For the first time in few years, I had decided not to travel during this 4-day holiday weekend. I had family visiting me and we had planned to relax and enjoy at home - cook, sleep, shop, watch movies, play games, etc.
I was talking to my in-laws on Wednesday (Nov 26th) morning, around 9am (PST). They had mailed me a wonderful birthday card and were eagerly waiting for me to receive it. I called them to let them know that I received it and that it was beautiful. I loved it!
They live in MUMBAI. When I asked them what they were doing, they said they were watching BREAKING NEWS. So I jokingly asked, "What happened now"? And my father-in-law briefly updated me on the Mumbai mayhem.
I then logged on to CNN and read the news. I IM'ed/mailed my friends who had their families in Mumbai to know if everyone was safe. I thought it would be all over very soon.
When I came home from work, I turned on the TV and was glued to the news. I was terrified, shaken.
I made phone calls to my parents in Ahmedabad and my aunt in Mumbai. I was waiting for my husband and family to come home from LA. When they came, all of us discussed the events unfolding in front on us on TV.....and at about 3am decided to sleep. I prayed for all this to get over soon.
The first thing I did after waking up is to check the news again. It was getting worse. I wanted to go and help. I felt very helpless. I prayed for peace.
The weekend wentby as we had planned - we relaxed, cooked, watched movies, played games, did shopping, slept (lots), etc. All with a feeling of guilt.
Thousands of miles away, in my home country, innocent people were being killed by terrorists. My heart cried when I thought about the family members of the people who died.
I am filled with rage. How do we fight this?
I hope this brings unity. I hope all of us fight this together. Each one of us can do our bit to make sure such events never happen again.
As my thanksgiving weekend comes to an end, I again pray for peace. I pray that God gives strength to the families of the victims to bear the pain of loss. I pray for us to rebound stronger from this tragedy. I pray that we take the right steps in the right direction to avoid such events in future.
Peace!
