I really miss being a kid sometimes,

All the early cartoons and sweets,

The lunchbox kids meal at KFC

Before they turned to weird commercials,

Those slap bracelets and playing tag.

I think 2007 was a good year,

Since I was on the honor roll,

Had perect attendence, played violin,

But, I didn't like the curfew,

And until then, the president was

Another Dave Chappelle joke

(which I secretly watched late at night).

Maybe I miss 2012 when we moved,

Though I didn't appreciate leaving then.

But I could take hour long showers,

Had a lofted bedroom and my own PC,

Though I literally had no privacy,

And my periods would agonizing

And God, the migraines I had back then.

Feeling like I was hit with a sledgehammer

And kicked in the gut at the same time,

I spent a lot of days at home, crying

In fetal position begging for it to end.

Doctors said nothing was wrong,

As if I wasn't in crippling pain,

And sent me home as if I was fine.

I made some good friends though,

And the food down there was unlike any other.

I don't think I miss the years though.

The memories attached are what stay,

Not the days or the weeks or the time,

The hot winters spent playing in Texas,

The snowball fights from our first house,

The hot chocolate burning my tongue

As I try to eek out a good final essay.

The graduation parties, the birthdays,

The road trips (God! The road trips!)

The time without a fear that everyone

I love and know will die someday,

A time when I didn't care about

Politics and money was just a gift,

When we didn't know if we'd have cable

But if we did, don't turn on Barbecue U!

It's all just memories now that I can't live in,

So I guess my favorite year is yet to come.

It would probably be a tie between two- 2014 and 2016.

2014- I did well in Class 10th, even had my name published in the newspaper. The fame was fleeting, but it felt good. In June that year we visited my aunt, who lives in the US. My only trip abroad till date, it left me with memories to cherish for a long time. I was full of enthusiasm for the next phase- class 11th and preparation for engineering entrance exams.

2016- I was rather disillusioned about my abilities, since I did not do as well as expected in Class 12. Yet there was something magical about that year. I had finished school and was ready to enter college. I was seventeen, and at seventeen the world is full of possibilities. Maybe it was the year or maybe it was the age I was at, but I felt heady with youth. I wasn't jaded like I am now. 2016 was the year I made several good friends, one of whom- Kusum- I have written about earlier. Then again, it was not an easy year. I had to study for entrance exams again, while in the first year of college, which was quite challenging. There were tears and there was laughter, there was disappointment and there was hope. And that was what made 2016 beautiful.

This whole decade sucked but there were a few highlights. 2016 was pretty bad because my husband was forced into early retirement and my mother-in-law passed away. However, it was also the year of my daughter's Bat Mitzvah. I was so proud of her accomplishment and we threw a big party where I got to see a lot of friends and relatives that I hadn't seen for a long time.

2014 was good because I just accepted a contract for a job that I loved and missed (was previously employed there from 2006-2013) and was happy to be back. My daughter was thriving in her first year of middle school and got one of the leads in the school musical. I loved watching her discover her passion for theater.

2017 I was converted from contract to direct hire. This change meant salary, paid vacation days, and healthcare. We desperately needed this to happen because in the years since his buyout, my husband has not found reliable employment and the jobs he has held do not have benefits.

This decade was not a good one but it helps to remember the good that happened.