GaneshJi, wife on vacation and too much food

 My wife had recently traveled to Bharat and I was left to fend for myself, I am a lousy cook.

Our friends never let me feel the lack of home cooked food; from one of my wife's closest friends sending so much food and so frequently that I had to tell my wife to ask her friend to not send any more food, to a friend bringing Ganesh festival prasadam from home and enough food to last an entire family 2-3 days, to another friend's wife feeling bad that she could only make pulao and could not make curry, to Sudhakar Sastry Ji offering to bring food from across the town and regularly checking if I had my dinner or not, I was spoiled for choice. 

More often than not, I had two friends bringing me food at the same time for dinner or lunch. I must've gained weight during my wife's absence. 

I definitely missed my wife's cooking as she is a world class chef but I never lacked amazing and tasty home made food during the four weeks that my wife was gone. Suffice to say, dil khush ho gaya and the heart is joyous and sated for the friends we've made and the community around us. 

My wife and her friends form an amazing circle, for no reason a dish will be sent to one of her friend's house just because it is her son's or daughter's favorite dish and vice versa. I never know what dish is being planned for delivery or what dish is going to show up unannounced. May God bless my wife and her circle of friends. 

I am writing this as we approach the last day of Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations and I take a moment to acknowledge how lucky we are to have such a wonderful community around us. This one week of celebrations transport me to a different world altogether, Bappa, so many friends, puja, devotion, entertainment and a sense of community and togetherness 😊😊. 

Great friends, amazing weeklong celebrations and being dog tired by the end of the day leave me a very happy and tired man. This sense of community makes an ordinary town a hometown. 

Time to say goodnight and also bid farewell to GaneshJi for this year. 

Ganapati Bappa Morya.