Saturday, November 08, 2008

Abbondanza Di Amore

It's very nice to think that a week from now I'll be visiting my loving husband back home in Chicago. We have a lot of work ahead of us as the holidays near, and it will simply be great to be back in his arms and enjoy some quality time.

On another rambling note... I'm not a fashionable person (newsflash). I'm not big on jewelry, I avoid the mall like the plague, and I generally get excited about a sale only when I've sufficiently worn out my entire wardrobe (which still contains items from - *gasp* - adolescent years). Call me sentimental, call me frugal, call me a homebody. All are undeniably true.

There are two things I wear every day no matter what, and those are my wedding rings (engagement and wedding bands) and my mangalsutram, which remind me of the joy it is to have someone so special in my life, even though we are far apart.

I get a lot of time to think, while I'm alone. I was looking at my engagement ring this afternoon, as I do so very often, and one word comes to mind: ABUNDANCE. Yes, it is a beautiful ring and has its material value, but in truth I am referring only to the abundance of love that I can feel behind it. I look at it and I am reminded of how much love my husband and I have, and our families for us and us for them. There is so much love to go around in this marriage, which our wedding priest pointed out and called us to share it. Sure at the moment we might have been thinking about a stray cat (sorry, but it's true). But we also knew it meant something much more.

I remember one time early in our engagement, when we were apart (Naveen had moved to Florida and I was working as an art director at CVC over a thousand miles away) - my dad was driving me to work on a crisp fall morning. We were on our way - except - we didn't get far past our driveway before I demanded we go back. I had forgotten to put my ring back on after my shower that morning. For a minute he paused, thinking surely I can get past this slip of mind for one day. But I couldn't. I needed that reminder on my hand. I so badly needed that connection to my fiance so many miles away, I couldn't go a whole day without wearing it. My dad (who, incidentally hasn't worn his ring in years) was surprised that I was so attached to it, but upon seeing my devastation at forgetting it, he happily turned around and I ran upstairs to get it. It speaks to me, revealing the abundance of love that we have, and alongside my wedding ring and mangalsutram, I can not let my loneliness overcome me. I know we will soon have our jobs and home life figured out, if we just take the time and effort to make it happen.

Meanwhile, more rambling. And this one's for mom, who gets a kick out of random status messages. Here goes: I love my job. I love my life. I love the beautiful colors of the leaves this time of year and how they all fall to comfort my steps like a red-golden carpet on my 45-minute walk to and from work every day. I love dark chocolate and caramel and vibrant dark purple anything. I love children that have a thousand and one questions about everyday things. I love it when a person's face changes from puzzling frustration to sheer compelling joy because they've solved some kind of problem. I love blankets and pillows and everything cozy. I love pens so much more than pencils but I love typing even more because it's so fast. I love how taking the time to think about these things never fails to disappoint, and always helps to keep a childlike pattern of affirmative thinking. And now, I must remind myself that I love sleep - and I bid you good night.

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