33 and Counting My Blessings 🎂✨
- Aruneeta Srivastava
- Sep 15
- 3 min read
So, I turned 33 this year. Somewhere between wanting to be a Santoor mom (you know, the ever-glowing ad mom who drinks green juice before sunrise 🌱) and ending up as a toor dal mom (because dal-chawal and comfort win every time 🍲)… here I am, smiling wide.
And honestly? I feel blessed.
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My Blessings This Year 🙏
✨ I published a book.
Something I had only dreamed of, I actually did. The me who writes between chores, work calls, and bedtime stories — she managed to make it happen.
✨ I’m raising a screen-free child.
Yes, in a world where tablets and phones are the babysitters, my 3-year-old is learning to live differently. She picks her clothes, brushes, cleans, cracks eggs, makes popcorn, and packs her own bag. Sometimes, I think she’s more independent than most adults I know (including me 🤭).
✨ My husband got me a birthday cake.
Now, this is HUGE. He grew up in a family where birthdays weren’t really celebrated. But this time, he walked into Theos and brought home a cake. For me. For us. And in that moment, I felt seen, loved, and celebrated in a way that mattered more than candles or gifts.
✨ My girlfriends showed up.
The Mom Com Mandali (my tribe of mom friends) came together to make the day extra special. And honestly, nothing feels better than women celebrating women, hyping each other up, and eating cake together.
✨ Reunions and laughter.
The very next day, I met my best friend of 15 years, Archie, and we spent hours laughing like no time had passed. We even went to the Museum of Illusions — with her father, who despite being super occupied with work, still made time for us. And in that space full of tricks and reflections, what reflected back to me was this simple truth: love shows up, even when busy.
✨ Roots and growth.
As if to mark the year in their own way, my parents planted an Arjun tree. A tree that stands for strength, healing, and resilience. It feels symbolic — while I step into this new chapter of life, a tree takes root that will grow with me, reminding me of where I come from and how deep love runs in a family.
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Lessons I Want My Daughter to Remember When She Turns 33 💌
When my little girl reads this someday, here’s what I want her to know:
💔 Yes, I got scammed — but I learned.
💔 Yes, I found love in an arranged marriage.
🐶 Yes, I once wanted to be a dog mom — but life made me luckier, because I got to be your mom.
👵 I miss my dadu-dadi who are no longer here, and my mayka in Lucknow — my mom, dad, brother, sister. I miss my best friend Disha too. But distance and loss only teach us to love harder.
👭 Friendships that survive years and miles are treasures — and you’ll know their worth when you find your “Archie.”
Life won’t always look the way you plan it. Sometimes it’ll break your heart, sometimes it’ll test your patience, but if you look closely, it also fills you with unexpected love, laughter, and second chances.
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What 33 Feels Like 💛
It feels like messy hair, comfy clothes, a screen full of office work… but also a heart full of gratitude. It feels like knowing that while I may not look like a Santoor mom, I’m living a life richer than any ad can sell.
It feels like joy in small things — a cake, a hug, a giggle, a girls’ night, a child’s laughter.
And most of all, it feels like home.
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Here’s to being 33, toor dal, blessed, and happy.
Because at the end of the day, this version of me — messy, loud, imperfect, loved — is exactly who I was meant to be.
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