Not much to say about this one except there’s a happy close to the story and the love of a great dog for which #iamgrateful and #iamthankful
Tag Archives: love
RAYA or EYES ON CARS IN CARS
in 2006, Disney release Cars. It was a triumph. John Laseter for all his faults and just misogynistic approach to everything, was still considere a genius then.
One thing he did was true first principles.
What I remember is before Cars, everyone a Car in any animated effort, was humanized, the headlights were the eyes.
They made send and were a cute hook. But they failed to give the cars fuller life.
Laseter shunned that. The windshield became the eyes and it took Cars to new levels. It also eliminated what was so much u used space that otherwise detracted form bringing cars to life.
With RAYA, which we enjoyed, I feel like Disney and Awkwafina have reimagined dragons (instead Imagine Dragons reference here).
And for what animation brings to life and then reimagines, #iamgrateful and #iamthankfulAlso, tell me when Jaanu stops doing this when we sit together. So I can prepare my heart for it.
My life will never be the same the day his instinct is to let go not hold on. Never.
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NUMBLY FEELING EVERY SENSE or NEW EDITION WITH JOHNNY GILL
I
Can still
Smell, Feel, Hear, Taste, See this rain.
Smell. Because you always smell rain first. Petrichor.
Feel it lightly thwacking at my forehead, forearms, balcony railings, pavement.
Hear it set a steady percussive backbeat to our descending flights of stairs
Taste it.
If you smell, you soon thereafter, taste. And everything in India ends up rolling Uber your tastebuds and landing in your lungs.
See it. Through balcony windows at every turn only to stop and cease FULLY as you emerged…as we emerged with you.
I
Can still
Sense
This rain.
And no, Johnny, not for a second, could I stand it. I took it. I had to. But I couldn’t stand it.
#iqmgrateful and #iamthankful that I can close my eyes, or catch a waft of chemistry before rain happens, and let myself be carried all the way back to carrying you. The only time I ever carried you.
Filed under #iamgrateful #iamthankful, daddy
THOUGHTFUL, SURPRISING GIFTS or THE RULE OF (TWO) AND THREE
Over the last week or so I received three random packages, unexpectedly and based on nothing more than the generosity of three people who thought of me randomly, and sent something my way.
The best gifts are these kinds of little things, sent from afar. A reminder that you’re in people’s minds or at least, that you cross them in surprising and thoughtful ways.
And that they think enough of you to go the extra mile, to buy, to package, to transport across borders, and to ship your way. It speaks more to the people I’ve come across than to the person I am. I believe that. Because it’s stuff like this that just adds her fuel to my day, my hope, my faith, in all the good people and only people can make possible.
#iamgrateful and #iamthankful to Amit MasaunDavid Sudolsky and my cousin Chandni (not on FB) for this assortment delivered legally via planes, trains, automobiles and local couriers.
I love The Rule or Three; today I am excited about the rule of three being fulfilled in twos. How beautifully powerful and symmetrical.
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CHEEK TO CHEEK or THE BEST PART OF SHAVING
Ain’t no thing today but that cheek thing today
I shaved. Anaiya came home.
She couldn’t stop smiling and giggling while we talked about her school day.
She just kept staring at my face and smiling and giggling in her best way.
Then, finally, she stopped her story mid-thought; and grabbed my face and pushed her cheek against mine.
#iamgrateful and #iamthankful for the few hours between when I shave and when my face gets prickly again.
And … for this girl. My magic. This is a rotating week where she’s home by 3. Which means my hugs start in earnest and 3:01. The best part of this whole darned world happening as it is, is stuff like this.
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COLORBLIND SHOPPING or PAPERBAG JEANS AND FLARES
I love shopping. But I hate shopping for myself. When I go for me it’s strictly DSW or TJMaxx or Target (with the occasional splurge at Kohl’s when I need a new suit).
I love shopping for my kids. But maybe the person I love shopping for the most is my wife. Because she hates shopping and I think she looks awesome in lots of things she’s never try on herself.
It’s why I get retargeted in a way that makes me believe adtech companies think I’m a 35 y o woman. Today I stumbled upon this and I’m kind of ready to dive into some paperbag jeans or flare for her as we head into the Fall.
#iamgrateful and #iamthankful for adtech and a beautiful wife who trusts my colorblind judgement.
https://crossroadstrading.com/5-trendy-denim-silhouettes…/
Also, to one of the loves of my life, #boom
Filed under #iamgrateful #iamthankful
TYMMPB… | You’re the Best in the History
I don’t remember the first time you said it. I do remember hearing it for the first time; and going absolutely bonkers.
We were doing yoga in the morning during the early days of COVID-19 and as we sat and talked about what the day held, what was going to make us happy, what was going to get in the way of our happy, what was going to be fun, and what was going to get in the way of our fun; in the midst of that logical juxtaposition of what you want, what you control, what gets in the way, and of that, what you control, somehow we stumbled upon “history”.
Your sister spoke first. And as her usual, eloquent and loquacious self, found a way into a spotlight where there wasn’t one, and then proceeded to find a way to own it.
What were you going to do? You were still a couple months away from knocking on 4’s door and here she was, the love of your life, your role model, choosing to go first in expressing her gratefulness in the morning leaving you to follow?
Was that even fair?
Do they have Mike Birbiglia open for someone who’s trying standup for the first time? You know?
She wasn’t better by design; only by years. At this stage in your life she’s got 50% more experiences than you do. It’s not reasonable to have you follow.
You let her roll. But your lips started turning up at the corners.
And when she finished, you dropped your greatest line and now the way I plan to talk going forward in celebration of amazing things always:
“The best in the whole history.”
It’s so perfect.
It encapsulates you.
It’s succinct. Never take 12 words to say what you can say in 6.
It’s powerful. Never leave doubt on how you’re feeling at the moment.
It’s uniquely generous. Never just give, give in a way people haven’t experienced before.
It’s memorable. Never be forgettable, by choosing to be, say, and do things in unforgettable ways.
It’s sincere. Never fake anything. Ever.
It’s on your sleeve. Never wear anything in your heart or mind, that you wouldn’t wear on your sleeve too.
I love you. You are my absolute and undeniable homie.
I’ve never felt so comfortable expressing my love to someone. Even your sister, at some point, is like “Buhboo, you can’t love me this much!” But you? Naw’man. You? You escalate. When I tell you that you’re the best kid in the world.
Well; you tell me I’m the best buhboo in the history.
A few hours ago you were three; now, at this moment, you’re four. Even you’re reading changed from yesterday to today!
You will never be three to you again. But I want you to know, to me, you’ll always be …
…a little bit of you at one…
…a little bit of you at two…
…a little bit of you at three…
…a little bit of you at four … and I’m so excited to learn about what that means.
The world. We included. Did a lot to you this year. You switched schools a few times. You moved from your Nana and Naniji’s comfortable daily love to a new home without them. You faced COVID-19. You got scratches. And bruises. On your face, your arms, and dare I say and admit, your heart.
You had people debating you when you weren’t there to be.
But every single day I look at you and I’ll say, man, given what the world and we included have thrown at you, you’re so…damn…good.
We owe you more and we owe you better.
People rise and fall to the expectations you set for them, son.
You’ve called each of us the best in the history. It’s our job to rise to that level and I’ll tell you, we’re getting after it.
As for you? Today You Make Me Proud Because of how real you are; and how wonderful you can make the world feel. You have a gravitational pull that isn’t based on mass (that’s me).
As you step into 4 and build on what’s before, I am so proud of who you are fighting to become every day; and I’m more excited about the kid I’m going to be talking about going into 5.
I love you, homie. You truly are incomparable; you are the greatest son in the history.
PS: This year I made you gummy animals for your birthday treat; the ones filled with NERDS are INCREDIBLE! We even made you a dragon one as a primer for How to Train your Dragon: The Hidden World!
But going back to that whole “best in the history” thing we were talking about; you see, 3 days ago you woke up one morning, and when we were getting ready for breakfast you did this dance asking me for gummy bears.
Yeah. Gummy bears.
What’s funny is 2 days earlier I had decided I was going to make you Gummy Bears, ordered all the stuff, and it was on the way.
So I am wicked happy you’re going to have Gummy Bears on your birthday, homie.
And even moreso, that you proclaimed your craving for them while wearing a shirt that would have made JJ happy in pursuit of the Goodest of Times.
But, I’ll tell you, I’ll be as busy as a one-legged cat in a sandbox if one of the greatest moments in my history as a Buhboo (aka father), isn’t the fact that I tapped into your Gummy Bear longing days before you did …
…and then delivered on it.
We got 2020, homie. We got it; because we got each other.
I love you. And all you’re becoming. And all you’ve been.
Filed under #TYMMPB..., Uncategorized
JUST WATCH or JUST WATCH
If you aren’t a blubbering mess after watching, watch again. #iamgrateful and #iamthankful for moments like this, captured.
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APOLOGIES AND FORGIVENESS LOVE COMPANY or YOM KIPPUR
One of the things organized religions do well are setting aside specific days for important and healing moments. Where rituals turn from service to some higher power to interaction courtesy and respect to the highest power IMHO, the people we live and live for.
As we sit in the heart of Yom Kippur, I’m inspired by the day. There is so much to the ritual of Yom Kippur as I understand it (an outsider) that puts me in position to do my own apology: if I’ve done anything to hurt or offend you, I apologize. If I can make it better, let me know and I assuredly will. It’s not just Yom Kippur, as Sanskrit has also taught us and as my Jain family knows too well with Paryushan and DA’s Lakshan. Which goes back to the original point of many faiths, cultures and religions getting something like this right.
FWIW, the apology is as much about the words (many say that’s the easy part but that isn’t true or more people would do it more often; and also, the hardest step is the first, shifting energy from potential to kinetic so I argue that leading with the words often enables momentum against the sincerity of the apology and ultimately, the resolution.)
Yom Kippur is the holiest day for a reason. My favorite part is when people share their apologies in the group; and what happens next sounds magical: the group leans in and shifts the context from the individual apologizing to the group absorbing ownership. From “I did this” and “I apologize” to “we did this” and “we apologize”. Sins, errors, mistakes—are communal. It’s the highest form of one of my favorite guiding principles, civic responsibility and the social contract.
I can’t think of a more beautiful moment inspired by faith, than that. Anywhere. And #iamgrateful and #iamthankful for the nudge, reminder and space.
So if you are apologizing. And I love you (so many of you I do), then as someone who loves you I say the burden is mine too. Share the weight of your known and unknown regrets; because as my Jewish friends have taught me in the past 24 hours, apologies and forgiveness love company in a way more inspiring way than misery.
What’s best about these days of forgiveness? You need not follow this faith or any faith to participate. Which is why I’m participating. You can too.
If you owe an apology. Or if you acknowledge we make mistakes that we never see; embrace the moment. We’re with you. And for those formally embracing the day, may your fast be easy.PS: As a fan of slow jammy 80s covers, I thought sharing this would be WAY better than sharing a Bieber hit:
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FINDING HOPE AND FRIENDSHIP IN COMMENTS or HATE HAS NEVER CHANGED A MIND
I stepped away from Facebook for a while; two years ago I took my friends on FB down from I think a couple thousand (+) to 7. Just family. I almost went deleted it all together but the photos…ahhh, the photos and memories were the best part of it.
When I started coming back online, I promised myself I’d make Facebook the place I wanted it to be. I was going to do more to get back to my #iamgrateful and #iamthankful posts. I got a lot of negativity about these posts, but I also realized through DMs and messages how many people kind of looked forward to them. So I wanted to make this a place that brought me happiness and positive energy (I needed that in spades, especially last year, as I think many of us did).
There are a lot of ways I’ve used FB to get there; but one of the most powerful has been jumping into the comment section of really heated posts and trying to see if I could find common ground with people. And it’s been amazing.
Today was that example; where I saw a woman comment on Joe BIden’s inauguration, and go down a path of slamming him for wanting to defund police.
The discussion we had in the comments was super positive. Even though around us, people were slamming her (and even laughing at me) for how we shared our perspectives.
What was awesome though, was where we ended. Giving each other just a little sprinkle of positivity and hope. That we can find common ground, even the smallest slivers.
When you put enough of those slivers together, you get steps, then stairs, and then, maybe, one day, bridges.
#iamgrateful and #iamthankful for some of the people I’ve met. Who have helped me get past the beliefs they have and into the reasons why. I am hopeful. And of all I know, I know one thing for sure: hate has never changed a mind.
On the day between MLK Day and Inauguration Day, I found hope in what many believe to be the most disappointing part of our virtual world; the comment section.
I found hope, and sometimes even, I’ve found friendship there.
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Tagged as CHANGEOFMIND, COMMENTS, friendship, HATE, kindness, love