October was an interesting month. Like every other month, it was a mix of good and not-so-good. But unlike the rest, October came with flavors and fragrances that made it memorable in its own unique way.
The month began with fall break for the kids, which meant the first two weeks started on a relaxed note — no school to rush to.
Our younger one turned nine in the first week of the month, and we marked the occasion with a trip to Universal Studios in Los Angeles, California. All of us, especially Akku, our newly minted nine-year-old, loved The Wizarding World of Harry Potter the most. He was completely mesmerized by Diagon Alley and the number of magical stores it had to offer. We got him a wand, Harry Potter’s, of course, that could perform magic at certain spots around the alley.
It was disappointing when the magic didn’t work at first, but we made it a point to go back later in the day and were delighted to find that everything was working again. Watching spells come to life right in front of our eyes was pure joy. I can’t wait to visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Florida next time.
Phoenix saw unusually high rainfall during the second week of October. There had been rain before school closed in late September, but the October showers were persistent and, at times, fierce. It rained continuously for five days — something we hadn’t seen in all the 17 years we’ve lived here.
There was flooding across the state, and many people got stuck in flash floods. Backyards were flooded in several houses. Thankfully, ours didn’t turn into a pool, though the road next to our house was flooded. It was quite an experience dealing with so much rain and water all around.
Once school resumed in the third week, I fell sick — probably with the flu. I was completely drained for two days, but I was grateful that my husband was home that week and didn’t have to travel for work, which gave me time to rest. The weekend, however, got busy again as we celebrated Akku’s birthday party with his school friends at a trampoline park. It was a small gathering, but our boy had an amazing time.
We also hosted a little barbecue with friends from the neighborhood. The weather was perfect after all the rain — cool mornings and evenings, bright and sunny days.
In the fourth week of October, we celebrated Diwali. Well, “celebrated” might be too strong a word, as we didn’t do anything elaborate. But I did participate in a poetry contest organized by my blogging buddy, Sunita Saldanha. It lasted for five days, from the 20th to the 24th. Every morning at 8 o’clock, she’d email the day’s prompt, and we had to submit the poem by 8 p.m. the same day.
Since the contest was based in India, I received the prompt at 7:30 p.m. the night before, with a 7:30 a.m. deadline the next morning, leaving me very little time to write. I usually came up with ideas around 5 a.m. and submitted them before 6. Though I wasn’t entirely happy with what I wrote, I kept participating, and I’m so glad I did, because I won the fifth day’s challenge! It was such a pleasant surprise. It’s been a while since I’ve won anything — or even participated in something like that.
I realized that the tight deadline actually worked in my favor. It pushed me to stop overthinking and just get to work. I want to create more such challenges for myself, as I believe they’ll help me focus more on creating rather than overanalyzing.
I’ve come to see that it’s not a lack of lessons that holds me back, but a lack of consistent action. I want to change that.
And so, as October comes to an end, I’m challenging myself to take action. I’ve set three key tasks for the last week of the month. Let’s see if I can rise to the challenge.
I think that explains why I was a little quiet here this month. October kept me busy, reminded me how much joy comes from living fully, and taught me that growth begins with showing up — even in small ways. I feel grateful for the memories, the lessons, and even the pauses. Here’s to showing up and taking action, one little step at a time.
Void Thoughts 