Here's a sigh to those who love me,
And a smile to those who hate;
And, whatever sky's above me,
Here's a heart for every fate.
- George Gordon, Lord Byron, 'To Thomas Moore'

It is the 27th day of March and I will turn 27 in just three days. In three years, I will turn 30 and in 13 years, I will hit the big four O. Oh wow.

I am thankful to Allah SWT for each and every blessing that He has bestowed upon me. At 27, I am married to the most wonderful man whom I love with every single cell in my body and whom I believe, loves me as much. I may not have the greatest career with the best-paying money, but I thank Allah for never making it difficult on me career-wise. I am blessed with the greatest parents; their unconditional loves have guided me throughout my life. And I thank Allah for my one and only brother; my life would not be as fun as it is without him. I have the best of friends in the whole wide world; you girls know who you are, I adore you to bits.

And in just a few days, my Husband and I will turn one. Our union, that is. My parents, who will celebrate their 28th anniversary this year, 13 days after our 1st anniversary; they are the best example of a great marriage, in my opinion. They share. They respect. They bicker. They laugh. They’re basically their own best friends. In all my single years, I have prayed to Allah that He will bless me with such a partner; the one I can share everything with, one who will respect and love me for everything that I am, one I can debate with and argue and discuss everything with, one who can make me laugh and laugh at all the same thing, one who could guide me in the righteous path, and most importantly one who could be my best friend. Hence I thank Allah for granting it to me. Alhamdulillah. It has been the best one year of my life, Hubby. Truly it has.

This is starting to sound like an Oscar winner acceptance speech. Heh. What I’m trying to say is, it is a glorious, blessed Friday, and so even though it is not yet my birthday nor it is our anniversary, I’d like to take the opportunity to remind myself to always be thankful to Him. Although I am yet to be blessed with children, or to be where I want to be in my career, and I am far away from my parents, and still is not feeling too well today even after 4 days of medical leave, or have yet to travel around the world --- to dwell on these would make me an ungrateful pessimist and I don’t want to be one.

I am looking at my half full glass and I truly thank Allah for every single thing in my life and mostly for the 27 blessed years I have live this beautiful life.

Alhamdulillah. Thank you, Allah.