I’ve got my Daddy Shark T-Shirt and it’s killing with the audience here in Edison, NJ. This … truly definitive. #iamgrateful and #iamthankful for Baby Shark.
https://web.facebook.com/latelateshowcbs/videos/271204980182981
Category Archives: #iamgrateful #iamthankful
REMIXED RAIN or CRUTCHES
We distributed your ashes today. There’s so much I want to write and say but I don’t know if I have the energy for it: too much life happening recently.
I do want to share a few things, though.
For example, when we took your body down in India and prepared you for cremation, the sky opened up and refreshed the earth with rain. Quickly. Just while we carried you down. It stopped precisely when we hit the ground floor. Well, today, we took those ashes from that day for distribution. And when we sat in the car, and turned away from our cul-de-sac, our windshield began to be spotted by rain again. Just for the drive. Just for those 22 minutes. It was beautiful. It’s too poetic for me to leave it as a coincidence. Instead, I used it as a crutch for the ceremony. I needed crutches. My knees were ripe to buckle a few times — mom’s face, Tita’s tears…most powerfully when your grandkids were participating. Throwing your ashes to the wind and water. Oh wow. Then. Yes then.
Those rain drops. Ami Chhatna, gave me some strength. It was beautiful to see even Mother Nature bow her head and shed some tears for you.
You’re also, all space and air and memories and legacy now. Your ashes are no longer in our house. That was a crutch for all of us too. It sounds silly. But that box in the house … that was comfort. It’s no more. And that’s hard. That’s really hard, Daddy.
Mom said it. “It’s real.” And she said so much more. Yes, we are going to be fine. But yes, it’s still so hard.
Finally. I wore your shirt today. I shaved this morning. I had my glasses on. And when I saw myself in the car window I startled myself. Honestly. I did a double take. I thought I saw you. And then I looked harder. I saw what looked like a wire hanger holding up your shirt. Hollow. Two dimensional. Empty. There’s so much legacy, love, life, to fill. If I have to be honest, which I have to be, I’m not filling it. I’m just not close to filling it.
You are your legacy longer than you are your self.#iamgrateful and #iamthankful for how you are being carried forward. How people are keeping you alive. How your presence is being maintained even as your person moves More permanently into the past. That’s beautiful. That’s a crutch. When people talk about you and remember you. Those are little crutches too.
I look at all you’ve left behind. Your legacy is incredible. It’s humbling. Mine pales, Daddy. #truth. It’s been a lot to process. But truth is truth. However when you see those grandkids of yours I think the world sees all the best of you carrying forward. That’s also your truth. They are some of the best of your legacy. And that too…is perhaps my strongest crutch. You. In them.
That’s beautiful too.#iamgrateful and #iamthankful for that We miss you, Daddy. It was chilly today. You’d have hated the weather. But loved the day.
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A POSITIVE DECLINE or $1.90/DAY
The 25 year trend is one of the major positives in my own lifetime. More work to be done but #iamgrateful and #iamthankful for the work done so far.
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KICKS or FOOTWEAR MAKES THE MAN
Love these. Period. #iamgrateful and #iamthankful for digital advertising because the best stuff finds me and then, retargets me when I’m silly enough to try and deny it the first time.
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LIFE IS HEAVY SOMETIMES or LOVE NEVER FELT SO GOOD
Love feels good. Life feels good. It does. Yes. There’s so much to do and just…so much to love. I’m good.
I know my last post was heavy. Life is sometimes just heavy. It’s not a bad thing. It’s a life thing. No need to shy away from it. I’ve had a few folks ping me to see if I’m ok. 
I am folks. Always. I’ve always loved writing. It helps me think and process. And FB is the easiest platform to write and think simultaneously.
If WordPress made it this easy to flow and post, I’m sure I’d dive in there but for now, from my phone, this is what I’ve got. As for tomorrow? Why step into the weekend when we can circle slide, kick, and MJ spin, right?
Enjoy this brilliance (and the message is so darned true). #iamgrateful and #iamthankful for you all.
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9/11 vs TUESDAY 9/11 or THE NEW NORMAL
I desperately wanted to make it through today. September 11th.
It’s an eerily odd year because the days (the 9th, the 10th, the 11th) all fell on similar days as they did in 2001. When life synchronizes emotion with progression with time with numbers, things become more real. When September 11th falls on a Thursday or a Saturday it means a lot to me but it does, very honestly, mean a little less than it does when it falls on a Tuesday.
When it falls on a Tuesday my September 11th starts on Sunday. When we grabbed breakfast while watching football. And when we roamed NYC. Or when we caught a friend’s one-man show before hugging on the corner Christopher and West 4th for a “see ya later” … that turned into a “goodbye forever”. I was young then. I’m old as sin now. Forever is way more probable than later. With life happening as fast as it does. Forever is way more possible than later. These days. This year.
F*ck you 2018.All I wanted to do was pour a Guinness down my throat and say goodbye to this Tuesday in September that’s graded on a curve, that’s weighted on a curve.
That’s all I wanted to do. Until I heard your news, buddy. Luke Haseloff you’ll be sorely missed. I called you every time I swapped jobs. We were going to make Jersey City happen (hell, from that email exchange last night it was going to happen in September or October! But it was going to happen.) WHOA was it going to happen. A month away from this birthday. Networking events in full swing….and I guess that’s the problem. It was probably going to happen. It was possibly going to happen. But now it won’t happen, forever. And there’s the rub. Forever is now more likely than possible or probable.
And I hate my new normal. I’m not doing enough to fly in the face of it. 2018 has presented a new challenge what feels like every other week. But as I explained to a friend this weekend who suffered through the tragic death of a loved one — so young, at the peak of life — as I worked through with a friend … I realized, this is our new normal.25 years ago it was sweet sixteens.22 years ago it was turning 21.20 years ago it was graduation.10 years ago it was weddings.5 years ago it was birthdays.
Today. And forever. It’s not possible. It’s not probable. It’s forever.
Today. It’s about remembering. That’s scary as hell. Until you realize it’s not probable. It’s not possible. It’s truth. And when it happens. Your forever is based on what you were. Not what you thought you were. Or wished you were.
Just what you were. My answer: not good enough. Not good ENOugh. TO EVERYONE we’ve lost. To everyone we’re with.
NOT GOOD ENOUGH. As I whack my head against my monitor and my computer screen and my past 10, 15, 20 years.Am I doing enough? For the people I love. Even like?
It’s a simple answer. No. NOT enough. It’s a start. Learn from loss. Learn. From. Loss.
Or it’s just loss. #iamgrateful and #iamthankful for … whatever time life affords me. I don’t have anything else to say. Good. Night. Goodnight.
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WE’RE GOOD or A MOMENT IN TIME
It was a chaotic summer. We brought it to a Close with two amazing family weddings. Couldn’t be happier for seeing two people we love find love. It also gave us a chance to deck the kids out and put on their best. (I’m also super happy with the hairdos I pulled off this weekend — I went “bun” heavy FWIW). They carry their mom’s genes well. #iamgrateful and #iamthankful for the opportunity to catch a moment like this within a moment of wedding bliss. Congrats to both brides, both grooms, all families, and all of you. D@mn. I love these two monkeys.
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THANK YOU or OUR WHY
Thanks for letting us share our story, Pediatric Cancer Awareness 24/7. #iamgrateful and #iamthankful for the opportunity.
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A BOOK REVIEW or THERE’S ALWAYS A WAY YOU CAN MAKE A SITUATION BETTER
I connected with the owner of Pediatric Cancer Awareness 24/7 a short while ago; she read Today’s the Day and today, she posted this incredible review on Amazon…”I love this story.
As a childhood cancer survivor and advocate, I personally know the effects of bullying. I had cancer when I was a toddler, and in middle school, the bullying began. I went home and cried every single day. I couldn’t understand why I was so different (am physically disabled because I came down with viral encephalitis when immunosuppressed and the infection damaged my brainstem, leaving me with cerebral palsy like disabilities) and with the bullying I endured just made it worse.
I couldn’t understand why I was so different and asked my parents to explain it to me over and over. Coming to terms with something you don’t even remember changing you so much is a process, and I finally got to the point where I could see past my own pain to other people’s.
That’s when I decided I wanted to help, when I found out the truth. Childhood cancer isn’t as rare as I was told it was, when it is the #1 cause of death by disease in children. And this book? It’s such a positive story with an inspiring message: no matter how young you are, or how helpless you feel, there’s always a way you can make a situation better, even if it’s just by being a friend or yes, donating your hair.”
It’s moved me in a way I didn’t know was possible. The story, the reason, the inspiration for the book, I thought had taken me to a max level of emotional investment.
But reading this story, and reading this review made me realize that emotional investments have no limit and no cap.
#iamgrateful and #iamthankful for the work we’ve put in at Dream Village, Where Kids Build Better Tomorrows and for the effort that went into bringing Today’s the Day, to life.
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. A perfect time to share this book and the ideas in it with the kids in your life.
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DELIBERATE LEFTOVERS or YOU HAVEN’T LIVED
I love turning day old garlic knots into breakfast sliders. When there’s some leftover bruschetta, well, it’s a game changer. #iamgrateful and #iamthankful for morning inspirations. Enjoy Priya KC Bhatt
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Suneet Bhatt 