Thursday, September 26, 2013

The year gone by

It is the 26th of September 2013. As I begin the 27th year of my life, I look back on the 26th. I speak with complete honesty and conviction when I say I will never forget this year.

This day last year, I was at Bhaiya’s place. Recovering from a cruel break up, I was full of shattered dreams and thought I had nothing to look forward to in the coming year. That birthday was a much needed break and time spent with family. And Ranjan bhaiya, Bernice di and Jonty came through for me. Like they always did. Little did I know, that that birthday would be the last of a season and would mark the beginning of a new era. Little did I know, what lay ahead.


Following that I left for church camp. The intouch camp at Bangalore. Three days of word, worship, fun, games, activities et al. It was a time of intense nourishment. A time when I was built up, refreshed and rejuvenated.  A place where a lot of my questions were answered. A place where I finally laid to rest all the ‘whys’ and ‘whens’ and ‘hows’ I was struggling with. A place where I was healed and made whole.


And now, is when the life changing stuff begins.
It all began when one day while talking on the phone with mama, she said, “why don’t you put up a profile on a matrimonial website?” And all I said was, “let’s see”. After a lot of thought and talking to friends, I thought “why not?!” and decided to give it a go. My only prayer and condition before God was that whatever had to happen should happen within a month. And so, it did.
I entered into the Indian marriage market or the great shaadi bazzar. www.shaadi.com. Countless mails, notifications, smses, phone calls later, I got a call. “Hey! This is Moloise Daniel. Is this a good time to talk?.....” And so it began. He spoke to me. Spoke to dada. Spoke to me again. At the end I asked for time. A month. Before I spoke to him again. And then he said his now infamous dialogue, “Theek hai theek hai. No problem. Kahin bhi jao. Ghoom firke to mere paas hi aana hai…!”
Then came November. Martha visited the ‘hot n happening’ Coimbatore. Or should I say Coimbatore got visited by the ‘hot n happening’ Martha. Trips. Food. Fun. Ooty. Kerela. And some thousands of rupees later, we completed the best sisterhood trip ever.


Then on November 17th, I called him. Lets meet.
And so we did. December 1st, 2012. Coimbatore.
And. I. said. YES!!!!
To cut a looooong mushy very romantic story short, we got engaged. Ludhiana. January 11th, 2013.


Oh oh before that. My best friend’s wedding. Shyla Singh became Shyla Thomas Jacob. If not the wedding of the century, it was the wedding of a decade. A decade of love and friendship.
Then came 2013. Honestly the first six months were a blur. And truthfully, not a very happy blur. I was far away from family. From friends. From my love.  I was working two jobs. Trying to complete my bond and get what I was due. Single handedly planning and executing a wedding. And most importantly, fighting for that very wedding to take place.

Finally. The big day arrived. The biggest day in a girl’s life. The biggest day in my life. June 1st, 2013.
It was beautiful. God had worked it out to every small detail. I was seeing chacha chachi and my firangi cousins after ages. I was surrounded by friends and family. The weather was beautiful. The landscape breathtaking. And the man perfect. The moment I most clearly remember was walking out of my changing room. I was n a beautiful white gown. The most beautiful I would ever look in my life. And suddenly, there was this wave of sadness. Sorrow, that clenched my heart. Tears in my eyes. It was the hardest thing I ever had had to do in my life. The toughest choice I ever had had to make. I was immensely happy. But also immensely sad.
Lydia Abraham became Lydia Abraham Moloise. Mrs. Lydia Abraham Moloise.


After that was more activity, honeymooning in kerela. Then we had to split up for a while when Moloise left for Dubai to resign. Then he came back and we began the process of job/house hunting. We moved into our first house, began setting up while I slowly began settling into my new role of wife.
And so here I am. A year later.
What does this year bring?
I am studying for my entrance into specialty courses and will be writing exams end of this year. Beyond that, who knows?!! Well… God does. And I am content not knowing. I am content. My life is full. And I am happier than I have been in years.
And to you, thank you. THANK YOU. Thank you for reading this. Thank you for the part you’ve played in my life. Thank you for being there for me this year. Thank you for everything.
I love you.
God bless.
Lydia