Dear Tirgan

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Here I am, finally, writing my very first blog.  After almost eight years of reading blogs and promising to myself that one day I would eventually write my own blogs (read it memoire), the moment of truth is here and I owe it to you dear Tirgan.  The spell is broken.

Here I am writing about you, when you are almost at the corner, knocking at our door.  So, kudos to you my friend, you have made a blogger out of me at last.

Here I am, fashionably late!!, trying to capture all the moments that I have had with you, while we are getting ready to celebrate your third birthday in Toronto.

Wait a minute ... Are you really three?  You were born in 2006 I assume, then you must be five by now. Is that so?  You seem very mature for your age now that I am thinking about it.  It cannot be....You must be older.... Yes you are 13, just a teenager as young as my years in Canada.  Isn’t it true? No...?

I am getting really curious; tell me how old you are.  I just would like to know how many candles I should light on your birthday cake.  Maybe you are 32. Is that so? Only 32?

It is hard to believe that you might be much older than that..... You might be as old as he, the archer, or even as old as she, our homeland.  Seriously...., I would like to know your secret.  How old are you?  I should know, because I am going to write about you.  I should know, because my life has not been the same since we have become friends.

Please let me know....I am going to write how it started, when I did come to know you first, and how you gradually became part of my everyday life.

I am going to write about the time that you generously introduced me to your good friends and not so long after, your good friends became my good friends and remained my good friends since then.   

I am going to share the experience that I have gained through you.

I am going to write about the tears that you have brought into my eyes and the joy that you have filled my heart with.  I may even someday talk about those sad, weak moments of my life that you helped me to get through.  

You have changed me in many ways my friend.  Because of you, I am much stronger now.  You have given me this unique experience that has made me feel I am living my history....that I am taking charge... that I am not a silent observer ...not anymore.  It is because of you that I so feel proud yet selfless of all the achievements that I have gained through you.

See my dear Tirgan? I have a lot to share, but you are almost here. The clock is ticking and just now I remember that I have not written about Nima’s everlasting smile yet....

I remember that how much I would like to write about Saviz’s cheerful face when he showed me the first $20 bill that Tirgan received as donation....

I would like to write how it felt, when I first saw Babak and Melorin’s beautiful Haftseen decorated by Tirgan’s colourful tree, as a token of our Iranian heritage, on their first Persian “New Day” away from home....  Something that all of us preciously carry within our hearts as long as we live.

I would like to talk about Ali & I, and how we both managed to become your friends.  It makes sense. After all you and him were both born in the same month. These days, Ali and I spend more time with you than with each other ;) 

I have a lot to say my friend, and I promise you that someday I will write about all these and many more.  I promise......

But now it is time to celebrate your birthday..... I have lost the track of time.... You are almost here and I still do not know how many candles I need to put on fire for your birthday.

I can even hear your steps, if I listen carefully...

It is time and I made my mind dear friend. I am not going to light any candle on your cake. In fact you don’t even need any...do you know why?

Because you are ageless....

Just like eternity.

Maryam