White Christmas

 This is the longest I have been away from my blog since T's passing more than three years ago. My last post was about the double blow of not finishing my PhD and not being able to visit home this December. The following day, we learnt that Maharashtra was bringing in a mandatory 7-day hotel quarantine followed by a 7-day home quarantine. That news knocked the stuffing out of me. I couldn't muster any motivation to work on my PhD. Neither could I bring myself to do yoga or blog. I found myself in a funk like none I have encountered before. But, apart from some exercise, all I have done over the past five days is binge watch Line of Duty. My flight is still 10 days away and the news on the Covid variant front just keeps getting worse. I have no idea if I will make it to India, and I won't know until my plane takes off. I don't think I am going to be very productive over the next 10 days or so, although this is supposed to be precious time that should be devoted to my PhD. If I don't manage to finish my PhD over the next two months, I wont' be able to get back to it till May or June. 

So, when I hear White Christmas play on the radio this morning, it lifted my spirits. There may be a pandemic on, but the world is still turning, the seasons are still changing. And, that's a lesson to keep in mind if I am not able to visit India this winter. I will be gutted, I might not get out of bed for a few days. But the world will keep on turning, time will keep on healing, and I will move past that setback. 

The song brought back memories of many a pleasant Christmas I have spent since moving out of India in 2014. I have spent five of the past seven Christmases in Europe.