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The connection that stood out to me the most came right at the end of this short story. The story was just comfort doing what we love where we love to be but then the last morning when the car is being packed change occurs. The packing up, saying they'll come back soon, tanned skin all seems so similar to Ashima and Ashoke before leaving Calcutta for the States. "They've forgotten or left on purpose, a few things they don't need, things I hold on to" gives me this sense of 'if I leave it behind, I'll eventually have to go back to get it' which I see a lot with Ashima when she misses her family and goes back to visit when given the opportunity.

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It's been a little bit since Ashoke's passing and I feel as if I'm learning how to be independent for the first time ever. Moving, raising kids, and being a wife was all hard it a different way than having to be independent enough to live life. Having nobody but yourself really makes you question how strong you can be for yourself. I guess this is my sign to be myself and as independent as a woman should be. - Ashima

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I know they say America is the place for new opportunities and the whole shebang, but I'm not too sure anymore. Sure it's what I should do as Ashoke's wife, move across the world to be with him. It's what I'm supposed to do. At the same time it just feels a little weird for me to leave everything behind to be with Ashoke. Sure, he's a great guy, handsome, smart, and everything good but if home were a person it would be all that and more. Is it worth leaving behind? - Ashima

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Change meets us at every turn in life. She can come in as a sudden phone call to deliver good news or really heartbreaking news. She takes us on plane rides to new opportunities and let’s us look out on the clouds. A book that teaches us new things is a lovely form of Change. Oftentimes though Change treats us like a parent trying to help us see the world for what it is. That’s through broken hearts, losing loved ones, having to move on alone, etc. But then Change also wants to be kind to us by letting us try new foods, clothes, hobbies, and just new ways of living. Change is utterly and truly herself, all the good and the bad in the world. It’s up to us to determine how healthy our relationship with her is though.

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It's currently been a few hours since Ashoke checked into the hospital with an upset stomach and I'm getting rather concerned. I guess it's an appropriate time to call the hospital. And well, bad news ensues. My husband has passed away. Thinking on it, I realize that a lot of my life was spent around this man. Initially, I wasn't too excited for the idea of an arranged marriage, but I would not have it any other way. I built a family, moved countries, and did it all with this guy and that isn't something I want taken for granted. I'm not one for emotions but I can say this hurts almost as much as my fathers death and that is saying quite a bit honestly. -Ashima

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“And then the young woman tells her that the patient, Ashoke Ganguli, her husband, has expired. Expired. A word used for library cards, for magazine subscriptions.

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“Gogol hates it because it keeps him from attending every other session of a Saturday-morning drawing class he’s enrolled in, at the suggestion of his art teacher.”

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“My grandfather always says that’s what books are for...to travel without moving an inch.”