TGIF : Thank God It's Friday

Over two decades ago, bunch of toddlers sat on a bamboo mat and chattered away as they waited for the bell to ring. It was Friday and they eagerly waited to go home. They packed their bags and looked up at their teacher. The teacher, a twenty five year old and a novice at the profession lamented loudly that the class sounded like a fish market and cleared her throat. In chorus the entire class said :

"Thank you God for the world so sweet,

  Thank you God for the food we eat,

  Thank you God for the birds that sing,

  Thank you God for everything!"

They scarcely listened to the fish market remark. The class then excitedly thanked their teacher before they ran out to enjoy the weekend. Their faces brightened up as they saw their mothers. The children enthusiastically discussed the days happenings with their mothers and waved goodbye to each other. 

I was one among those toddlers. I waited for my mom and my eyes lit up the moment I saw her. I clambered into the front seat of my mom's car and turned on the radio. My mom pulled the seat belt and secured me to the seat. An old song played and we sang along to it as we went to fetch my brother from school. 

The moment my brother saw me sitting in the front seat of the car, he would yell and wail. I would insist that I being the elder child had the right to sit in front and he would say that I had been around for four years before him and hence sat in the front for four years more. One of us would give up. In the occasion that we didn't our mother would either yell at us or would let him sit on my lap and secure us together in the seat. My brother and I would then entertain each other till it was time to have dinner. We would then wholeheartedly appreciate and eat whatever our mom served us and then go to sleep. I would even thank god for giving me the front seat in the car.

Three days ago, I found myself working on my Desktop one Friday evening. I was irritable and snapped at anything and everything that came my way. My colleagues gave me fist bumps and said 'TGIF' as they left the office. I shut down the desktop and wolfed down a packed sub as I walked home. I whined to myself about all the opportunities I had missed and the level I had reached in life as compared to friends.

I called up my brother and parents on the way home and gave monosyllable answers to their questions. I had two papers to submit, a dinner to attend, a few mails to send out and the abominable fear of losing out or missing out loomed large over my head. I went home and mindlessly watched a few videos as I typed out a few mails. I had a terrible headache and requested my room mate to press my forehead. I ranted about how terrible my day was. .

I woke up the next morning to a throbbing pain and spent the next day trying to finish the pending work. The entire day went by in a jiffy and I went back to sleep with the chronic headache. 

On Sunday morning I woke up and trudged to attend my Project Bhakti Lessons, an engagement program where I and a few other volunteers mentor and teach a few children at a temple. I contemplated bunking the lesson but decided that I might as well have some fun with the children I mentored . My dear friend was conducting the class for the day and I did not want to earn her ire. The lesson for the day was 'Appreciation' and I muttered 'yeah right' as I entered the class.

My friend gathered the students and made them sit in a circle. She asked each of them to tell one thing that they were thankful for. Each child came forward and said what they were thankful for. The first child said that he was thankful for having tasty food. The second appreciated colors and said that she was thankful for crayons. The third thanked her younger brother for making her life more meaningful. As each child said what he was thankful for my heart began to pound. I started to feel smaller and smaller. 

We then asked a boy in our class who was notorious for bring naughty what he appreciated. This boy got yelled at at least three to four times every class. With a chuckle he replied that he was glad that he could still be naughty. He did not take teachers yelling to heart and looked at what he felt was positive. He forgot all the negative things, the scoldings, the wound on his knee and said what he was truly happy for.

When my turn to appreciate came. I was at a loss for words. I couldn't not say a thing. I swallowed the lump in my throat and said that I loved to travel and appreciated god for giving me the ability to travel.

That day I forgot all the things I felt deprived of. I forgot the work I needed to finish. I erased the sad thoughts of the lost opportunities I had. I met my friends and had a lovely day with all of them. Just like the children disregarded the fish market remark and thanked the teacher for the good lessons and for her time, I disregarded all the pessimism around me.

As the day drew to a close, I told myself......

"Thank you God for the world so sweet..."

I thanked god for my amazing parents, and grandparents, my doting brother, the children at the class who made me understand what happiness and appreciation truly is.

"Thank you God for the food we eat"

I appreciated the prasadam I ate at the temple. I was grateful for my friend Hari's mom who doted on us and prepared lovely food for us that morning.

"Thank you God for the birds that sing"

The animals, the trees and everything around me that had life 

Lastly.....

"Thank you God for everything"

For the friend who conducted the lesson, my friend who cheered me up with a cheesecake, my friend who teaches me Hindi despite my aversion to it, to make me feel less alone among my other Indian friends, my friend's mom who taught tried to simplify Hindi by translating it into small bite sized lessons for me. My room mates who bolster me and my 3 am friends around the world who never hesitate to cheer me up. Lastly, I thanked god for that friend who dislikes being thanked but still listens to my thanks (while mentally counting them and imposing a fine for it).

I fell asleep peacefully and woke up to yet another Monday morning. A Monday morning minus the blues. 

This Friday I am sure I will fist bump and say TGIF with more enthusiasm.