Gotta Grow Up Sometime...

It all happened overnight. Tuesday night to be precise. The minute I heard the news, I knew things would never be the same. My youngest aunt had been diagnosed with Stage 3 Breast Cancer. Ha! To think that till then, I had always thought this was something that happened to other people.

My aunt is staying and working in the US. Although another aunt of mine is there as well, it is becoming difficult for her to take care of my younger aunt, as she (elder aunt) is also working. We came to know later that my younger aunt had been having breast pain since a couple of months, but had been postponing a visit to the doctor's - partly due to fear and partly due to shortage of time (as she also holds a full-time high-level corporate position).

Well, mother is preparing to go visit her as soon as possible. At our end, lot of things changed overnight. Visa appointments, train bookings, flight bookings, online research on the cancer and offline discussion on the best place for treatment, general health-related discussions, credit card issual requests, photo taking sessions, talks with cancer survivors among family friends, silence interspersed with tearful moments..

My sibling and I had always been a pampered lot. But I think that is going to change now, atleast for the next couple of months, if not more. As the song goes 'You gotta grow up sometime......'.

The 14th of Feb..

The 14th of Feb. Yet another day following a year of anticipation, expectation and finally, regret. A day of roses, secret admirers and for the lucky few, sweet somethings (or nothings). From college days where the color of one's attire that day was an indicator of one's approachability in matters of the heart (on that day) - to the corporate world where - well, a indicator colour was pretty much near the bottom of the list of things one had to do that day, the day devoted to the memory of St. Valentine had indeed come a long way, for me I mean. Anticipation for hoping or daring to hope that this day this year would be something different - something maybe a little interesting was, well, just not to be.

So if I sound dejected, is it my fault..?