Some

matured and some sweet and some interesting and some just push the wrong buttons in me, but all in all these days, these lil boys and gals, surprise me to no extent. I love some and don't like some.


Here's a list of them whom I love and think very highly of:
Hitesh : A boy in standard 6th, same school as Chiku and goes in the same van as chiku. I think he is a sweet kid cos I have never seen him fighting and I have heard him say positive things. Like this one day, one of the kids threw his kerchief out of the van and by the time he realised the kerchief was gone, the van was good a km ahead. Still, he got down got the kerchief and asked the boy to throw it again. He saw it as a game and enjoyed it. When he was narrating this story to me, he said 'aunty that ways I did some jogging'. How sweet, Hitesh? thats what I said. He takes care of Chiku like a baby. Holds her hand, helps her to get into the van, sometimes when there is no place, he puts her on his lap.

Annie: A very charming dusky babe, studies in Standard 6th as well. Her ability to rationalise, analyse and explain is unbelievable. You know, they say, that some children are gifted they are such well speakers that you are mesmerised by them. When I was expecting Sunny boy, I don't remember Annie enquiring me about my tummy or the baby. But when she saw me with a lil baby, she promptly came to enquire about the baby, what is the baby, a boy or a girl? what do you plan to name him? infact, she asked me have you named him as yet? I said no. She said I thought so. Then she went on to tell me story about how when her brother was born, they named him after 40 days and in the church etc. She is the first one who jumps into to crack close any argument between small boys and girls, a perfect pacifier. Chiku loves to play with her and generally is soothed by her if she is crying while going to school.

Rishita: A very sweet gal, but then I dont' know much about her. But I just like her.

Bhumin: A standard 1 student and one of the very first friends of Chiku. He is smart and confident and can bore u death with his talks, sensible talks, but he is a chatter box. He is the self-proclaimed cousin brother of Chiku :)

Then there are other kids, Naomi - she too talks very well. She is the one who keeps telling me 'Aunty send na Chiku to my dance class, when I am going na I will take her along with me. I will hold her aunty and cross the road', Mahi - I shouldn't say I don't like the kid, but then her level of maturity is different, she is the one who went and told all the kids in our neighbours that I was pregnant and that after 9 months I will have a small baby, Raunak - our neighbour boy, sweet kid and a kid, now chiku ties rakhi to him, Aman - good looking dude, always busy in his plays, and adores Arushi. When Chiku was 3 years and would go down to play, he would tell everybody to speak to her in english, cos she wud only speak english, Pratishta - a chatter chatter box. But I love talking to her. She would enquire about everything and everyone, Aunty why Chiku didn't come today, why is her bus late? where is your driver?? where is the other aunty?? where is that dog going?? that aunty who comes to pick up chiku who is she???etc etc, Arya - Kid with the biggest soda glasses I have ever seen. He is the first to come home and play with Chiku all the time during summer vacation and Su just doesn't like the idea of boyz coming home. Shreya - the first one to invite chiku home to play, but I think her mum doesnt like it at all.
Then there are pests of the building Meet, Harsh, Veer who are just as badly behaved as one can be and who are forever fighting.

Blessings

This year can be conveniently marked as the year of GREAT H.E.L.P.

During my early days of pregnancy, friend from the society Aanchal, used to give me a lift till the office. She herself was pregnant so that was a blessing in disguise.

I didn't find a good gyneac closer to where I stay so in the early days of my pregnancy I decided to go to my earlier doctor. Her clinic is close to where I work. It was convenient to go for checkups from work. But as the days were closing in I grew more and more paranoid about delivering somewhere else. If not for friends like Anjie, I don't know what I would hv done.
Anjie came to visit me the day I was admitted and then the next day she got me b'fast. Shiny and her mum got me food, lunch n dinner and that too a complete meal. I am anyways a big fan of malayali food. The very next day, Lakesh got me food. And thats how I survived my 3-4 days in the hospital. The day we were relieved, Shiny's mum invited us for lunch and asked us to rest and leave in the evening.

And now that I have started work and can't wait with chiku till her school bus arrives, we have Hitesh the lil boy who comes in the morning to pick up chiku for school, we have Hitesh who comes in the evening to pick chiku for some fun n games n play.

Thank God for Friends and their help. Its a huge Blessing.

M.I.S.T.A.K.E.S

And I have been making mighty ones and countless of them.

Sept 13th, 2011
Came back from work exhausted. Was happy to see the kids happy. Just when I was in the lift, a lil boy told me 'Aunty I have just dropped Chiku home'. And I was so glad to hear that. Finally, she is making friends and going out to play on her own. I took lil sunny, and fed him. He threw up some milk. I went to get a mop. I was just cleaning, just before that I instructed Chiku, not to walk on the wet floor ( she is prone to falling on the floor all the time). She walked down, without bothering to see where she was going, picked up the glass that had fallen on the floor, just close to where I was cleaning. I got so angry, I gave her a spank.
She looked angrily at me and screamed: 'I was only picking up the glass'.
I didn't know what to say.

Sept 14th, 2011
Finished all the chores before time today. Decided to leave for the office bus a little early so that I don't have to run for it and in turn catch the bus sweating like a pig. As usual, I took chiku along with me to drop her off in the building corridor where her other friends gather(shall I say wait for her), and I left for my bus not before giving a peck on her cheeks and asking her to stay put. She in turn said: ' I also want to do it'. She gave me a peck too and hugged me and I waived her bye. About couple of hours after I reached office, mum called me and was scolding me for leaving chiku alone. She told me that there was nobody with her and she started to cry and she was walking here n there aimlessly. Fortunately, my brother went down to check on me instead found Chiku wandering about and crying her lungs out. I am sure she must have been so upset and sad and in her own words 'I was sooooooo alone'.


Dear Chiku
I am sorry, for yesterday and today, and for all the days that I have been unreasonable and lost my temper without understanding or realising what it would do to you.
I am sorry for making you upset and scolding you, even when I know that you are still a baby and I cannot and shouldnot expect you to act like a grown-up.
I am not a bad mother and I am trying really hard to change myself.
I will try harder to keep my temper in control and to ensure that you are alright at all times.
luv always,
Mumma

Its NOT a Sin

(Pre-text : I have resumed work after a break of 6 months. Its been a week I have still not been given any work. So people are curious to know what am I upto when I am rattling away at my keyboard.)


Somebody (to be precise a Single unmarried gal in her late 20s) asked me
LS : So what are you upto? Any project?
Me : Nah, none. U know how it is out here ya?? Its just been a week for me, how will they give me work whilst people are waiting for ages now.
LS : So how do you spend time?
ME : I keep writing something or the other or reading.
LS : What are u reading??
ME : BLOGS
LS : Any interesting blogs
ME : Yup. Baking blogs and cooking blogs and mommie blogs.
LS : oooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhh OMG. These are not my types
ME : Yup. They are my types not yours. But wait for sometime and you will be on my side of the world, and then we shall compare some notes about food and children and rashes and diapers and growing up.

'So what' I ask. I don't have to feel guilty about what I am doing, don't make me feel that way!!!
I am a mom of 2 and I have my interests in place.
I love to cook.
I love to bake.
And reading what other mommies are doing in their world is not a SIN.
Trying to be a good mother is not a SIN.
Growing up from being a party-goer to a mummy-dearest is not a SIN.