“I hate rain! All plans are canceled now,” cribbed Aaliyah, storming out of the room. I, on the hand love rain. The first rainfall of the year in Big Apple always makes me elated. Invoking and nurturing the creativity in me, I feel it caresses my thoughts. A sense of calm settles in me. Aaliyah, however, was extremely upset. Her whining took me back to the memories of Southern California. I thought of sharing the story with her.
I was thirteen. It was during the season of monsoon. The heavy downpour made us drop our plan. I was upset as I had been looking forward to that weekend. “Mom, why does rain always have to clash with our outing plans?” I asked. “Doesn’t matter Bob, we should always have enough reasons to let that smile stay throughout,” she smiled and answered.
We all sat in the hall. Mom came up with yummy fritters and pancakes that evening. Dad got his brown diary. Dad’s hobby was writing poems. For the first time, he read out his poem to us. It was a poem about a little girl waiting for her parents to come back home, seldom knowing that they will never return. I was mesmerized. It was so heart touching. “Bob why you don’t start writing something of your own? Give it a try my son,” said dad.
That night, before going to bed I wrote my first short story. Quite hesitant, I showed it to dad the next day. He loved it. I felt great. Coming a praise, from my dad was a big achievement. It was his words of encouragement that got me into writing since that tender age and it is still continuing.
“You know Aaliyah till date I am very thankful to my dad, he gave me a dream to follow,” I said. Thank You Dayis here. I will write a loving poem. I will visit and read it out to him. This will make him so happy.
Aaliyah hugged me. “So what are you writing on this rainy evening, Bob?” asked Aaliyah with a wink. I smiled. “Only if you refill the cup with hot chocolate and get the brownies that you made yesterday, I shall read it out to you” I answered. Both of us chuckled. “Sure, I’ll get them,” she said.
It’s time to be thankful to the people who have helped you in making you what you are today. Let them know that you have not forgotten the role that they have played. Bring a wide smile on their face and a shine on their eyes. Thank them now!
