A small gesture of gratitude....

I have been reading many blogs off late when I feel like taking a break. There were a lot of heart rendering posts about how each individual missed their parents in some way and unfortunately some of them lost their parents too. They all spoke about how they missed telling their dad/mom how much they loved him/her and this feeling of regret of having lost the opportunity to express their deep sense of love and gratitude.

Reading all these posts stirred in me the same feeling. I have not seen my parents for more than a year now, despite living in India for various reasons. My mom's birthday is on the 30th Aug and S and I decided to make a surprise visit to Chennai and of course, I will enjoy all my time with my family and I know for a fact that amma will be thrilled to bits and I cant wait to see the expression on her face. I am soooooo looking forward to it.

I talk to my Amma everyday and in all the excitement, I dont really talk to Appa much, unless we have something important to talk to each other about. Of course, it doesnt mean that I love him any less....it is just the way we are! It is Appa's birthday on the 18th September and even if I would love to extend my stay in chennai till then, my office would decide that I might stay there for as long as I want!!!! :D

So I finally came up with this brilliant idea ( So i think! lets see if Appa likes it!) of writing a letter to him about all my memories of him as a kid and what I feel about him and what an awesome dad he is to me. I finished the letter and showed S and he thinks its really touching and wishes we have kids who feel the same way about us! ( I think that's a good enough reaction!) . I have inserted some pictures of me and Appa in between and plan to make it little fancy and get creative. I improvise on it everyday. Once I am done, I plan to print it out on a photo paper and give it to him. I know appa and am sure he will cherish this more than any material gifts I can give him.

I feel damn good about it and I am happy I will not have regrets as far as my parents are concerned with this small little gesture! :-) Life is short and it is important to let your loved ones know how much you love them at every opportunity. As I see relationships fail all around me, I am very grateful to God for all the lovely people in my life and the unconditional love I receive. GOD BLESS!!