A mother's letter - VI

 My dear daughter,

Today, as you celebrate six years on this earth , we celebrate the journey.. the ride, the bumps, the speedbreakers, the crossroads, the milestones.. Every little thing about this journey has been forever etched in our minds. Sometimes, the road seems never ending but most of the times it seems the road is whizzing by us and the last six years of our life feel surreal.

Now, that you are budding to grow into a young girl bidding adieu to your toddlerhood, I wish to turn back time and relive your infant and toddler years all over again ! Apparently, more so because you at least pretended to listen to what I said, if not exactly follow it. Now is a different story. You have dropped all pretenses, which is great, I don’t particularly like pretenders. Be who you are. Always. Only not when your mom is in a seething rage and wants you to behave in a more civilized manner, then probably it is a good time to at least listen to her and try to follow her advice for the peace and sanity of the entire family. Oh well, I can only wish for now. Since it was, again, I who had always wished that my child should have a mind of her own and live her life the way she wants, only I didn’t realize at that point the impact it will have on me and my life eventually!

And a mind of your own you have alright! Rather a head strong mind. Which actually is a good quality and might take you places in the future. Only that it became strong too early in life. And is mostly directed towards how to rebel against your mom rather than putting that strength to some good use. Yeah I know, according to you, you are making the best use of it already. I guess I have to blame it all on karma.  This must be exactly how your nani must have felt when I was your age. Though I wasn’t half as headstrong as you are, but I had my share of rebels against my mom as well and I can bet my life that your nani must have prayed to God to bestow me with a child ten times ahead of me, in every aspect, and give it back to me what I gave to her. And lo behold! Her prayers came true in the form of you. I’m sure your nani must be secretly grinning from ear to ear now that she sees me going through the same struggles of motherhood she went through with me. Now, I know exactly what she meant when she used to tell me that “Wait till you become a mom and you’ll know”. And now I’m waiting for you to grow a little older so that I can confer you with the same dialects. Parampara, you see. Parampara.

Though, I must say that there are some behavioral changes in you that I am noticing since this past year, for the good. Yeah you have scored a few brownie points there. Still a long way to go earn the whole brownie though. But atleast it’s a start and I’m glad for just that. The ever so mischievous, aggressive and hyperactive toddler is gradually transforming into a much calmer, responsible and a caring little girl. Leaving aside your rebellious nature, some things never change and this is one of them. I guess I’ll just have to get used to that. Just like I’m trying hard to get used (though I doubt I’ll ever get used to it) to your growing fascination with style fashion and makeup! Gosh! When I was your age, I didn’t even know what fashion and make up was. I hardly ever used a lipstick before I got married. Even at this age I just use makeup occasionally. And here you are, all eager to explore the world of beauty and fashion already. When asked recently what do you want to be when you grow up, I was expecting you to say Teacher like you always said till now when asked this question, but you spontaneously said Airhostess and I was impressed with your new ambition. Though when asked the reason behind your ambition, without batting an eyelid, you replied “because you get to dress up and wear makeup all day long!!” And there I was aghast with mouth wide open but no words came out. Needless to say I was in a shock. I don’t understand from where and how you got this fascination. Obviously not from me. Phew!

Don’t know how am I ever going to hold your reigns till you are a teenager, at least. But I promise you, I’ll try till my last breath and not let you indulge in that world for as long as I can. I absolutely detest it when little girls like you use makeup and all kinds of cosmetics at this tender age. It loses the purity and innocence of the child in you. So yeah we are always going to be at loggerheads in this matter and unfortunately for you sweetie, I’m the mom here and hence I get to make the rules. Which I know you love to break always. But not this one. Uh uh.

Yes, I know at this point you might be thinking I’m the meanest mom around and why did God bestow you with such a mom. It’s okay. It’s absolutely normal for you to think this way. Infact, I would be flabbergasted if you didn’t feel it that way. As I have said earlier also, you are not doing your parenting job properly if your child doesn’t hate you every once in a while. SO it’s just me trying to do my job properly darling. Muahh.

Love you to the moon and back,
Your ever loving Mom.

They grow so fast..

And the phrase seems both so very true and false at the same time,

As in the day to day life nothing seems so fast,

A meal can take an eternity and a sleepless night a lifetime,

Yet everyone says they grow so fast..

And so I want to hold her in my arms a little longer today,

Coz already my little baby is gone,

Already there is a little girl in her place,

And one day not too far in the future,

There will be an older girl in her place,

Then a teenager and a young woman thereafter.

And when my little girl grows up to become a young lady,

Ready to take on the world,

I would miss her little hands holding my hand,

And looking up to me with her doe eyes for every little thing,

Which at times I found annoying at that point in time.

 

Aahh.. how I would wish then to turn back time,

And relive those moments again.

Yes, they are right. They grow so fast...

Ohh, why do they grow so fast?