My husband and daughter announced in unison:
Mommy makes the best French toast in the world.
duh…they have been around to only half of the world. I love their conviction though.
Hiding my sneaky smile, I walk into the kitchen to get them both, another slice. They deserve it, don’t you think ?
No matter how often they attempt to ace my recipe, they couldn’t get close to crack my secret ingredient.
For years, I have been tricking them into believing that it was my love that added the extra layer of sweetness.
Well, not anymore.
Today, I have no option but to reveal the classified information, for the sake of this article and to retain my authenticity.
Are you ready for it ?
Eating my French toast becomes a whole new experience because of the extra spoonful of brown sugar, I sprinkle on top of the bread slice, halfway through the process. I toast it on a low flame for a few minutes before sliding it onto the serving plate.
Slow cooking melts the sugar crystals on top, making the bread piece browner, and crunchier, and more appetising to the taste buds as they devour each bite.
My Eureka Moment
Today, during the usual cooking process, I had my moment of revelation.
Like the simple ingredient that made my recipe enticing, I am grateful to have special people in my life whose extra sweetness transform my most ordinary moments into beautiful occasions.
Their presence makes life worthwhile.
To honour the length of this article, I will pick the first person in my life [in chronological order]: My elder sister.
Her simple gestures speaks volumes of truth, sparking meaningful connections, elevating my mood, and uplifting my spirits.
She holds the golden key that unlocks my brighter side in no time.
The Ritual that fosters our connection
My 15-minute morning call with my sister has now become a daily ritual.
Every morning after the kids have left for school, we have a mini session over phone, roasting the problems in our lives.
What started as a casual convo to keep me awake as I made my second cup of coffee, has now become our favourite part of the day.
The first minutes are reserved for the most recent challenges we are facing at work, life, parenting, and what not?!
When we run out of topics, we keep the fire on, recollecting memories from our past, reminding ourselves of all the silly-brave stuff we did as kids, how we survived life’s worst storms.
We are both so much in sync that our dialogues flow seamlessly. Her presence of mind in mapping any real-life serious events to the most funny movie references is epic. She cracks me up effortlessly.
We take turns narrating our families’ best and worst happenings with such creative humour that leaves us laughing until we can’t breathe.
Our perspectives on life challenges have totally changed now. When a new problem arise, I can’t stop thinking of all the fun we are going to have with it, in the following morning chat.
Long after I have hung up the phone, I can still feel the vibration in my diaphragm from excessive laughing. There is no better way to set such a perfect tone for the rest of my day.
What surprises me most is that we are not even fully awake at that hour. Yet, we build such beautiful energy into our exchange, making it a truly special experience.
This is also why she easily stands out from the rest of the world.
Behind the scenes
My Sister and I, we share nothing in common.
We are both polar opposites.
I am a beacon of positivity while she is a borderline pessimist. She plays safe while I am known for risking my life for the love of game.
If I drew a line chart representing our understanding about each other over the years, it would look like a sine wave, full of ups and downs.
We have had the best times and worst. But what brings us together through life’s thick and thin is beyond love or the bloodline.
Her genuine interest in understanding my personality and strengths, her investment in my personal development brings her to the top of my go-to people list.
The “Extra” sugar in our relationship
It would not be an exaggeration if I said my sister is more involved in helping me reaching my goals, than her own.
The beauty of our bond lies in the fact that she never once laughed at my crazy goals.
She respects my efforts, pushes me beyond my limits, dissolving any self-doubts and fears by quoting instances from my childhood days. She enables me to believe in myself.
She has been my watcher all my life, constantly noticing the tiny details, appreciating the smallest actions, celebrating my little wins.
She knew nothing about running then, but she was my huge motivator when I told her about my plan to run my first half marathon. On the day of the race, she went a step overboard and told me: Try to come first in the race [I warned you, she knew nothing about running or races, LOL].
She has consistently encouraged me to not give up my running or powerlifting at any cost. My most loved motivation line from her is: Even if you knew you were going to die today, make sure to get your miles in or beat your personal record at the gym.
She doesn’t go to gym either but she knows how important my workouts are to me.
Uncommon courage emerges from knowing that there is someone out there who believes in you as much as you do. When situations demand otherwise, she has more confidence in me than I do. Sometimes, I thrive through hell so as not to let her hopes about me fall down.
She can pick me up from rock bottom from thousands of miles away with her words. When I hit my lowest point in my work life with my toxic boss, she sent me an email to remind me of my strengths, and this line stayed with me forever: You are the north star for life’s vision. keep rocking.
We are constantly learning about each other’s new interests, invested in one another’s growth, and evolving together through different life stages.
Relationships like this transform and inspire me to reach my fullest potential.
She is my non-stop cheerleader, enabling me to see my light even through the darkest nights.
© Tamil, 2025.
My Magic Bytes 
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