My oldest brother got me a book titled, “14, 000 things to be happy about”. My first reaction was to ask family in the vicinity whether I look Johnny Depp-ressed. *Show right profile, show left profile, face-front, grin* Anyway, the book serves as a mini-distraction and I often flip open to a random page and nod at the things that make me happy too and grimace at some things that definitely don’t. I was doing that today, when I realized I should jot down some of my own and happily scribbled away in no particular order on the first page. Here’s a typed representation, with me adding a few as they occur. =) Z should do it too. And S (the sister, not the mister because I already asked him) and you, if you happen to read this and are feeling stuck on the blue region of the spectrum. Here goes…

Eeman; Fridays; a good blue pen; clear skies; the warm breeze which greets you as you step out of the air-conditioned Saudi airport into the desert air; walking barefoot on prickly grass; sitting by the Corniche counting the jellies; playing X and O with S on the beach sand (and winning :P); white ink and Pental ‘pen-pencils’; Agatha Christies; Darussalaam; long, thoughtful bus rides to Makkah; drinking zam zam from Masjid ul-Haram’s cream-coloured water coolers; watching the cleaners as they clean the masjid; suddenly stepping on the heated tiles in the Haram’s courtyard and then hopping past on the balls of your feet to reach the shade; spiral bound books; holding hands; waking up listening to Qur’an; recitation of Sheikh Sudais; running; rain; Mummy’s prawns; whatsapp with S pretending to be daddy; school libraries and my school library; bookmarks; roller skates; time lapse videos; swings; digging toes in the wet sand while watching the waves come in; walking under trees; braids; taking a nap in the masjid in Makkah, under the high, intricate ceiling and the chandelairs; watching a mother play with her baby unconscious of everything else…

I could go on forever.

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Alhumdulillah, alhumdulillah!