In fleeting…

Our life is in fleeting. The people we meet are in fleeting. As people fleet in and out of our lives, they impact us, they change us, they leave us with impressions – both good and bad. I don’t want to explore the bad, for it is pointless and I’m glad it was all fleeting.

Brief encounters or lasting relationships, we allow people into our lives and into our hearts. And some remain there forever. Like my grandparents – who were ‘only’ neighbors, but who I considered my only “true grandparents”. They had a room in their house for me, a cupboard with all my important belongings and unconditional love and acceptance.

They didn’t have children of their own and as a result didn’t have (in my then-opinion) any silly pre-conceived notions about how children were supposed to be raised. I went everywhere with them. I attended every social event in their home. I chatted with all their friends. I gave their overnight guests the grand tour of “my room” (which was also the guest room) with specific instructions to not touch my things. I spent hours playing Rummy. And yes, I was the only five year old I knew, who did so. And if they hadn’t been teetotalers, I would probably have been sipping some scotch with them in the evenings.

When I was seven, the big beautiful old house became a big modern building and we all moved. Although I visited regularly, it wasn’t the same. For their new house no longer had a room for me, nor did a cupboard somewhere contain all my belongings. But my blankie made from my grandma’s saree remained in their closet till the very end. And my special plate and glass remained with their daily use utensils till the very end. And the place they held for me in their hearts remained. Till the very end.

Even as a youngster, I realized how lucky I had been to have them. How their home was my refuge when things seemed crazy in my home. And I don’t need to wear my grandma’s gold bangle to remember them or to remember how lucky I was. My grandma told me countless stories of my many terrible and naughty adventures. And each time, I wondered how they had allowed me to harass them so.

Some year ago, my then ninety-three year old grandma recounted those stories, and I said, “Gosh, I was always up to something – I really harassed you didn’t I?” She smiled and said, “We enjoyed that harassment. We wanted it even. You kept us young”. I simply stared back. It hit me so hard, I couldn’t believe it. Just as I had been grateful to have them in my life, they had been grateful to have me in theirs. Yes. Life is fleeting. Just as they fleeted in and out of my life and made my life so much richer, I too had fleeted in and out of theirs.

Yes. People fleet in and out. Some we know for years; others we know for minutes. Some we have weekly coffee with; others we meet only once. In the end it doesn’t matter how much time you spend with a person, what matters is how you connect, how much you appreciate them, how much you learn from them, how pleased you feel to be in their presence.

From the stranger at the airport who I will never see again to a sweet seven year old who plays with my daughter and whose gentleness strikes me each time… There is no knowing who will make us see the world differently, who will put a smile on our face, who will make us think, who will inspire us, who will infuse us with their enthusiasm… for life is fleeting… and people will fleet in and out. And in our fleeting lifetime, if we can stop and simply notice the wonderful ones, our fleeting life will seem so much prettier.