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Why I chose United States of America after retirement?
When people ask me why did you relocate to U.S.A, I have a very ready and simple answer…‘Strange is pull of your loved ones.’ Love is a dramatic driving force, the most powerful potion that we drink willingly.
When they ask how do I feel, I think about my blessings…I am nearer to my children and can meet them whenever I want.
My grandchildren don’t have to travel thousands of miles to hug me and then wonder why they live so far away. They would be having nice memories of their grand parents when they grow up.
I don’t have to wait to meet them and that too after a year or two.
Was it just an emotional decision? NO!
Emotions did play a significant role but little things do matter and so I would like to talk about those.
I admire my new surroundings for various reasons.
Healthy and fresh food:
I don’t know much about economic, health or security issues, which are universally relevant but I do know that the food which we buy here is much healthy and fresh, with all the nutrition labels, giving you the information what all you are going to consume. If I buy organic food, I don’t have to think whether it is actually organic. All kinds of cooked and ready to eat food are easily available for every pocket and palate.
Landscaping and green cover:
When I look around how each and every empty space is aesthetically planned, kept clean and green, I get a reassurance that I have taken a good decision. Nature has always inspired and soothed me. Landscaping here doesn’t just look pleasing to the eyes; it also enhances our positivity, psychological and emotional well-being. I couldn’t have got better surroundings anywhere else. I just have to look out of the window to change my mood.
Discipline and courtesy:
People greet you with a smile, good morning or a hello when they pass by, instilling a feeling of goodness. Nobody stares or ogles at you! Nobody pushes you, the queues are most organized and people stand at a distance from each other. Nobody bumps into you and apologies are instant even if somebody happens to be in your way.
Road safety:
No aggressive driving
Driving is stress free and most organized. People follow the rules and wait for their turn. Nobody drives aggressively, nobody gets into your way and lane driving is the norm, which is never flouted. You don’t have any fears that somebody might overtake or almost bump into your car from the side lane and scare you out of your wits.
Respect for pedestrians:
All vehicles stop for the pedestrian even when there is no intersection or zebra crossing. No driver expects you to stop and let him pass as the first right is given to the pedestrian. On busy streets, special road crossing devices have been installed to let the pedestrians take their turn to cross the road.
Respect for each other’s opinion:
People don’t shout you down and impose their own opinion on you. What you eat, wear and how you live is not anybody’s concern. Nobody intrudes into your privacy to comment on your body weight or sexual orientation. Peace and respect is a way of life here.
Peace:
Nobody honks. Even when you don’t happen to see within a second that the light has turned green. Nobody parks illegally. Handicapped parking is earmarked clearly in all parking areas and nobody flouts that rule. The dogs are well trained not to bark unnecessarily. No DJ’s, no loud music disturbs you at any time of the day or night.
Zero tolerance to littering:
You wont see even a little piece of paper anywhere in the parks, on the roads or anywhere near your home. In some areas where people don’t seem to bother, you could find a warning: $1000 fine for littering. Everyone respects the laws here or has to pay the penalty.
I have made some wonderful new friends. What more can you ask for? There must be more countries with such splendid amenities but this one suits me.
Sky line from my window
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I have always been an introvert, probably because of the protective environment in which I was encased as a child and a teenager. I have been never good at making friends and after a particular age I just gave up!
My earliest memory of trying to make friends is that of trying to help everyone with their homework. There were many shirkers who would come to our class without doing their homework and I would offer to do it for them!
Then I had to change my school and was at sea, sitting alone in one corner when this girl (who later became my best friend) approached me with a question…friend, what is your name?
What an easy way to make friends, I thought but I could never learn it.
I have a very limited number of friends and I can count them on my fingers but I can proudly declare that they are my true friends; I can fall back on them and they would respond immediately.
Digital world has been a blessing for me! I found it so easy to make friends online and I have made some wonderful friends. Thinking of meeting them has been out of my imaginative expanse.
Sometimes reality knocks at our imaginative ingresses louder!
One such doorway opened last week when I met Joe and his vivacious wife Becky.
Joe with his lovely wife Becky
Joe Perrone Jr. met me through his blog and I liked his witty style of writing…more so as he took pleasure in laughing at himself.
I didn’t even know where he lived till I happened to mention that I would be visiting Asheville. A few instant clicking of our digital devices and there we were…face to face, shaking hands, sharing lunch and ice-creams along with never ending conversation, which was as vibrant as dear Becky!
Joe asked me are you ba..roop, I replied BaLroop, with a stress on L! And the laughter that cheered our hearts still encompasses me.
Earlier, when I told my husband that we were going to meet one of my blogger friends, he said ‘what would you talk’…oh we would see, said I, almost to myself and convinced him that it would be fun. Indeed it was!
I didn’t have to think what to talk as the conversation flowed so spontaneously that we forgot we had met for the first time…it was like meeting old friends after a long time and catching up with all the stories we had to share.
Never was there an awkward moment, which we often face when we meet an acquaintance. Not a word appeared out of place. I give all the credit to my dear friends Joe and Becky and their art of conversation.
Many topics were discussed, the most interesting being how he met his wife Becky, the prettiest and the most charming face, having the brightest eyes behind those spectacles.
That day I carried some profound lessons in my heart:
Friendship is not counted in the number of years we spend together but the mirthful moments of delight it offers us.
Friendship evokes your inner virtues through honest conversation.
Friendships can never diminish by distance.
Some gifts are such, which only we can give to ourselves.
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‘Do not dilute your joy’, says my friend. What if others try to rob you? What if you think they are right! What when people drag you down… Deliberately designed efforts At concealing their mean malice
You can figure out but deny You give a benefit of doubt. When doubts prevail around Listen to your heart It knows you well Only your heart can tell!
Disappointments don’t live long Setbacks stay in your backyard You just need to shrug them off If you must dilute Dilute judgments, disregard distress Savor little moments of happiness.
Let the glow of positive thoughts Permeate around your home Let their incandescence Scare the robbers away If you must dilute Dilute fears, disregard doubts
When you refuse To be cowed down by circumstances When you possess the potential To turn tables around Dilute your own efforts As pleasing people is futile.
Landscaping and green cover:
Emotional Shadows 