3 different years – 2020, 2021 and 2022 – graduating today.
Even the hotels have signs all over.

(2 years late!!)

Watching her in front of the laptop on that May morning in 2020 wearing her purple robe and cap in the basement was very painful. It was her graduation day. That was supposed to be the most joyous day of her college chapter. The culmination of four years of hard work put in, life long relationships made and a lot of euphoria stitched with a few setbacks here and there. That was supposed to be the day that she got to “walk the walk” of her life.

But there she was – staring at a laptop screen watching one of the best moments of life slip by uncontrollably. The pandemic had crippled the world.

Two years later, she got her day back! NYU went out of their way to celebrate the graduates of that year by recreating – as best as they could – the exact same environment.

Looking at all the kids grinning from ear to ear, you got the sense that, in some measure, two years later, justice was finally served.

I will stop short of calling you the “best” mother. It is the same mathematical thinking in me that makes me squirm when my friends call their husbands or wives the “best” husband or wife. A sample of one cannot lead to superlative adjectives.

But you were my mother. And to me, that is all that ever mattered.

As a mother, you were willing to support me (even though reluctantly) when I wanted to make decisions that the rest of the world would have pulled me back from. I am convinced you would visit me in a prison even if I had committed a heinous crime.

You were my cheerleader even when you did not need to be. Especially when not being so would have saved me a lot of embarrassment.

You adapted to me more than I ever adapted to you.

While I miss not being able to talk to you every day or see you every 90 days, it is only after your departure that I have truly understood what a few things mean. Cracking the top of the list is the concept of “unconditional love”.

Unconditional love is what mothers are all about. And that is the BEST thing about them.

To you in heaven and to every mother in heaven and on earth today, I raise a toast – thru the pain I live with – HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!

That is a picture of you and me … 55 years back!!

Still no furniture in the main floor, but I have my fountain pens and writing pads moved and my vinyl records and turn table moved. My motorbike is parked in this garage. Now most of the bar essentials have been moved too.

I am not sure I need anything else! I can live here a very happy camper.