“Open
your eyes Amma”, he
whispered
into
my ears.
“Today is Sivaratri, you may sleep
for some more time.” I replied with
my eyes still shut. Turning the whisper into a roar, he snapped back poking my eyelids, “No
Amma... I can see light through the window. It cannot be ratri
for Shiva”.
That
was how Sivaratri began at home, a no-school day for my son. Holiday
for
him means
I don't need
to drag
myself out of the bed very early
to stuff
in
toothbrush
into
his mouth,
implant
milk
& breakfast into the
same
mouth, pull
him out of the pyjamas, dress
up, bury his legs into the shoes and send him to school.
I'm
sure every
mom
reading this will nod
their heads in agreement; but what
about the dads who sleep
with
drooling
mouths
when
so much is happening in the background?
Their
reaction could be, “Oh;
I've
heard this somewhere!”
To
every non-parent who thinks what's the big deal about
this routine,
I
can
explain.
Waking
up early
to
see silent
& dark neighboring
houses is quite
depressing. I
hate
to even visualise them snuggling under the blanket when I'm
already
awake to
take on the day.
Yes
I admit, I'm jealous. For
a person like me who has zero to
minimum
flair
for cooking, kitchen is not the
place to start off
the
day. And whenever I enter
there, I
look
at the dosa batter sitting on the table wishing
if
it
magically
turns into consumable food and redirects to respective tummies and lunch boxes. Alas;
unfortunately life's not that easy!
Couple
of days ago, when
I
was preparing morning tea & breakfast, the
little fellow came
to me rubbing his eyes, “Amma... I
want to go to Cubbon Park. I will not go
to school today”.
Totally ignoring the
statement, I took
him to the rest room and
asked
him to brush
his teeth.
When
he noticed
the
picture of
Mickey Mouse on his
toothbrush, he began,
“When
Donald was trapped on
a tree top, the mouseketeer..."
Me:
Shhh...
Keep
quiet.
Lil
Fellow: Don't
talk to me; Amma's not my friend.
Me (trying
to be nice):
Do you know what happened to Bobby's teeth cos he didn't brush well?
Lil
Fellow: If
you don't want to listen to my story, don't tell me Bobby's story.
I took a deep breadth to hide my impatience
and
exasperation. As I listened to his Disney tales, he successfully completed the rest
room rituals. From
there I towed him to the dining table placing him before a glass of milk and went back to the kitchen to finish my work. Even after five minutes, he was seen holding the glass looking into infinity,
totally expressionless. I yelled, “What is there so much to think
about? Finish your milk. FAST!
He
reciprocated with a yawn.
And
with a baffling stretch,
he
was all set to embrace the day. He started blowing
into the glass
to
make
bubbles and
in the process, spilled it
all
over.
I
screamed
so
loudly that I would have perhaps put my next
door neighbor to shame for sharing the floor with a child abuser.
Not having enough time to waste on more drama, I forcefully
made
him gulp
down rest
of the drink.
Next, I served dosa and
asked
him
to finish it
soon.
Though a portion was deposited in the fish bowl and smudged against
the table, I was glad that without my involvement, he consumed some
bit of it.
As
I was helping him dress to school, he asked, “Amma,
can I come to your office?”
Me: No. my mam in office doesn't
like kids coming to work.
Lil
Fellow: Then,
can we go to a restaurant?
Me: Yes,
we could go
in the evening.
Lil
Fellow: Okay.
Then I will get ready in the evening.
Before
I could even react, he removed his trousers & tee & jumped
around in underwear. I
was feeling bad for my vocal cord as I had no choice but to shout
again. Cutting the long story short, somehow I managed to step out of the house with him feeling like
a champion.
On our way to the bus stop, we laughed and conversed with every flower, grass blade and butterfly. Just before boarding the bus, he gave me a tight hug saying, “You are
prettier Amma, when you smile!”
“Today is Sivaratri, you may sleep for some more time.” I replied with my eyes still shut. Turning the whisper into a roar, he snapped back poking my eyelids, “No Amma... I can see light through the window. It cannot be ratri for Shiva”.
I'm sure every mom reading this will nod their heads in agreement; but what about the dads who sleep with drooling mouths when so much is happening in the background? Their reaction could be, “Oh; I've heard this somewhere!”
Waking up early to see silent & dark neighboring houses is quite depressing. I hate to even visualise them snuggling under the blanket when I'm already awake to take on the day. Yes I admit, I'm jealous. For a person like me who has zero to minimum flair for cooking, kitchen is not the place to start off the day. And whenever I enter there, I look at the dosa batter sitting on the table wishing if it magically turns into consumable food and redirects to respective tummies and lunch boxes. Alas; unfortunately life's not that easy!
Couple of days ago, when I was preparing morning tea & breakfast, the little fellow came to me rubbing his eyes, “Amma... I want to go to Cubbon Park. I will not go to school today”. Totally ignoring the statement, I took him to the rest room and asked him to brush his teeth. When he noticed the picture of Mickey Mouse on his toothbrush, he began, “When Donald was trapped on a tree top, the mouseketeer..."
I took a deep breadth to hide my impatience and exasperation. As I listened to his Disney tales, he successfully completed the rest room rituals. From there I towed him to the dining table placing him before a glass of milk and went back to the kitchen to finish my work. Even after five minutes, he was seen holding the glass looking into infinity, totally expressionless. I yelled, “What is there so much to think about? Finish your milk. FAST!
Lil Fellow: Okay. Then I will get ready in the evening.
Before I could even react, he removed his trousers & tee & jumped around in underwear. I was feeling bad for my vocal cord as I had no choice but to shout again. Cutting the long story short, somehow I managed to step out of the house with him feeling like a champion.
On our way to the bus stop, we laughed and conversed with every flower, grass blade and butterfly. Just before boarding the bus, he gave me a tight hug saying, “You are prettier Amma, when you smile!”
8 comments:
Aww...! that's for that line when he was boarding the bus.
Exactly! when it's a nice, bright morning, just HOW can you say it is some-rathri???
:D :D
So cute!!
When can I see little S?
That last line.
That was too cute of him.
I guess, its the stage when all kids are like that. I know I may be speculating, but still.
Aww my Sidhu pie!! He's such a darling 😄
Aww my Sidhu pie!! He's such a darling 😄
Shalini! Reading your writing after so long, so warm and endearing - the little boy is def going to treasure all these anecdotes when he grows up!
Read this almost three times, Shalini. Everytime I come and write a comment & I feel that the "comment is not just enough to describe what I feel." Then I delete the comment. This time also I am trying to make a comment but am unable to. So, thought of letting you know that this blog touched me sooo much that I am unable to put my feelings in words. :)
- Pyari
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