09-09-09 and my first year of Blogging.

09.09.09.

Today marks my first successful year of blogging.

This is the 39th post on my blog.

Blogosphere has enriched my life and experiences in so many ways. I have met wonderful people here whose blogs I love to read. Some write stories or poetry, some share their life, some showcase their talents....each of them makes me grow as a person.

I thoroughly enjoy blogging. I am a person who loves to read, observe, introspect, travel, learn a lot. Blogging for me is an outlet of my thoughts and emotions, my experiences and travels, and a whole lot more. Its like a personal diary, which is open to anybody and everybody.

Reading some of my own blogs from the past year brought back so many memories. I would have not remembered all of them had I not blogged.

As I am writing this, I was pondering over this question: "What is my most precious memory from this past year?" I thought for a while and the answer is - The day of my sister's engagement on January 18, 2009. I was with all my family, the ceremony was wonderful, everyone was happy.....it was a perfect day.

"Which is the best book I have read in the last year?" It has to be - "Three cups of Tea ". Reading the book was a very humbling experience for me and I loved the authors style of writing.

"Which is the best place I visited in the last 12 months?" It has to be an extremely brief visit to a small lake close to where I live - Sly Park lake . The reason that visit is so special and memorable is because it had snowed the previous night, and it was snowing while we drove to the lake. It was my sisters first time in the snow and she was thrilled beyond imagination. There was no one in the park around the lake....the view and scenery were simply amazing. Serene and peaceful and majestic!

As I am recollecting my life in the past 12 months, I want to blog about another very humbling and fulfilling experience. I volunteered this summer at a local hospital in the child life department. As a volunteer, my primary responsibility was to take care of the play room in the ward. The patients (kids from infants to teenagers) would come to the play room and we were supposed to assist them. Additional responsibilities included holding or nursing a baby (while their parents are busy), helping patients who cannot come to the play room by spending time with them in their room, taking a patient to the cafe for food, etc.

I was always in awe of the kids out there. Some were cancer patients, some had paralysis, some had complex surgeries done, but they were happy. They moved on with their life and did the best they could. They did not grumble or crib about petty things. They were so selfless. I saw kids helping and sharing with each other in the playroom.

For example, there was one 11 year old girl who suffered paralysis of her entire right side of the body while swimming in the pool at her home. She actually swam with one hand to come on top and screamed for help. She had been at the hospital for a while, and was slowly recovering. When I asked her about why she was here, she described me the whole incident in detail, with a smiling face. And then she told her grandma, "when i get well and go home, I can swim again" :). As an adult, I am not sure how many of us would be willing to get back into that pool.

I do not go for volunteering at the hospital anymore. We bought a home in May and all weekends are busy with some or the other house stuff. Or maybe, I am not trying hard enough to make it work. I plan to go back once summer is over and winter sets in. There will be less things to do outdoors, and this would be a wonderful way to spend part of my weekend.

My resolution for the coming year is to blog more often :)

Thank you for reading and commenting on my posts.