For all the times when she has…

…been laughed at for unselfconsciously singing along with her music

…been blamed for loving herself too much

…annoyed mom for being too too engrossed in the book

…stood up for herself and those important to her, and in doing that trodden on important toes, spoken her mind, given it back undiplomatically, and refused to kiss those senior level asses

…bitten more than she could chew, because she wanted a piece of every pie

…spent hours selecting a gift that has not seen the reactions she was hoping for

…spent hours selecting a gift that has seen exactly the reaction she was hoping for

…walked on and on and on because the voices in her head needed that long to die down

…foregone sleep - for a friend in distress, for a friend in love, for a friend getting married and scared stiff, another one walking out of a marriage and scared stiff, for a 3–mile run, for the dog that needed to go pee, for work that someone else ought to have finished, for a chance to dance the night away, for a blog that needed to be updated

…said no and meant no

…said yes and meant yes

…said sorry and meant it


...said nothing and conveyed everything


...thrown caution to the winds and fallen in love knowing it was doomed, stood on the footboard in the train, sneaked out of the house, had another drink

…worked hard at being a good person, fair, always there, a role model

…been reckless with her own body, heart and life

…spent hours dreaming, wishing, hoping, praying – for that one miracle that would not happen (and that did not happen)


...refused to give up in spite of failing again and again and again


...known when to stop


For all the times she has introspected and realized there is little she would do differently given another shot at the same life

For all those times, she has only one question : What other way is there, of living?