A NOTE OF GRATITUDE FOR VIRUSES

A change of seasons is a miraculous see saw of hot and cold climate. An hour of clouds and the next might just come with sunshine. Admidst this fight between cold and hot monkeys; the viral cat gets a fair chance to get hold of ones nose and throat!
Don't ever underestimate the debilitating power of this common disease of cough and cold. Its intensly debilitating. By virtue of being highly infectious its not uncommon on the part of family members to place the baton in everyones elses nose and throat one by one, or may be simultaneously.
First to start was my hubby, and then Naisha. I thought I was spared, but it seems the thought itself was the trigger. I fell into the trap. Oh these debilitating four days!
Its so tough to find some time for rest because Naisha is just too young to understand. It was just another wonderful experience for her... my this debilitating illness.
She loves to place that tablet on my tongue with a pet set of instructions..
"Swallow it in one go mom"
"Don't bite it okay"
"It will taste bitter."
The moment I swallowed the tablet she goes..
"Now are you alright?"
I just looked at her and my hubby answered for me..
"it will take time to act and make mommy alright"
"Oh!" that heavenly expression and she gives me that innocent motherly look and explains.
"Don't worry Ma, you will be alright" she keeps her small tiny hands on my head.
I said, "I look at you and I turn alright my darling doll" and my husband took her to the other room so that I could rest.
After two-three hours she comes to ask me again..
"How are you ma"
"Not very fine" I replied.
She asked me to turn around and said... "look at me ma, look at me" I was so troubled and I asked Mohit to take her away. Mohit came and started explaining that I was not well and needed some rest.
After all the patient hearing she says "Papa, if Mamma will see me she'll be alright, ask her to see me" "Oh my doll mamma is alright.." I said fixing my gaze on her  "..but my nose and throat are not that fine" Mohit took her to other room and I sat there thanking the viruses, because all these lovely verbal flowers my doll showered upon me were all due to these viruses.  

SLOW BEGINNINGS

                          One fine monday morning when I was making my daughter ready I asked her to brush her teeth and she goes slugggishhh. Then I wanted her to wash her face and she goes slugggishhh. Putting on her new dress and she goes slugggishhh. Doing her hair and she goes slugggishhh. Slugggishhh slugggishhh slugggishhh ! So sluggish, why sluggish and how sluggish ?
"Time is running out and you silly girl..." muttering these I entered the kitchen to cook a quickie! Suddenly something came to my mind and in no time I slipped into my soliloque.
It all began with reasoning
We probably got up late ?
We slept also late though!
          But how much time is the adequate time to get ready and drop her to school ?
I already did the calculations (10 mins brushing, 10 min this and 10 min that etc etc) but still........ where was I going wrong?
She is deleberately slow because she doesn't want to go to school.
I needed to work a lot with her.
I needed her to like her school, her teacher and to make friends in school. I needed her to learn hurrying up.
A TURMOIL of thoughts!
                    Finally an insight happened that erased the thoughts begone in one single go.

 I needed to learn that every child has a choice, a pace of his/her own and I must understand that and respect that too.
I needed to work a lot lot more wth myself!
        

 

PONDERING OVER NATURE'S BEAUTY WITH CHILDREN

ONE PRICELESS MOMENT

Its a busy life these days and early morning are usually seated on super fast expresses. Hurry is a personalised element of every moment in it (even on Sundays).
This Sunday morning Mohit (my dear hubby) got up and swiftly moved into his super fast express mode. A quickie of tooth brushing, shaving, freshening, bathing, choosing clothes, wearing them, hair brushing, shoe polishing and finally putting them on! Not to forget the breakfast being gulped down the pharynx skipping all the chewing.
Amidst this quickie, a moment of pause............
Naisha (our daughter) comes up with a vest, looks up innocently "wear this papa"
Papa says "I'll wear this tomorrow" and the poor girl gets herself to remorse!
Papa sees this and removes his shirt and vest, wear the one that Naisha gave and kissed her "Thank you"
The rich girl enters into an instant rejoice mode!!
She smiled she was so happy that her papa wore what she gave.
He made her happier than the happiest and wealthier than the wealthiest. There's no bigger wealth than knowing that someone cares, someone loves and for someone one is the priority number one!
What did he give her.... only one minute of his!!
Her innocent smile made our day all the more worthy. These moments are so precious and priceless!
In a world where every thing is measured and ruthlessly tagged for its price, I really wish to ask one question.
"How many dollars for this moment?"

 

FUNFILLED MONSOON PARENTING

PARENT'S BINOCULARS

Well, the kind of binoculars I am talking of are not available in any market! We certainly can never prepare a binocular all by ourselves. But the vision we want through it can be worked upon. We can prepare it and I am here to give you one vague recipe to give it a form.

1. Alarm bell: Fix it in your brain - Any altered behaviour of your child must trigger it. The child might just be verbally abused or abused by action (teacher showing hand indicating a tight slap). Never forget the child might have been sexually abused and don't ignore the fact if you have a son and you feel secure. Sons are just as susceptible as daughters.

2. Money in unit of minutes (TIME): Get a chunk of your heart into a habit of narrating every single detail of every minute when he/she has been away. If you don't have time immediately after your child returns home. Keep a recorder inside a toy mom. He/she could just speak out his/her day out.

3. The correct frame of Questions: "How was your day?" is a good one. "How good was your day?" is a better one! "Was everything alright today?" is going to drive your child into negativity.  Its a good idea to start with MCQs very small good, small good, big good or a very big good! Include actions, stretch your hands wide apart for very big good.  Leading questions should go like "Enjoyed?"; "Loved your school?" etc etc. Your child is getting into a frame of mind in his/her early school years so be aware!!

4. Check the school bag: This one advice comes from my auntie (Uma chachi ji) and I agree to it. And as she said do the checking but never look or sound like a CID(interrogating officer)!!

5. Stay in touch with the teachers: The teachers must know that you are a very well aware parent well connected with your child(ren). But don't poke your nose too much into them. Never judge them. Always appreciate them. If your child loves his/her ma'am, she is a 80% good teacher. Don't beg teachers to give special attention to your kid. Let him/her grow normally unless he/she is a child with special needs else he/she will become a child with special need(I am sure that's something you never want)!

6. Lead your child into confidence: Demeaning words better avoided and boosting words best used!

7. Scan through complexes: Superiority complexes are just as bad as inferiority complexes. Having complex is one single disease. A human with superiority complex is highly liable to enter into an inferiority complex and vice versa. So better keep them in balance!

8. Make them feel loved: Loving them is one thing and showing love is another. the children must feel loved.

I'm sure parenting will be more peaceful with this knowledge at hand!
   

A HAPPILY EVERAFTER SCHOOL IS SCARCE

Not all episodes finish on a happily ever after note. That was perhaps the beginning, her first day at school. The events that followed will prove how things are. Its a constant struggle, a beautiful game and the greatest job for parents, to keep their child under a scanning microscope. Scanning of their hearts, scanning of their feels, scanning of their perceptions...........the job increases manifold!
Its the time to take few steps backwards and buy ourselves a binocular! Description of the kind of binocular I am talking of is large and I shall discuss it in my next post.

MY DAUGHTER'S FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL

I always thought that it would be wonderful to send Naisha, my daughter to school. I wished that she must go without a single tear drop in her eyes and enjoy school from the very first day of her school. I did all that came to my brains.
I started to create interest in her since she was only two years old. That's five months before she was supposed to start her school! I would take Naisha for walks in the school lane and tell her all glorious stories about my own school days. I frequently made her see the school bus. I made her imagine of the time when she would be allowed to wear the splendid school uniform, especially the school tie and the school belt.
We would often play "school-school" and did a lot of role play. She would become the teacher (ma'am) and I would enact a student (Naisha). This formal "Good morning ma'am" had been on her tongue all the while. I told her how friends made in school are the forever kinds(that was My hubby's experience and mine too)! So all beauties of the school were laid in front of her.
I feared what she would do when she saw other kids cry. I thought of preparing her for the same. I said to her "Naisha is a nice good girl. She loves going to school. She is so so strong to stay away from her mom for few hours at a stretch. There are some who are nice and good like her but not so strong though. They keep missing their mom. So what would she do seeing them cry? " She gave me a puzzled look and I threw her into another game of role play and taught her in the process that she should ask those little friends of hers to stop crying.
Before The day arrived I had done almost everything I had aimed at. The night before I slept early along with Naisha. I had bought her a new school bottle, a new lunchbox and a new school bag for her lunch box. Submitting all my endeavours unto Almighty I slept off.
 I kept my fingers crossed, the big morning arrived with all its glory and I got her ready. She was very excited and so were we (her mom-dad). Mohit (my hubby) decided to take a video of our darling. She stood in front of her toy house and spoke "I'm going to school"
we asked "first day?" she repeated "first day"
"Whats your teachers name?"
"Manjari ma'am"
"Whats your papa's name?"
"Dr Mohit"
"Moms?"
"Dr Garima"(Doctor added only after being prompted)
"Whats your name?"
"Naisha Doctor"
And we burst into laughter!! I dropped her to school and she said "Bye mom" happily.
I returned "HAPPILY".