He’s been rocking a fever (up to 103.5 super early this morning/late last night) for a good 12 hours. Was awake from 10:45pm-2:45am. Fighting a fever and something viral. Plus, the way he is going at his gums, we know he is teething. Yet. Sleepless. Infected. In pain. And this is how he acts at 2am. I love this kid.
And #iamgrateful and #iamthankful for the flexibility to just spend time with him on days like today. Lucky me.
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Folks! Looking for recommendations for a great hotel to stay in Cancun. Kids free. In December. My post from a couple days ago highlighted that people like to answer questions and give advice/recs on FB more than just about anything else. Don’t let me down!
#iamgrateful and #iamthankful for the advice coming our way. cc Priya KC BhattDaljit ChadhaDeepal Chadha
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This…is literally all that matters in the world. We look at all the insanity out there and we just try our darnedest to make sense of it. And we can’t. And the problem is…it’s all layers of artifice. Opinions stacked upon interpretations stacked upon assumptions stacked upon baggage.
Which is why life gets hard.
You know when life gets easy?
When you watch this video. And you see Anaiya express just precisely how she feels about one of the most important people in her life. One of the two people who her brother was named after. It’s just pure love.
And it brings out the best in my family and it turns my Dad, one of the purest and sincerest people, the person I know whose heart is most always on his sleeve, the person we know who is unfamiliar, downright allergic to formality and artifice…it brings out the best in him and the happiest in him. We were happy to be there for it. Jaan made it pretty far. 
But on the eve of Dad’s Birthday, Anaiya hung out quite late and is about to make her way to bed.Guess who she is sleeping with?Dadaji and Dadaji.Game, set, match. On love and life.#iamgrateful and #iathankful for all of it.
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Long post about Satinder Chadha.
Get in on Mom C. Anyone who knows me worth a lick knows that my mom is responsible for (any of the modest) good I have done. Not only am I grateful or thankful to her, I am eternally humbled and indebted.
My mom is the world. And I am blessed because my extraordinary wife Priya KC Bhatt sees it and benefits from it too. But one person blesses me on the next level. My “mother-in-law”. Drop the in-law. She’s Mom.
She is a blessing. She is a Nani for the ages. She is a mom who made my wife so incredible. And gave these kids an amazing Mamu in Deepal Chadha. Undeniably through the amazing partnership with Daljit Chadha.
She is a second mom to one of the most special people in my life, my sis Anu Kiran. But also my sisters geographically removed who ALL love and adore her (Sapna Bhuta McCarthy, Anuja Silady, Rakhee Bhatt, Chand Knee). She is an adorable, loving Aunty to everyone I know.
She is the heartbeat of our daily family life in a Edison: She is more than glue, she is fuel.
We have benefitted ungracefully from her love and generosity for 8 months as invaders of her home. All she has done is loved, embraces, helped, cooked, supported. CRUSHED.
Today she is on a flight to India. Where for one of the rarest moments in he life she gets to focus on herself. She goes to spend time with family.
I wish her all the lifetimes of happiness. She has earned all of it. The best compliment and twist to this story?
Brings the story back to my Mumma, Renu Bhatt. Who is happy because I have someone like you, Mom C, to call Mom, too. The person who raised me is the biggest fan of the person who raises us daily, now. She feels doses of bliss everyday knowing I was lucky enough to get you in this awesome package deal.
My Mumma, loves and appreciates my Mom. That’s some next level special love. It’s rare. And that’s my blessing. TBD because you were worth the wait. Mom C. Nani.
#iamgrateful and #iamthankful for you. Have an amazing trip. We will miss you. The photo is a result of what you make possible. We love you. But let’s be clear…I LOVE YOU.
See you soon!!!
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I haven’t spent much time thinking about Barbie, though I am sure a time is coming. Yesterday I heard about this specifically on NPR while also hearing Ibtihaj’s interview. Worth the listen.
The fact that she’s a Duke grad is so many cherries on top. But honestly, a wonderful woman to be featured as a hero because of all she embodies and represents. #iamgrateful and #iamthankful to Mari Kuraishi for sharing this story in her feed as a reminder to me to pass it forward.
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I analyzed all my #iamgrateful and #iamthankful posts. Fascinating stuff.
Humbling stuff.
> 485 posts in 2 weeks short of 2 years
> Basically 3 Months with Zero Posts (12/2016, 2/2017, 3/2017)
> 331 straight posts (ending on 10/2/2016)
> An average of 30 Likes (14754 total), 6 Comment Threads (2962 Total) and 1 out of every 5 posts (86 Total) was shared.
Perhaps best … at some point over the past 2 years, 34 different people made their own post using #iamgrateful and #iamthankful. That’s a nice feeling.
There are some obvious winners. Our post about Jaan’s birth left the rest in the dust. People love our babies, justifiably so.
People love it when we get along. The photo of Michelle Obama hugging GW (which got love from all people on all sides, and gave me hope) had the most shares.
They also love it when we try and get along, but the effort can cause a push and pull. My post asking a favor of everyone who voted for Trump, to lead with empathy, received the same number of shares…but I also lost some friends even by making the ask.
I lost my credibility on 10/2/2016, after the first Trump v Clinton debate and a post I titled “She Lost”. I was angry. I was reading everyone’s comments and I couldn’t believe the side I supported was missing the point: Hillary was losing by not winning. By losing my temper on people, I lost some friends. I lost some self-respect. And I lost credibility.
The average number of people liking my posts dropped by 20%. It doesn’t pay (for me) to lose my temper. Ever. I was also rude. And it still kills me. Hurts me. People also don’t turn to my feed for news or “genius”. Most of my posts with “zero” comments and likes were posts where I thought I was sharing something “smaht”.
I should stop that. I’m not a thought leader about any thoughts other than thoughts about my kids. People turn to my posts to see my family, to see me celebrate other people, and maybe, to pick up a smile. Self-promotion? Doesn’t suit me (nor should it.)FB can be helpful. People like being helpful. Holy hell do people like being helpful. The most comments, outside of Jaan being born, were reserved for the times I asked questions (sometimes 60/70 comment threads, or 2x the average.)And it’s like life in general. The more you are there for folks the more they are there for you. Stepping back from life makes repatriation a little slower.
It was a good exercise for me. I’ve always been aware of what people look to me for (comfort, safety, honesty, and hopefully, support/faith), what they don’t (confidence, genius, intelligence), and when they turn away (when I get passionate, and when I get angry). The analysis above … validates what I’ve known for years. It helps keep me honest about my small place in this world. And my active pursuit of it always brings me back to a simpler place requiring me to find greater context and humility.
I pulled this post together as part of a storytelling exercise. It was supposed to serve the basis for a presentation I was making on Thursday night to 100 people. But that … fell through. For a whole host of gut punching reasons. I am sad about it. But I won’t stay sad about it.
It’s far from a loss in the least. I’m excited to come back to this in a year and beyond. Just like I was able to go back and visit some of my favorites from the past two years. And remind myself of some of my mistakes.
#iamgrateful and #iamthankful for what I’ve learned. Game on.
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This … is amazing. Timing was perfect. I watched it a few times and just lost myself in it. I feel like I’m kind of lost in it now in less of a virtual way.
#iamgrateful and #iamthankful to whoever the hell took the time to bring this to life in this way. And to Sid Shah for sharing it. I’m wiped.
Good night folks.
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‘Nuff said. Denver Central Market. A more intimate take on Reading Terminal or Chelsea Market.
I. Am. In. Heaven.
#iamgrateful and #iamthankful for this being around the corner from the spin class these guys decided to take this morning. I think I made the right call.
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This is what this hotel did with my Smoked Salmon for breakfast.
#iamgrateful and #iamthankful for this tasteful scenery in front of some amazing scenery in advance of an awesome weekend ahead. The next two hours?
Sipping a Basil Hayden, hopping on stage for a few moments to share thoughts, and then off to Denver to celebrate Stephen Kelly turning 40 (finally, sheesh.)
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Tuesday was a powerful step forward. Progress is never linear. It moves in progressive spirals but it always arcs forward. President Trump is part of how we move forward. Tuesday is part of it as well. But if we want to move the whole d@mn thing forward, not a political party but a populace and our people—we have to read and embrace more bleeding heartland.
#iamgrateful and #iamthankful for so much truth.And also to Julio R Dolorico who posted this quote today, that felt like it fit really well with unavoidable progress. Succinct and beautiful. Thanks Julio!“
You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep Spring from coming.” – Pablo Neruda
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Suneet Bhatt 