The Least You Could Do..

Birthdays are always special. All the more so when a family member has one. On one such recent occasion, I decided to send some gifts back home (thanks floraindia.com). I was then talking on the phone and heard the following ..."Gifts are very good, but hey, you didn't come! (?)".

It was a perfectly valid comment. It really got me thinking. I had a realization about how all things we do are relative. In other words, the definition of "the least you could do" changes based on many external factors. People wish their loved ones by personally visiting them on their birthday. It is probably the least, one can hope, you can do for them. Today, however, I am thousands of miles away from my loved ones. The expectation of the "least I can do" to have a smile on their face -- has changed. What's bad is that instead of rising, expectations generally go down over time. Not meeting your family on such special occasions has become the norm of the 21st century.

I've always heard the funny jokes about how NRIs regularly send gifts/flowers, but come home just once an year, in the best case. It is only now that I realize what this means. It takes time for such things to sink in. And when they do sink in, you start questioning yourself; Why are you doing this?; About the career goals you have, versus the things you have been, and will be missing out on. All you can say at that moment is "Never mind" and move on, with the hope that one day you'll know the answers to all these questions.