A graduation to remember - Jr.' finishes her Masters

Jr’s (we still refer to her as Junior in this blog after 20 years) graduation was a highly anticipated and planned event. My in-laws were going to join us a few days before and there was a trip to Great sand Dunes National park etc. My dad’s passing changed everything. My in-laws did fly here and spend a few days with Jr. while we were performing last rites in India.

We flew in from India the previous evening and I flew out first flight to Irvine the next morning for the gowning ceremony. San drove a good 7+ hours with her parents with jet lag. I was still in a daze from the India visit. My voice was gone. it was like being in a twilight zone not being able to place feelings or facial expressions appropriately. The little one was going to drive two hours from her college right after finishing her last exam to be there for the gowning ceremony. However she got stuck in traffic and did not make it in time. So it was just me and the kid at the department function.

Got to talk to two of her professors. They were resilient given where the country was going with respect to health policy. Health expertise they said was going to be much needed given the times we live in. By the time the ceremony finished the little one joined us and we went to the hotel. San and her parents had also made it.

We got a short break, and went back to the stadium for the big graduation ceremony. It was a circus with parking, seating, everything. It was not easy for my in-laws to walk that much in a rush to make it on time.

Was glad to see the kid walk the stage! Was asking her to do a Ph.D but she smiled and declined politely. Said she wanted to get hands on experience in the real world. We all wished her well.

We were fortunate to have a dinner with my classmate and his family before driving out of UCI. They were her local guardians. We also got blessings from his in-laws who were celebrating their Sadabishegham.

The kids just drove off together. The oldies stayed back in the hotel and drove the next morning to Santa Barbara to show them the little one’s college. She gave us a quick tour and we all drove back. It was our wedding anniversary.

We did have a bittersweet wedding day and Father’s day celebration. The kids declared that “your dad is not there.. ours is right here. so stop moping, smile and come for lunch with us”. My facial expressions were all off that weekend. Looking at the pictures I look like that kathakali artist who could display happiness on one half of his face and sadness on the other.

There were good moments in summer. Just getting to blog about it and clear my iPhone. Next year we hope to celebrate the little one finishing her undergrad!

Here is a video clip (including the one the university sent us at the end of the video)..

Time is a great healer!

The little one is all set to fly out of the nest

It has been some time since I blogged. That is because I spent more than a week recovering from the severe allergies and nose bleeds after that super bloom hike. Was also under a lot of pressure from family to recover before first week of June, to be at the little one's high school graduation!

We came to Cupertino when she was a 6 month old baby, chasing a school district that was "the place to be" in our local circles. Most of our close Desi and Chinese friends were all moving to Cupertino and so did we! It feels like yesterday. 

17 years later, we have graduated out of this school system. It has been an interesting experience as a parent and I am sure both Jr. and the no so little one may have a very different view of things. I for one was happy to have them study here! The elementary, middle and high schools were all within walking distance given our location, they had great friends and we got great friends through them over these years. They also got a decent well rounded learning experience be it academics (thanks to all the "subject aunties" who tutored them where the teachers could not give individual attention), sports or music.... especially music! These schools had amazing music teachers who truly inspired! This place is also beautiful. We don't realize it everyday as we go through the grind, but when sitting in the stands looking at the graduating class, the backdrop was just beautiful!

While Jr. got to go places while still in high school (be it as a exhange student in Taiwan, a trip to rural Indonesia as part of a camp, a training program in Berkeley, etc.) the little one was not so lucky as she was pretty much grounded and at home thanks to COVID. That goes for almost all her classmates who missed out. 

So she was naturally hesitant to go far away. That is always music to my ears as I would like to see the kids every now and then. Not sure if I can handle San's undivided attention. It always reminds me of the ant that gets burnt by the lens. That said, both kids will be going to school in California.  The little one for undergrad and Jr. for a masters. 

While Jr. missed out on prom and a graduation ceremony thanks to COVID, she really enjoyed the grad ceremony and lived it through her sister! She made a secret collage gift and seeing that made my day!

Taking prom and grad pics made me tear up a lot. All these kids we have seen grown up over the years are now going out to the world as adults. Still see them as noisy kids yelling and screaming excitedly in the car as I used to take the group to badminton class every alternate week. 

(that background was modified using Photoshop.. I did have some fun editing grad pics!)

The little one was so happy that grandma made a quick visit for her graduation!

Slowly reconciling myself to the fact that this is going to be a very sad empty nest. Time to play board games till 3AM with a continous flow of chai with our friends I guess. We can do that again now that there are no kids in any of the houses... (in case I lost you there, here is an old old post from this blog!). 

Life does come full circle!

The kids have done us proud so far! Hope they keep succeding at whatever they try!

Recreating an old photo

It was with extreme pleading that I managed to get the kids to co-operate for a photo recreation effort..

This was a photo taken in late 2006 or early 2007.. Used it as my Facebook Profile when joining in 2007. It has remained my profile photo since..

Today after many many years, the kids agreed to a retake. My photographer did her best but sometimes they are slightly out of focus. She was going to beg the kids for another take, but it is what it is..

if it was meant to be, it would have come out as intended..

Maybe in another 10 years we can try this again and that time I will have a better shot at this..

Proud of my dollies for agreeing to this.. they were sportive enough!