All Manner of Grateful

Our trip to California had to be cut short rather abruptly due to a family emergency in India. My mother-in-law needed to be hospitalized for an urgent angiography, requiring either an angioplasty or a bypass surgery. We drove the 1200+ miles continuously, breaking only for the night, until we reached home a day later. By then we knew that the situation was rather serious and my husband took the next flight out to Bombay. Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse soon after he arrived, and a multiple bypass surgery was performed that very day. But she was in good hands and for that, I am forever grateful.

I am also very grateful to the folks on Twitter who spread the word about our need for blood. A special shoutout to Ankit and The Glam Gang for offering to donate blood to help a complete stranger. Close friends and family held my hand through excruciatingly long days, via Facebook, email and phone.

Yes, there are good people in this world! Thank you all very much!

Another couple of days should see my mother-in-law return to her home after a two week stay in hospital. She's frail but she's tough on the inside and we are all very hopeful that she will draw on that to regain her strength and quality of living.

Our time together, as a family, working and vacationing over the weekends in California became extra-special. The last two weeks had been full of adventure and unending fun.

Pier
Pier

We made a weekend getaway to Pismo Beach, a beach that we had fallen in love with when we had taken our favorite train, Amtrak's California Zephyr, to the West Coast over spring break last year.

Seagulls and hope
Seagulls

Summer brings long periods of dense fog to the beaches of California, and they remain cool.

Who knew?
Dense fog in the mornings

It was even colder under the inviting pier, where clams and other molluscs had turned the pillars into a living habitat.
Embedded
embedded

A seed had been sown at Half Moon Bay that could not be ignored. At Pismo Beach, we nurtured it into a sapling, that has now become a nagging passion that involves the ocean and its waves. Not me, no. I prefer firm ground under my feet.

Yay! She rode the waves!
Riding the waves

She fell a lot more times than she stood up but she didn't give up either!

Another splash
Splash!

Splash!
And another...

While she was perfecting the art of falling off the surfboard, a two-seater airplane entertained us with tricks in the sky.

Antics in the sky
Antics in the sky

The weekend was topped off with spectacular views along Highway 1, back to the Bay Area.

Big Sur
Big Sur

For all this and more, I am truly grateful.

10 comments:

Bong Mom said...

Manisha
Praying for your Ma-in-law's faster recovery to good health. Thank God for the little miracles that make life eventually worthwhile

notyet100 said...

Beautiful post,..:)

Nandini Vishwanath said...

Medha is a brave girl :)

Hope your mother-in-law regains strength soon!

Sayantani Mahapatra Mudi said...

wish a speedy recovery to your Maa-in-law.

Anita said...

Wishes and prayers for a speedy recovery...and a full return to regular life. An ordinary life is underrated sometimes...

Unknown said...

Manisha, our prayers are with your family and pray for a quick recovery of your MIL.

Beautiful pictures !!!

john k.Tas. said...

great photos, again , Manisha ! hope all is well with your mother-in -law. good to see your message stressed the blood requirement ! i have been a blood donor here for over 50 years, to our Red Cross, and am still going. i donate every 12 weeks, and will do so on this Tuesday. it is a shame far more people don't donate.regards

JS said...

I hope all's well with your mother-in-law. Your California trip is the stuff of fantasies...mine! One day, before long, my wife and I will take a long break on the west coast.

J said...

Beautiful post and beautiful pics Manisha!

Soma said...

Manisha, I hope your MIL is doing well now. Can't even what it must have been like to come back and go through this. our earnest prayers with your family.

Can't believe Medha did it!!!! :) one brave little lady she is.