coco and me

The title of the topic is partially inspired by the book 'Marley and me' and partially by my dog, Coco... He is such an important part of my life that it felt right to dedicate some blog space to him... He is actually more than just a dog to us, he is a family member, my bundle of joy...
I still remember the day we got him home... we were about to adopt a dog who has spent 3.5 years in a different home with different set of people... we were sceptical about his temperament, his habits, his likes and dislikes... we wondered how naughty he will be, how long will he take to accept us as his new family... and with all these questions in mind, we met this blue eyed, chocolate brown labrador, full of energy and willing to play with anyone... it was as if the entire world is his friend... we loved him the moment we set eyes on him... we knew that coco is exactly what we wanted... I remember he was a little scared to climb into the back seat of our car and was sad to go away from my friend with whom he had spent 2 very happy months... I am sure he had similar questions in his mind during the journey back home... we bought him an icecream on the way home which he loved and we started the process of knowing each other and accepting each other...
we came to know that he likes chicken and rice, dislikes milk, likes to play with ball, loves to chase cats, loves his teddy bear... he is softspoken, doesn't speak till it is absolutely necessary or we ask him to... he loves a good belly rub, likes it when we brush his fur, hates it when we brush his teeth or give him a bath...
It was a learning process for him too... he knows all our routine around the house... he can understand whether we are getting ready to go to office or to take him out... he has learnt all the bengali words I use to talk to him... he knows where we keep his snacks and treats... he has learnt to trust us... and he has learnt that he is allowed to be disobedient and not listen to my commands which is entirely my fault... even if I get angry sometimes, but the moment I see his face, I cannot think of punishing him...
When I return home at the end of a tiring day, I get the best welcome one can get... I don't think anyone human being can express happiness better than Coco without speaking a single word... When I leave for office, the sadness in his eyes to see me go moves me so much that I feel like abandoning the idea of going to office... when he comes and licks my face, I feel honored that he thinks I deserve his love... even on the days when I am late from office and he is sitting at the door hungry and waiting for me to come and take him out, he doesn't show his anger or doesn't get annoyed, instead, I get the same warm welcome... he never complains... I wonder, did god not teach dogs how to complain, or he loves me so much that he forgives me everytime?

Life has become so simple after Coco came... he keeps me occupied and doesn't let my idle mind be devil's workshop :)... I often wondered what kind of a parent will I be... I think I know that now...
It is true that dogs are man's best friends... like a true best friend they teach you good things and give you emotional support by being at your side always, no matter what... coco has taught me how to be patient and try to communicate with someone who doesn't understand my language... he taught me how to be responsible, take care of someone totally dependent on me... he taught me how to sacrifice my own wishes to make someone happy... and above all, he taught me how to love someone unconditionally...

Starting

At last my first blog!!... after much procrastination...

During my school days, I used to write diary almost everyday, some very personal thoughts and my ambitions in life, my feelings and reactions about the things going on around me... During my graduation days, I stopped that habit due to an incident... then life became very fast for me, loaded with studies, trying to decide what to do next, worrying about job, convincing parents that I am ready to get married, getting married, trying to settle in a new family, accepting new family members... whew... didn't find the time to write my thoughts down...

but now life has slowed down a bit... I have a nice job, a best friend and partner, and a nice home, kind of settled life from an outsider's point of view... but I still have so many dreams to fulfill, sometimes I am so full of emotions, I feel the need to write them down... I find this new way of expressing views, thoughts, discussing topics very interesting... so wanted to start blogging since a long time... so let me start...

I will start with a topic that has been discussed time and again by almost everybody... what do we want from life? which is that one thing that will make us happy and contended with life? In my case, I have observed that the answer varies according to situation... If I ask this question to myself when I am in a very good mood, happy with the things in life, then I will say I wish to make more progress in life and career and do something worthwhile, contribute something to my society, make a mark in this world... on the days when I am sad and disappointed with the happenings around me, then I start regretting so many decisions that I have taken in my life and then the only thing I want is freedom; I wish to run away from everything and be free; forget everything and everyone; be alone and read a good book... Sometimes when I to buy something and due financial reasons, I cannot, I feel the only thing I need to be happy is money... I have lived more than one third of my life (I am considering the average age of an human being as 75 years) and still not figured out what I want from life...

it seems there is no end to the process of wishing... if we achieve something, we start wishing for something else... I wonder whether the great men on earth like Einstein, Picasso, Rabindranath Tagore, had all figured out what they want from life, or they also considered their life incomplete till the end?