Grateful By Ketaki S. Vaidya

I went to the sea shore to unwind I was walking on the sand by the sea While I was worrying about what future holds, The Sun came down slowly It kissed the earth before saying good night The earth blushed and the sky became pink The sky was colored in the colors of their love pink, purple, orange, yellow and red!  While I was regretting the decisions of my past The sea was being grateful to the Earth for being its friend It was   washing her feet in the gratitude offering the white flowers of its waves In the process some adventurous sea creatures came to earth to explore new lands The wind patted the sea with affection causing so many ripples I went for a walk to find relaxation while I was worried about the challenges anticipated The sky was cozy with its blanket of dark It was decorated with bright lights of starts with moon in the middle, brightest of all they all seemed to have a mind of their own They were either bli...

My mom is the smartest  she always tries her best but at times she acts like a fool even for the simple test The fast food is so cheap and easy but even after being busy she still fixes dinner who will tell her it is OK to be lazy? She is so strong she works in the hot nothing stops her whether rain or not but cries like a baby if I get pricked for a shot She sends me to school for whole day even pays a lot of fee but when it comes to sleepovers she can not live without me She has always set me free she let's me make my choice but even though she is not around In my head, I always hear her voice Even after me being rude she has always been my friend she always helps me begin my thing and she always stays till end

Dawn I work at school setting as a speech language pathologist. I get to see many little kids at school.  I saw him there. It was just a beginning of the school year and he was in a pre-school class. When I saw him, he was a bit scared. Very much confused with the people and noise around. He was not oriented at all being in a new place. Due to delay in speech and language development, he was not able to communicate effectively either. He was very nervous as he just had a restroom accident and had to change his clothes. He was very embarrassed that he could not even tell such a basic thing to his teacher. I approached him. Took some time and then initiated some talk with him. He slowly was assured that I am a safe person to be around with. He  knew it is a beginning of  new journey now.  Dusk I work at long term nursing homes as a speech language pathologist. I get to work with many elderly people at nursing homes. I saw him there. It was a new admission. ...

April is Autism Awareness Month. I have been working with children with different disabilities since last 15 years and have seen many with autism spectrum disorder. It is such a pleasure to be able to be a part of any child's life. I am going to use this as an opportunity to reflect on few things I have learnt after working with children with Autism. Few of them are as follows-  1) Never judge a book by its cover- In day to day life we see many kids around us. In schools, at malls, at parks, at movie theater, in public transportation. We see all kinds of them. Some of them appear to be well behaved, some do not talk much, some are wild and we see some running, jumping, kicking and what not! We are very quick to judge them and label them. This is a good kid, this kid is so naughty, this one is a "bad" kid. Some times we even go too far and start judging parenting of these kids. His/her parents have not taught him/her any good manners. Parents are busy on social media...

Even under layers of snow the sprout somehow finds its room Even after severe storm the flower never forgets to bloom Strong wind blows the bird's nest down it happens almost every year the little bird always makes a new one  it is mighty willed and has no fear The tiny spider weaves a web the rain washes it off and nothing remains the determined spider never stops it weaves the web again and again The hot sun blazes out flames every summer it burns the ground It can not stop the grass from growing I can always see it when the rain is around The baby falls and gets many bumps while it takes only few steps to walk It never quits its attempts even after and it eventually can walk and learns to talk The Spring comes after winter even if you think it might not be able The willingness of nature to rise makes the spring really unstoppable