A token of appreciation

When was the last time someone appreciated you for something you did? And you had not expected it at all? Were you happy, pleasantly surprised or were just awkward and didn't know what to say?

How should one react when one gets appreciated from an unknown person and one can't thank him/her for that? 

While drinking tea before going to the office today, my husband, was sitting in the chair with a piece of paper on the table. Upon opening it, I found a note written to our previous owner. It was written in German. I am translating it here for you:

It read:

Dear ...,

I like your cat very much. It is so soft and delicate. The curries smell so good even now that it reminds me of the Chicken Masala that you made. 

And then there was a heart at the bottom. 

It instantly brought smile to my face. First of all, the cat that people think belongs to us is the neighbour's cat, Polo, who frequents our home for siestas and treats. He often sits on the porch, enjoying the cool breeze in the evenings. Many people assume it's our cat and this person has also thought the same. The previous owners of the house had cats as pets and A initially thought maybe the owners had given a kitten to this person, about which he has mentioned in the letter. But that was not the case. A had already sent the letter to the previous owner and he said, this letter is very much addressed to us as the new inhabitants, which the writer of the letter is unaware of. There is a postbox with our name in which he dropped the letter, but perhaps he overlooked that and still assumed that the family before us still stays here.

The latter part of his compliments, made my day. The different dishes that we Indians cook with a lot of thought, preparation and amalgamation of spices and flavours was well appreciated by this person. He put all those recipes under one banner "curry", which is little amusing for us. Everything we make is definitely not called curry, but that's what the image of the Indian food abroad is. But a genuine gesture by this stranger really meant a lot.

Nevertheless, I thanked the secret admirer for his beautiful words in my heart and I hope to find him/her out one day to say thank you personally and also invite the person to taste the Indian "curry". 😉

Such small joys make a rainy start to the week so enjoyable!