Unique Times

I celebrated early with my dear friend Nila!

Festival of lights, where everyone comes together for fun, food, dancing, 
honoring Lakshim; The God of wealth.

Coins, painted decorations, sparklers and candles and sweets, bless the occasion, 
To remind us, Light wins over darkness and blesses us with wealth monetarily and spiritually. 

And what a special time it must be in the villages tonight at a distance, celebrating Kamala, our Vice President Elect!  

I raised my kids in Unity, a non denominational Christian faith where my husband and I taught Sunday school every week.
We celebrated all religions and faiths everywhere in the world.  In true form, most religions are pure of heart.
So it’s special to me to honor all of my friends everywhere on the globe,
In whatever faith they are, to show my respect to them and honor their faith. 

On the first day of Hanukkah I always make potato latkes and have chocolate gold coins with a menorah and a dreidel of course, to honor my jewish friends with such a rich history. We always celebrate Greek Easter, to remind my kids of their Heritage. Even though I just have the name and they are a very small percentage of Greek. They on the other hand, will tell you, they’re 50 % since they relate so much to the culture, even though they are probably more English and Swedish than anything else.  But when we flew to Athens to meet the relies, I quickly adopted the heritage, because they couldn’t be more loving and hospitable and I adored them all.  Everyday is to be celebrated and holidays make us stop and appreciate the short time we have on earth. 

I am a Wannabe Indian, says my friend who moved  here from India when she was 12, and has became a US citizen shortly after that.  

She can’t celebrate on Saturday because she’ll be having a low key night she says.  I’m thinking “what kind of Indian are you?” And I tell her as much, but what the hey, I can post it on my Fun Friday, so it’s not all bad.  But then, when she tells me, “I’ll bring pizza and tea and get there at 5:00”,  I put my foot down.  To let her off the hook a little, she does cook Indian food about 4 nights a week but come on, this is Diwali!  She often says, “You’re more Indian than me now”. 🤣. A few years ago when we celebrated, she was in awe of how many candles I had lit.  I light candles everyday to remind us of our impermanence  on the planet.  When the light goes out and it will, I want to go out knowing I have lived my life to the fullest with no regrets.

The other thing I was so excited about was the arranged marriages I am working on from afar; 😭.  You know who you are and I now have a waitlist too. Hahahahaha.  So there’s that and the promised Sari, I told you I would wear at the wedding.  Well, here’s a little sneak preview.  

The only problem with borrowing a Sari from your 5 foot friend who’s skinny as a rail when you are 5’5 and no part of you is skinny is, how will that work?  She assured me all would be fine but when we started trying them on, I seriously couldn’t even put an arm in one of the sleeves of the blouses. I thought “how are we going to get this sorry ass in a Sari”?

The best part was when she put her blouses on she couldn’t hook the front either, so I didn’t feel as bad. She wore them for weddings in India 6 years ago and was shocked.  We were devastated but all we could do was laugh.  The Covid 15 had hit us.  Well, not 15 but let’s face it, when you’re a skinny mini, 5 pounds makes a huge difference.  

So after we had her delicious chai tea and lentils and rice she made, I broke out the champagne and Roti, Chicken pasanda, lamb curry, samosas etc. we made a toast to Lakshim and numerous other things;  the end of Covid, a vaccine, blessings to our world and kids, family and friends. 

She gifted me The Bhagavad-Gita which she barely read a page but has sweet memories of her Dad reading it everyday.  I’m always in awe of her stories, her village and how brilliant she is.  I asked “why do you know so much more about a country I was born in, than I do” and she says, “because I had to know and you grew up here”.  She always gives me a pass and educates me without making me feel bad which inspires me to learn more, for which I’m extremely grateful.  I love you dear friend.

She also gave me some beautiful candles and as a joke a can of Gulab Jamun because she works full time and didn’t get time to make them fresh🤣 since she knows how much I love them.  I secretly went to the India restaurant  and got 2 fresh ones, I didn’t tell her about it because I knew she wouldn’t eat one, especially after our sari fiasco. 😭.

We danced a little after to Indian music and had a ball.  I do not for the life of me, know how you dance in a Sari but she assures me pinning it up, makes all the difference in the world.  

Then I surprised my son and his girlfriend to a romantic dinner when they got home and left her a dress to wear.  What a beautiful bride she will be and hopefully, I will be calling her my daughter in law someday. Fingers crossed but no pressure sonny boy.  Hahaha! 

Have a wonderful Diwali whether you celebrate or not, light a candle to Lakshim and our Indian friends to show our respect and because we all need more light to combat the dark night. 

My girls are coming down tomorrow night (all but my baby who’s in N.Y. 😢 but see you soon) and we will be celebrating my husband’s birthday AGAIN. The birthday that never ends, and they will get in their Indian Garb. We will toast and dance the night away on Diwali because as you remember, they ALL love a dress up party and a celebration.

Wishing you a lovely day full of grace and love, wealth and abundance as you celebrate safely at a distance with a lot less people.  

Big Hugs and always light,

❤️

Cindy

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