I need to update our blog and the depressing tone that it has sent about being in Cleveland. I very appreciate all the phone calls and e-mails to cheer me up, I reached a part of me that I did not like and so I am coming out of that! Cleveland is nice and I should tell you that it is I that is not taking advantage of it. I did a lot of grieving and am now moving onto the positives of being here, so here is our Top 10 Reasons for being in Cleveland:
1. Luscious Lawns – April, you were so right, you could run barefoot in them, soft, cool and thick.
2. No uniforms – The kids are stoked about throwing out their white, blue and khaki dress-coded clothes from Charleston schools.
3. Career move – The obvious opportunity for Ashok, he loves it here.
4. Temple – The Gujrati temple is only half an hour away and Akshay has already decided he is going weekly.
5. Creature Comfort – As lame as this sounds, we see rabbits, deer, fireflies, chipmunks, and other animals all the time, living in our community and belonging as much as people.
6. Cooking – I have been cooking a lot lately, mostly to fill in the empty time on many a days, but it’s good too, we have starting eating at home again after months of eating out. Our kitchen in Charleston was on hiatus as we were trying to sell the home without the strong cooking odor that Indian cooking omits.
7. Slower Lifestyle – This sounds odd to those that expected going from a small town to a bigger city would provide more opportunities, but we have slowed down our crazy, much-too-pressured schedule. We socialized a lot and the kids had classes in karate, piano, dance and drama on top of going to school. The break was needed in order to remember the little things that make life important. And having breakfast whenever we want is pretty cool too without the demands of a clock.
8. Reading – I am catching up on my reading; just think how much knowledge I may gain in an year (or rather 11.5 months, but who is counting?).
9. Family – We have started seeing family in nearby states that I have not seen in years, we have always lived in opposite parts of the country and brushed making time for one another. I wanted the kids to meet them and I am ashamed that I had not made the time to visit them before. As an example, the last time I saw my niece she was in college, now she is married with two kids! I know that sentence ages me so let me further clarify that my niece is only 7 years younger than I - it's just the way the complex, large family dynamics worked out. Funny enough, that makes Akshay an "uncle" to her kids and Ashu thier "aunt!"
10. Navigation – And the best part of being in a new city is discovering it, as I am out and about and praying that I am not lost again, I am forced to observe and take a look at things I normally ignore. As hard as I try not to get lost, the car’s navigation has saved me on quite a few occasions. So I rely on it and take a look at things and discover which road leads where and go where it takes me. Which road leads where and go where it takes me. Profound, is it not?