N – Neha, The Needy Friend

Neha is emotionally high maintenance—but in the most lovable way.

She doesn’t just need you—she needs you to need her too.

If she sends “Are you free?” and you take longer than 10 minutes to reply, she’ll follow up with:

“Hello???? Did you die??”

“You’re ignoring me, aren’t you?”

“You’ve changed.”

All this while I was in the shower.

There was this one time—I replied to her “good morning” text without an emoji.

Just plain: “Good morning!”

Neha: “That’s it?”

Me: “Yes?”

Neha: “Where is the heart? The sun? The sparkle? Are you mad at me?”

I had to call her and send a digital bouquet to prove I still liked her.

She once said:

“I’m not clingy. I’m just emotionally thorough.”

And honestly? She is.

She checks in when no one else does.

She remembers tiny things you casually mention in passing and brings them up a year later.

She makes you feel seen—even if she wants a detailed explanation for your 7-minute voice note delay.

The Nehas in our lives teach us that:

Love isn’t always subtle. Some people express care by needing connection—frequent, loud, and emoji-filled. And though they can be a lot, they also make you feel like enough.

Have you met a Neha in your life?

Or are you the one who feels personally attacked by “Seen 2:17 PM” and no reply?

I'm participating in #BlogchatterA2Z"

Comments

Post a Comment

Read other posts

The Surname of Light

The theme of this bloghop was an invitation I couldn't ignore. I had a draft ready in my mind, waiting for the house to go quiet so I could finally pen it down. As I tucked my son in, I used his full name. “Aadi Parekh, let’s close our eyes.” Off he started his chants. “Maman Parekh,” “Papa Parekh,” “Dada Parekh,” “Dadi Parekh.” I smiled in the dimness. He knows our names, but he chose to anchor our formal family title to our designated roles. I was about to tell him how cute he was, assuming the census of our home was complete. “Light Parekh,” he whispered. I paused. My instinct was to correct him—to say that light isn't family. I caught the words before they left my lips. I saw the warmth on his face, a look of genuine recognition. I repeated “Light Parekh” with a hint of a question, waiting for the punchline of a toddler’s joke. He didn’t laugh. He looked at the floor lamp and smiled warmly. I stayed awake that night, my original draft forgotten. A two-year-old had just dism...
Read more

L: Legolepsy

Image
The Vocabulary of Life is an A–Z journey through the unspoken. Inspired by my toddler’s wonder and his relentless curiosity for "why," I’m exploring 26 days of word-nerd gems and sensory wonders that name the feelings we often share but can’t always describe. Whether you're a parent, a dreamer, or a seeker, there’s a word here for you.
Read more

G: Glabella

  The Vocabulary of Life is an A–Z journey through the unspoken .   Inspired by my toddler’s wonder and his relentless curiosity for “why,” I’m exploring 26 days of word-nerd gems and sensory wonders that name the feelings we often share but can’t always describe. Whether you’re a parent, a dreamer, or a seeker, there’s a word here for you. I remember the day my son spent a very long time pointing out different places on the body and asking me what they were, repeatedly. “What’s this, Mama?” he’d ask, pointing to his elbow, then his knee, then his chin. We were on a roll until his tiny finger landed right between his eyebrows. He paused, looking at me with total expectation. I realized in that second that I had lived my entire life with that specific spot on my face, yet I had never once questioned what it was called myself. That small, flat space between your eyebrows, where worry and wonder often meet, is called the Glabella. The Glabella is more than just an anatomical land...
Read more

O: Opia

The Vocabulary of Life is an A–Z journey through the unspoken . Inspired by my toddler’s wonder and his relentless curiosity for "why," I’m exploring 26 days of word-nerd gems and sensory wonders that name the feelings we often share but can’t always describe. Whether you're a parent, a dreamer, or a seeker, there’s a word here for you.
Read more

Theme Reveal: The Vocabulary of Life (An A–Z Journey)

One day, I caught my toddler staring at a single patch of sunlight on the floorboards with such intensity that the rest of the world seemed to vanish. He wasn't just playing; he was observing. In that moment, I realized that while I have the words to describe my day, I didn't always have the words to describe his wonder. Life with a toddler is a constant stream of "Why?" and "What’s that?" But as a writer and a lover of language, I’ve found that our everyday vocabulary often falls short. We feel things—a specific nostalgia, a sudden sense of safety, the music of a repeating sound—that we simply don't have labels for. My son’s relentless curiosity for complex facts pushed me to dig deeper. I wanted to find the names for the invisible magic in our world, not just for him, but for all of us. This April, for the Blogchatter A2Z Challenge, I am embarking on: "The Vocabulary of Life: An A–Z Journey through the Unspoken." Over the...
Read more