We are now officially in the second quarter of the year. March brought many firsts.
- One full year of humans surviving in a pandemic
- One year of many like me working full time from home
- The year that felt it will be like the one before
- You get the drift
In India, until week 1 of March, things were looking up. Vaccines were rolled out for elder and eligible population and it felt like the dark cloud had sailed away. Writing this post today, I know I was wrong and so were many. But hey, the intent of this post is to count what went well in March and list down things that I am grateful for.
So here I go with my list of happy things:
♥ With March, we completed 3 months of familiarizing ourselves with the new house, locality and amenities around. Like you know, after having lived for 10 years in one area/house, moving to a new one isn’t easy. I am grateful that I am adapting well.
♥ At the start of the month, when things were looking up I got back to swimming and that one week was my happy week. To avoid humans, I got up early and would hit the cold water of the pool. I am grateful for that one week that felt normal.
♥ With swimming, walking, yoga and some workouts I was able to hit my workout goal. I walked a total of 79kms in March and Strava is such a good place to track all these. VT wonders why I have to track all these things but documenting these really helps me push forward. I am grateful that it clicks for me.
♥ On the house front, the place now looks ours. My magnets on the fridge remind me that it’s the same us in a new space. Some days I wonder how important some little things are for a sense of familiarity. I am grateful that we have a house now that we can call ours.
♥ Crocheting is taking up my post dinner hours and for that I am happy. Exploring crochet has given me a ton of joy. Without any hullabaloo, I created an Instagram handle for my crochet adventures and my intent is to record some of my creations. I am calling it Dawn to Dusk since that is the time, I really get to crochet. I am grateful to have found a new hobby that makes me happy.
♥ My work laptop crashed one day and that gave me an opportunity to visit the office. I know it’s sad that I couldn’t work for half a day but I was happy that got to go to office to get a replacement. Always grateful for these little joys.
♥ Work has been hectic but good and rewarding. Having a job that fills up the week days with something meaningful is important to me. I am grateful to have an employment in these uncertain times.
♥ Mum retired this month after 32 years of teaching. I am grateful that she spent the day with her friends and Papa. C and I couldn’t be home and that brought a ton of tears but I know it was for the good. COVID has taken away many such moments but it is also firmed up the belief that nothing lasts for ever. Not even this virus!
Amdist all, friends are my family. Spending time and special days with them is important to me. We visited the Gurudwara, befriended Simba who is a friendly Labrador, had a cozy holi dinner, and made the most of what life threw at us. NK invited us to her home and that was yet another lovely evening. The pink Poui flowers in Bangalore brought beauty the city and I couldn’t stop admiring.
I have come to understand that things will not always be good. It is up to us to spin such days into positive days. I am grateful for many such realizations. This April my parents and in-laws got vaccinated and while the cases are rising, I am hoping that people will stay safe and take care of themselves. The governments can only do so much. It is now our responsibility.
What are you looking forward to in April and what are you grateful for?
Linking up with Vidya Sury for Gratitude List, March 2021
happiness and food 
Lovely to see so many things to be grateful for in March! It’s always scary moving to a new area and I’m glad to hear it’s going well. Also glad to hear your parents and in-laws have been vaccinated. I heard the cases are rising again in India. I hope you’re safe. Take care and hope April is a lovely month!
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It’s well for me. VT is sharing his discontentment now and then 😉 Yeah – India is in a bad spot. We are hearing cases all around and scary to say the least. We are staying indoors as much as possible and really hoping for things to get better. How have you been?
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Most of us will always have things to be grateful for..nice to see them documented, like you do. We don’t always count our blessings. Maybe the pandemic will teach more of us to do so..
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Thank you, Sir! I hope that too. Hope you are well.
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Its a pleasure to read your gratitude list parul, you are so inspiring – glad to hear about your workout goal. I look forward for swimming. with covid cases on rise its a challenge to venture out.
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Thank you, Angela. You are so kind. I have a ton of bad days too but I make sure to forget those and move ahead with the good ones 🙂
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For many people having an app allows one to track and stay motivated. I don’t use any app for tracking activity except when cycling. This too just to track the kms. Stay motivated, Parul
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You are disciplined then I would say. Good for you, Arvind. Hope you are well.
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Thanks, Parul. I try to not that I succeed all the times but largely, yes. Well, I already shared an update on twitter. Thanks for asking:)
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With all the bad comes a lot of good as well. I’m glad you could see the good in these troubled times. I’m sure we will walk out of this phase with a lot of memories and experiences to cherish. I’d love to see your crochet pieces, it is surely not a craft for impatient people like me!
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Thanks Vinodini! All on Instagram at the moment. Will get more there 🙂
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That crochet account is amazing, following in Insta 🙂 hobbies like these are good and satisfying. Iam also thinking that even after one year and vaccination, we still have to be careful due to covid. Have a happy April Parul.
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Thank you so much for encouraging, Ramya! Means a lot!
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how did I not know about your crochet account. They look lovely. Will follow it now.
I love tracking my fitness. Steps, calories, goals. It keeps me motivated as I get to see numbers. Glad you are settling in your new place. Change is always unnerving, just needs a little bit of time. The coronavirus infection in India is frightening. Stay safe.
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ha ha! that’s cos I haven’t shared it out yet 🙂 I think it’s not enough to share and I am still such a newbie. Thank you!
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Parul, congratulations on getting your new home. The past year has been unreal and coping with the uncertainty has been challenging. I learnt to cook new recipes from YouTube:) that kept me sane. Crochet is for patient people and I am not one :). Glad to know your parents are vaccinated, I have taken one jab and waiting for the second one next month. I had stopped writing my gratitude posts but will start again. Thanks for your lovely post.
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Thank you Sulekha! Hope you are feeling better after your eye surgery. My Mum had it last Dec and I am glad she got it done last year. My parents too also just had the first shot. The second is pending. And cooking to me is for hardworking people 😛 Not me! h aha!
So good to see you here after! Take care!
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Hi Parul Thakur, You have shared amazing gratitude list of march 2021. Thank for sharing this amaizing information with us & keep traveling.
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I have been trying to read your gratitude post since a week now, Parul. Today I decided if there is only one thing I can do that would be reading and commenting on this post. But yet again, I deviated from the path as I published fiction Monday post before coming to your post! 🙄
When we moved to this house in April, we got a couple of new furniture items as well. We were trying to be gentle with the house. But then I realized that it is the same old us. We need to be gentle toward ourselves first. House and furniture are replaceable.
I followed your crochet handle on Instagram. Then I realized I followed it from the wrong handle. The messes I make! These days I feel like I am wandering outside from my body. As you said things started to look up and before we knew it, it went downhill way down than we could ever imagine! True, I am not in India, but majority of my family and friends live there and I can’t stop worrying. So reading your gratitude post helped me to focus on the positive side. Actually that’s why it took some time to finally comment on this post. After reading each point it propelled me in to action that I did multiple things. Thank you for that, Parul. Gratitude seems to be overrated at times like tis. But it matters now more than ever. Thank you for reminding me that time and again.
I have written a not so grateful gratitude post last week after beginning to read yours. Will try and write a proper gratitude post this week.
Stay safe, Parul!
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Oh and I love your crochet pieces. 🧡
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