cuz I'm wearing one of my most favourite and oldest tops which dates back to my second year of college and my favourite pair of bangle-sized silver hoop earrings.

PS: Bangle-sized hoop earrings were my trademak in my college days :)

Three words which I use most often are Sorry, Please & Thank you. I say it to everyone - be it my family, my friends, colleagues, clerks or any random person. I don't think it makes me smaller than the other person or a pushover.

I say thank you to the office boy when he gives me coffee or to my colleague when he lends me a pen or to my husband when he prepares a lovely dinner or my mother when she gives me a gift. It surprises quite a few people when I say thank you to someone for having done their job - whether the job is serving me with coffee or selling me a pack of biscuits from his grocery shop or whether it is running to get me the correct size of the clothing that I am trying on. 

I say sorry when I  mistakenly stamp someone's foot in the bus or a crowded room  or when I hurt someone.

I say please when I ask for anything from anyone, be it my husband or the clerk.

A smile and a word go a long way - whether it is the sales person altering your outfit & giving it to you the same day for the party or when you request the court master to adjust a date. I don't believe in smiling and talking politely only when I need something or when the boss is around.

I am of the belief that practising common courtesy with family, friends, co-workers or any random person is a way of life. I also believe that it reflects very negatively when a person does not practice it. Maybe I am old-fashioned, but if I have given someone a time and know that I am going to be late, I will call and apologise for the same. If smeone takes me out for a meal, I will say thank you. Even if I know the person really well, I will still say  please, sorry & thank you.

Sadly, not many practice basic courtesy today. I see parents not teaching their kids any manners saying they will learn it later. Later? When later? I see kids in whose dictionaries, sorry & thank you does not even exist. 

People tell me I am a pushover since I use these words freely. I beg to differ. People who know me will be the first to state that whatever else I maybe, a pushover is the last thing that I am. If someone takes me for granted because I use sorry & thank you, then that person is very much mistaken. 

 For me it is a way of life & speech.

 

Today I complete a quarter of a century on this earth. I am now officially grown up after having left home 8 years ago, 5 years of hostel/ PG life, 3 years of work, 1 year of staying with relatives and 2 years of marriage. It's a good day to take stock.  Chandni & Kiran have written so beautifully on what they have gained and droppen to reach where they are today. It made me think.

Today is a good day for introspective stocktaking. 

I have a wonderful family which has supported me all through. I have married a wonderful man who is my life. I have been lucky to have a second set of parents in my in-laws.

What have I gained? A wonderful man to call my husband and stand by my side always and a second set of parents for starters.

I have gained a wonderful set of friends who are also my family - both old & new.  

I have gained patience and the wisdom of accepting people for who they are. 

I have gained the knowledge that I am not perfect and not everyone is good.

I have also learned  that i don't always need to raise a scene to get my work done - it can be done with a smile and a friendly voice.

I have also gained a few kilos :(

I have also gained quite a few pairs of shoes  & bags.

I have learnt that I am not always responsible and that I can't take on the liability of being responsible for someone else's action, on which I have no influence.

I have dropped those who I thought were my friends, but turned out to be serpents in sheep's clothing.

I have dropped the habit of being judgmental.

I am trying hard to drop the habit of taking everything personally, and to develop a thick skin. 

I am climbing up the ladder professionally. I have learnt that I don't need to be a lawyer 24/7. I have learnt that it is okay to be me. People can accept me for what I am, and if they can't then balls to them - their loss. I have learnt to grow up and not blame others for my actions. 

I will not call myself mature, but I can say that I am getting there.

Aaargghhhhhhhh....my blogger's block continues. I can write and hold discourses on void& voidable contracts for hours, but right now the moment I sit down to write a post, my mind draws a blank. I'm giving it another day and then I'm going to write 'An Autobiography of a Coin' and I want comments from all of you (not the 'Can do better' ones my teachers loved to give, though in all fairness I was always ahead of the class in English and History)