“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”
2020 was the year we had marked for celebrations. Swati was going to turn 18 and graduate from high school. She was going to go to college. We had planned a big send-off party for her combined with a 20th-anniversary party for us; both sets of grandparents were going to visit; some excellent summer travel was on the cards before we deposited her to college. But the best-laid plans of mice and men can come to naught. The virus did not stop time: Swati did turn 18 and graduate high school. She was accepted into her top choice schools – Harvard, MIT, and Stanford. However, there were no parties, no summer travel, no grandparent visits, and no college, since Swati accepted Harvard but decided to take a gap year. She enlisted in the national guard and is also interning at Wikimedia.
We are still thankful for the memories we created. A
quiet, intimate family dinner with Ruchi’s sister’s family to celebrate Swati’s
18th birthday and graduation. No prom, no senior night, no big graduation
school event, yet a very heartfelt car parade organized by the city for their
high school graduates where the community came out and cheered all the hard
work done by the graduating class of 2020. After each major admit letter, long walks on
the dish, the excitement of the family palpable to all the friends that we ran
into.
Agastya turned 13, and we celebrated by inviting some of
his friends to watch a movie in the backyard. Becoming a teenager is not the
same when you are quarantined away from other teenagers. Still, Agastya has
been valiantly balancing studies and a social life that is mostly online except
for occasional bike rides. Ruchi and Agastya went to Salt Lake City just before
the shutdown, where Agastya performed in the Honor choir.
Given
the nature of our jobs, we have been one of the lucky few who did not have to
endure any economic hardship during these times, and our heart goes out to
those who did. For us, for the most
part, life continued with work from home. We used this time to do some repairs on our
wilderness property and spent a lot of time going there almost every other
weekend. Ruchi commissioned an artist to do a project on a dead cedar
grove.
We are so glad that we took a trip last winter to
Galapagos and Panama City and had a fun time. Ruchi also made a quick trip to India to attend
her cousin’s wedding in Feb, and she is glad that she got to see her whole
family. Who knows when we would get back to traveling?
This year reminded us of the unpredictability of life
and simple things we took for granted: family, community, social fabric, and
democracy. We are truly grateful for these blessings. Also, Ashish and Ruchi
clearly can co-exist in the same house, 24 hours a day :-)
Finally, Ashish insists on reporting that he is now an
instrument-rated pilot.
To our friends and family
celebrating the Festival of Lights, we wish you
and your family a fun and safe Deepavali!
Ruchi, Ashish, Swati, Agastya
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