Missing Silliness

Isn’t it amazing how you find certain things/behaviors silly at times and then all of a sudden when it changes, you miss that?

My 3 yr old, till about 6 months back, used to identify all the colors perfectly fine except for the color yellow.

Show her anything in color yellow and ask “Kashvi, what color is it?”

And her standard answer every single time used to be “laddoo”

Never knew why !!

Not that she’s a big fan of the sweet laddoo, though.

And we used to laugh on this silliness everytime

I, even intentionally used to point to yellow things and asked her to identify the color.

And then used to correct her.

And then all of a sudden, one day, just like that, “laddoo” became “lellow”

Oh nooooo, as soon as she said “lellow”, my instant reply was “no, ladooo”

And this time, she corrected me “No mommy, it is Lellow color. You are funny”

And all I could do, was just nod along.

And it made me realize, in these crazy busy days of our lives, these moments of silliness are what I want to hold on to.

So, say whatever, I am not correcting “lellow” to “yellow” or “ninna” to “sleepy”  Or even “oti-moti” with “roti”

Life is perfect the way it is !!

With a dash of silliness and sprinkles of laughter.

Weaving stories

One of the favorite activities for my son is to listen to stories.

He loves to read by himself, but at the end of the day, he saves time to just lay by my side and listen to a story I tell to him.

I also read myself a lot, so I try to simplify those stories to his level and narrate to him.

Simplifying the details so he can understand at his level.

I even mix up some of the actual happening around me when I create stories for him.

Recently, I tried narrating him the old Indian stories like Ramayana and Mahabharata.

But how can you explain to a modern age boy that a king could have 5 wives in that era.

Or that a mother could order something and the son would give up everything just to follow her orders !!

Or that a monkey could carry the whole mountain on his hand and burn down the whole city with fire on his tail.

He just doesn’t buy those parts of the stories.

When I started telling him the story of Mahabharata, he had 100s of questions and each one of them made 100% sense:

- Why did Gandhari blindfold herself when her husband was blind? She could have been more help if she was also not blindfolded?
- How can someone have 100 sons? (even I was baffled)
- Why did Arjun not say “Oh maa, peeche mud kar to dekh lo” when her mom ordered them to divide “whatever he brought home with his brothers” (which was incidentally Draupadi)

And so many more such questions.

So I finally gave up on these old stories (Also, as a side note, I am looking for a kid friendly English version of Ramayan and Mahabharat, printed or Kindle version. If you know about it, please drop a line)

Now, in our story sessions, I tell him stories from my own childhood – story of my brothers and sisters.

Those are the ones he laughs out so loud and keeps on asking me to tell those again and again

The ones where we left our little brother in a stroller in the middle of the road because me and my sisters were busy fighting who’d push the stroller

Or the silly games we used to play just to make him laugh when he was a little baby

Stacking up all the pillows and quilts to make a king like seat for him.

The story about how we used to come back from the school in our school bus

The watchman we used to see on our way back

Or why was our school bus stop so far away from home

Our little friends in our neighborhood

Fights and games with them

Their strict Nani, their candy lover Nana

Nana getting us kulfi in the hot summer days

Nani throwing away our comics on the “machan” when we didn’t finish our homework in time or fought badly with each other.

Tales of my teachers and days at school

How me and my sisters used to negotiate with each other for school homework

Craziness of my brother about listening that one particular song on the cassette tape hundreds of time by rewinding the song

Collecting coca bottle caps to win a promotional audio cassette tape

And seeing him laugh so hard and enjoying these stories, even my daughter has started joining us for these session and she is getting to know them through these tales

For me, this is my chance to make them familiar to my family who is so far from away from me and whom I don’t get to see for such long times...

I hope they continue to enjoy these stories as much as I love to weave those snippets for them.

Aayush-isms

My "not so little anymore" son is at a age where he loves to talk and talk and talk and talk (you get the gist, right?)  and I often tell him "Beta, aap baatein to  bohot pyaari pyaari karte ho, lekin bohot saari karte ho "
Being a 2000 era boy, he hasn't seen the epic Sholay, so most of the time he doesn't get the humour !!
Anyways, so these days, anytime he talks, it is 50% logic (as he understands it) and other 50% is his imagination.
so, here are some of the Aayush-isms, as I say them, that I have noted:

a) We cannot move our house from current place to any other place because then Santa Clause won't know how to find him and that would be a "really big" problem. Oh wait, Santa Clause lives at the North Pole, so he can definitely see our new house from up there. So, it is now okay if we want to move to a different place (Thank you hai Santa Clause jee)

b) If it snows,mommy doesn't need to be worried or scared about driving in the snow because God will help us and save us. He knows that our car is blue and he'll help up because car is blue and snow is white. So he can see the car from up there in the sky too. He said all this to Aayush last night.  (Mommy thinks this is the effect of having a religion class at school every Wednesday)

c) So, he comes home and tells mom he did not like his lunch today so he threw it all. Helpless mom tries to explain him that by throwing food,he is wasting food and that is also wasting money.So if he wastes money, there would be no money for his toys anymore. And the reply comes "Don't worry !! I have tons of money in my piggy bank. So if you or daddy need some, let me know. and also, is it okay now if I throw away my lunch tomorrow again?" (and mom faints !!)

d) His very serious question: How come you chose daddy to get married to? Don't you have to choose someone you don't know to get married?
And my equally serious answer to him: "Actually, I did not know your daddy when I married him.I got to know him only afterthe marriage (me thinks: toooo late !!)"
To which he laughs out loud and says: "Well how could you not know daddy? You live in the same house. You pack him lunch, he brings groceries. You even have his phone number. I even saw in your "shaadi" pictures you two were laughing. So you DID know him. You are just tricking me!! Well, I am not going to get tricked by you"
And mommy decides to let him be tricked till he understands the tricky thing called marriage :-)

Well, I do need a crash course in imagination and creative thinking to keep up with my boy now.
But I am already back to basics of "aa gaba gaba" (blabbering baby talk) with my 6 months old trying her best to invent an altogether new language with her blabbers and coohs.
Every time I look at my angels and thank the one up there for blessing with these, these beautiful lines come to my mind:

Dekho inhein yeh hai onss ki boodein
Patto ki goodh mein aasamaan se khude
Angdai le phir karwat badal kar
Nazuk se moti hasde phishal kar

Yeh toh hai sardi mein Dhoop ki kirane
Uthre jo aangan ko sunehara sa karne
Maan ke andhero ko roshan sa karde
Thiturti hatheli ki rangat badal de

Jaise aankhon ki debiyan mein neediyan
Aur neediyan mein meetha sa sapna
Aur sapne mein mil jaye faristha sa koi
Jaise rango bhari peechkari
Jaise Thitliyan phoolo ki pyari
Jaise bina matlab ka pyaara rista ho koi

Dekho raaton ke sene pe yeh to
Jhil mil kisi lao se uge hain
Yeh to andiyan ke khushbo hai bhago se beh chale
Jaise kaanch mein chudi ke tukde
Jaise khile khile phoolon ke mukhde
Jaise bansi koi bajaye pedo ke taale

Step(up)Mother

Kids... they have the weirdest imaginations and explanations for everything and anything they hear around

My son's best friend lives with her dad and step mom. I knew about it after meeting them at a B'day party but I wasn't aware whether Aayush knew it or not. And I never specially mentioned it to him too.

so yesterday evening, after he was back from school, he tells me: "Do you know Heather is Gabby's step mom?"
I said "Really? I didn't know know that. But, do you know what is step mom?"

And his response was: "Yes, one who steps up to be your mom !!"

Now isn't that some unusual definition :-)

Bachon ke mukh se

The Scene: Me and Aayush are driving to school this morning and he sees a bike parked in one of the houses.

Aayush: Mom, how come dad doesn't know how to drive a motor cycle?
Me: He know how to drive, but he doesn't have one here, so he doesn't drive it
Aayush: Well, he can buy one. There are lots of them in the store.
Me: Yes, he can. but for that, he'll need lots of money, you see.
Aayush: Then he can buy money too (so obvious na !!)
Me: Aayush, we cannot buy money. Who told you that?
Aayush: Well, there is a machine in the bank where you put your card and it can give you lots and lots of money.
Me: No, that machine doesn't always work. It works only when you have money.
Aayush: (All of a sudden really serious): Well, then I can ask God for money. Do you want me to ask him next time? I can really ask him if you want me to !!
Me: (Really trying not to laugh because these days he really takes it to heart if I laugh at things he says): Really? Yes, please do ask him and while you are doing that, please ask some for mommy too !!
Aayush: Okay, sure !! I 'll ask. (And he is relaxed now because his dad can drive a bike and he has one big assignment to do: ask God for money)

My cute kiddooo !! May your God always listen to whatever you ask for. Love you.

Are you smarter than a 3 year old?

Judge for yourself...

Scene 1:
Yesterday night, bedtime:
Me: Chalo Aayush, sleepy time.
A: Okay. lekin pehle yeh book read karo (First read me this book)
Me: Okay, lets read the story of Simba and Nala. Simba and Nala are playing. Simba wants to play Follow the leader. Nala wants to play Do the opposite.
A: No, It is Oppppppppposite. Aap theek se nahin bol rahe ho.
Me: okay. Opppposite. Is it correct now?
A: No way. Say like me. Oppppppppphos'te (Notice the introduction of f sound and shortening of ee sound between s and t towards the end)(I so wish I had recorded all this)
Me: Okay, thats fine. Lets get back on our story.
A:No way. aap fir se try karo.
Me: Okay Bitto. Oppppppppppphos'te (Really trying my best)
A: No Mumma. Say it with me. Oppppppppho
Me: OppppppppppppppppphoA: S'te
Me: S'te.
A: Opppppppppppphos'te
Me: Oppppppppppppppppppppos'te. Was that okay now.
(Just then his dad walks into the room)
A:(Laughing and giggling to his dad) Mumma ko Oppppphos'te nahin aata.
Me:


Scene 2
Evening time, Aayush riding his bike and me talking a walk.
We were walking near the community center in the apartment complex and there was a party going on there.

A: Wahan kya ho raha hai? (Wha't going on there?)
Me: Wahan shayad kisi ka B'day hai.(I think it is a B'day party)
A: Aayush ko bhi happy B'day karna hai (It was before his B'day in July)
Me: Haan Aayush ka bhi Happy B'day aane wala hai. Then you can have the cake and lots of balloons.
A: aur choo choo train bhi.
Me: Okay, you can have that too.
A (then peeking inside): What are they doing?
Me: They are dancing.
A: That's not dancing. They are just circling around.
Me: It's okay. Lets go and walk that way.
(Just then 2 more female guests arrived.They were a bit scantily dressed, in terms of what A has seen around)
A: Mumma, aunty shayad poore kapde pehanna bhool gayee (I think they forgot to wear all their clothes)
Me:

(Under the breath: Aur tumahre papa ko yeh tension hai ki tu hindi nahin seekh raha hai. Aisi situations mein hindi mein hi bola kar (And your Dad is concerned that you are not learning enough Hindi. You better speak Hindi in such situations)
A: What did you say?
Me: Nothing. Let's just go home.

So, I may be whatever big or small shot I think of myself, I cannot pronounce "OPPOSITE" and I am not smarter than a 3 year old :-)