Yesterday at this time:
Surprise call from Tharini.
(why is she calling at this hour?)
T: Have you checked your email?
Yeah…
T: Have you opened your reader yet?
No…(I told you I’ve been shutting it off so I can actually get some work done…)
T: Well, you need to tell Boo and the others that they are not going ot get anywhere..
Huh?? What are you talking about?
(*Nambiyar style laughter*) Good, good, you’re not supposed to know what I’m talking about..(*more laughter*)
I don’t understand
Go check Boo’s blog
What the hell is happening here? Wait, are you scheming something?
(*evil laughter*) That’s all I have to say – you guys have so much waiting for you, you don’t even know..
Which guys?
Go, go, read Boo’s post…Bye.

And with this clueless clue, I opened Boo’s site to see a list of 10 blogs, and 60 comments on one post.  Could I possibly be any late to the game?? Where would I even begin?!!!

That’s how it started. Hop from one, pick up a letter, solve the riddle, hop to the next. It was all too much to take in one shot – had to make some sense of it and I whipped out my trusty Excel. Even with that, I was getting too excited, forgetting to write down letters, peeking in the comments before trying to solve it myself and on and on. Till I finally got a hold of myself and started solving (a lot of them wrong!!) and slowly, the pieces fell into place.

Mid afternoon:
T: So how are you doing so far?
If I get fired today, you are to blame!
T: But you’re not supposed to be solving today – wait till tomorrow and you’ll get the clue.
How do you expect me to sit tight when there is so much action? The riddles are bloody brilliant and clever as hell!

And so it went…emergency conferences among the MTBs who were awake and not preparing for an exam (sorry, DG!), exchanging tips with Maggie, double checking guesses with Poppins, and on and on, swapping clues, brainstorming…my gmail was packed with action.

But this was just the beginning. Tharini had told me this over and over, but it didn’t hit me, till I got to the shower site and WHAM!

How much can you take in in one day? It was impossible – that this was happening…the scale of it, the perfection, the details, Oh MAN the details! Did you guys miss out ANYTHING at all? The header, the template customization, the chat window, the About page, the Doula Gang intro.

How did you all pull everything together with such absolute harmony?

Even the name Doula Gang – because that’s exactly what you guys are, isn’t it? You are our unflailing support structure, the shoulders we lean on, the arms that will embrace us - you are the ones we’ll come running to with every problem from Why hasn’t his cord fallen off yet? to Help! He already knows about the birds and bees!

I clicked on ‘Wait! there’s More’ – and there was more, and more. And more and more. How much time, how much thought, how much care invested in every word, in every curve of the graphics, in every color scheme, in every widget. I am sure I haven’t grasped every single detail of it yet, I will be visiting over and over and catching little things every time, and assimilating it all in, soaking in the joy of it, basking in the kind of love that can only emanate from words.

What had I done to deserve this much blessing and love from people I hadn’t even said hello to online?
What could I possibly do to reciprocate the generosity – or even come close? How will I ever say thanks?

I don’t have the answer to these questions – the sheer enormity of this magnum opus has left me humbled. But I do wish to make two little dedications.

To all the members of the Doula gang, who were part of this brilliant operation, I dedicate this post – my 200th so far. And this infant rose bush from my backyard.

It is not much of a looker right now. Short and stumpy, wrinkled in places, sensitive, temperamental, needing to be swaddled.  Almost exactly like a newborn.

But I promise you, every time I tend to it, every time I water it and will it to grow and pour it with love, I will think of you, the Doula Gang.
I will say thanks in a prayer in my heart for bringing me to a place and time where I came into contact with each of you.

With every new leaf that emerges, I will think of a new blogger I’ve discovered. With every branch that grows, I will think of how you branched out and reached to me. With every flower that blooms, I will think of the relationship that blossoms in these comment sections.

The plant will grow, slowly, steadily, like a growing child. And I will protect it and cherish it with all my heart, like I do with the friendships formed here.

Thank you Doula Gang for this incredible experience. I will remember this lifelong.

Heck, for this kind of a shower, I could go through the nauseas and aches and pains of pregnancy all over again!!!