit, turned out to be my base camp for NYC. Every night i would walk in, tired to every single bone on my body that was not numb already and the moment i see the kids, i would be magically healed. It was the 3 most refreshing and happiest days of my life. I cherished every single second i spent with them and talking and being with them felt like therapy. SSN had not changed one wee bit and we chatted our heads off till early hours into the morning after the kids went to sleep. It felt as if, the wheels of time had turned back. We reminisced the good old days and surprised ourselves for remembering those silly events even after 5 years :) She was checking out profiles for her sister and was asking me to filter them. I had only one thing to caution her - never ever try to find a match for her sister with her hubby as benchmark. I will tell you folks the reason why for i had purposedly delayed telling about him, savoring the best for the last.

Actually, the truth was, i simply couldnt describe her hubby, VRN, in words. Whenever SSN used to talk about her hubby, she always used to tell how witty and cheerful he is and unlike her tempermental nature, how he always used to be calm. Our friends and myself always thought of it as a happy exaggeration. The very first day at their place proved us wrong and how right she turned  out to be. My colleague who had accompanied me on this trip, had came with me to her place, as he had some errands to run in that town. He went to restroom to refresh himself and the most embarrassing of all situations happened. The toilet flush malfunctioned and in minutes the entire bathroom was flooded with waste water. Me and my colleague are not the fairest of skinned but we turned blood red in shame. If at all there was a top ten awkward moment list, this one topped it all. He was so embarrased, he couldnt bring himself to talk to anyone and i was scared to the core, wondering the scene it would create for my friend.

Enter VRN.

He went inside the restroom and started cleaning it. He politely yet sternly refused to allow us inside and we were equally scared to disagree with him. There was not a single expression of displeasure or anger or discomfort on his face. Even thickest of friends would've shown a bare minimal flush of anger..but this guy..he was quite something else!!! I felt, if a person, can play such a genuine host to the friends of his wife, without ever flinching, i think he is worthy enough to be prayed at. Even for kidding sake, i can never even try to emulate him for even a few minutes. I felt absolutely happy for my friend and her family for this gem of a person. That day just went from better to great, when they arranged for a surprise birthday party. Of all the birthdays i've had so far (not many by the way ;) ) it was the best. I cut the cake with those two lovely kids and when they tried to feed the cake pasting it all over my face in the process, i just didnt knew which was more sweeter - that moment or the cake. I go with the former. I may not have a reference point yet, but i am sure heaven should feel similar enough.

This trip taught me loads of lessons and i could hear the screeching of the wheels of my life taking a sharp yet slow turn. For starters, the long walks across the city helped refreshing my mind and the lengthy chat sessions with my friend made me realise two very important things - it reminded me of the good old times we all shared and took me back to my place of happiness for which i am indebted to her and secondly and most importantly, it made me realise how comfortably and easily people have moved on with their lives. All along I have been searching for the same wave that i surfed years back. While equally if not more happy scenarios have passed right under me, without me ever realising. It felt like as if a load has been released. I realised how lucky i am to have these people in my life and even at my contented best, i would still be deemed greedy by a zillion others.

Mothathula Memorial day trip..semma memorable trip aadichi :)
Memories, as they grow older, gain weight i guess :) I understood that the ticket to time travel is a one time pass for happiness, which i had exhausted to my hearts content in that trip. Here the travel begins, again, towards newer moments and memories to cherish.

Ahoy there, my present day!!