My wishes for your years Ahead!
It’s so cliché to say, but time really does fly. And for us it has flown really really fast. I can still clearly remember sitting down at my computer to type my blog post for your second birthday, exactly around the some wee hours of the dawn, and here I am doing it again for your third. Yes I am quite late in writing this one, as I have been all caught up with my new venture. But each day after your birthday I’ve been pondering about writing, with a lot of thoughts hanging around me time and again, some keenly penned down, but most of them forgotten. I really thought as to what I want to say to you for this year—what wisdom I want to impart, what dreams I have for your year ahead, what expectations do I keep, what plans I have chalked out. So when I started writing this one, I wondered where to start? A small note on my phone came to rescue, that emphasized upon 'your kindness' as a child.
Ultimately I’ve concluded that what I wish for you now, as you have turned 3 years old, is that you "HOLD ON & KEEP MOVING IN THE SAME DIRECTION".
>>>Hold on to your kindness, for with time it tends to fade away.<<<
My little girl, you are such a sweet child. And not just when you cuddle with Anuj or me or whisper, “This is myyyy mumma, this is myyyy papa, I loooove my mumma, I loooove my papa” unprompted; your kind and gentle
spirit extends to your friends too. Though I have been teaching you to be kind to elders, sweet to peers and gentle to young ones, the way you talk to them at times, just melts my heart away. Some time you sweetly ask one friend, “Would you
like to play hide-and-seek with me?” and at other you ask, “Can I sit
next to you, please?” Just two days back when I was taking you to your school, and the sun shone on your tender face, you told me "Mumma can you please set the sun aside?" Oh I was so mesmerized by that thought. This is more than just good manners (though I sincerely hope
you hold on to those too). It is your deep and genuine kindness and innocence at
play.
The sad news is this: Without a doubt, with time, as you make wider footprints in this world, the people around you will try to steel away this kindness and innocence. They would want you to become a little mean day by day, so you can survive the harsh realities of life, so you can take the world head on! But as your mother, I want you to "Hold on to your kindness, and trust me you would be so much better."
>>>Hold on to your excitement, because too many people grow up to be bored,lost and dull <<<
This world is a really exciting place, and right now 'you' appreciate that more than anyone else I know. I see it in the way you flap your arms with elation when we walk by a dog (“Look, Mumma, it’s a Dog!”) or when you
squeal with joy at adding one more block to the skyscraper of a tower
you’re building or a worksheet you are doing. The
way the sight of a pit excites you and how you start shouting 'dig dig dig', or the thought of a monkey
somewhere on a tree makes you start jumping like one, or how the three little pigs built their houses, or
how the gingerbread man got eaten away by the sly fox are too good to be true for us adults.
I see it in the way you start running laps around the house—your
excitement energizing your entire body—when you smell your favorite soup being made in the kitchen or when I say you can have a piece of cake after your finish your food or that we are going to visit one of your friend's place.
These sorts of things are meant to excite us too, yet the excitement of childhood rarely lasts.
The monotonous responsibilities of adulthood can quickly make life seem
boring: Go out and do your work, clean your house, cook, do your laundry, repeat day after day.
But please my child hold on to your excitement, and life will never be dull and neither will you.
>>>Hold on to your inquisitiveness, for it will always serve you well and keep you abreast with life.<<<
Yes I admit, a lot of times its very annoying when you ask “WHY?” over and over again. But when I stop and actually try to answer your questions and explain
things to you, you listen with every ounce of your attention. I see the
wheels turning as you process every word I say, be it about why the sky
is blue or why there aren’t real dinosaurs in our garden today.You are so eager for knowledge right now. You are a sponge absorbing every drop of new information.
Hold on to that thirst for learning, my girl! It will help you in school, yes, but also far beyond it. People who long for understanding are usually the ones who get it;
people who are always open to new ideas are usually the people who have
them. I want you to be one of those people. Be inquisitive, listen, learn, absorb, apply, excel!
>>>Hold on to your incredible ability to move swiftly with each of life’s transitions, because that’s a skill many of us are still seeking!<<<
This was quite a year for you.
There was your first day of Preschool.
There was your first day of School in Nursery.
There was the start of fun organized activities, like art and craft sessions, festivals at school, Annual Day, Sports Day, Carnivals and so on and so forth. You enjoyed all of them to the fullest and merged in swiftly.
You have not merely survived these changes; you have excelled in them. And we have marveled at you all this time. Anuj and I have been so so happy this past one year, seeing your talk endlessly, walk endless, and have an infinite energy reserve that you keep utilizing now and then, while leaving us in wonder of your amazing actions.
Hold on to your ability to do that, Vrinda, because life is famous for
throwing us curve balls, and the best thing you can do is keep taking
them in stride.
>>>Hold on to the infinite pool of your love, for this is the love that diminishes with time in almost all adults<<<
Last couple of months, Anuj and I have a seen a sudden spurt of your love for us. At odd moments, you come running to us and give kisses, blowing them at us from far away, you hug us all the time, and we have just been in awe of you you and been diving in the sea of your love.
We really hope that this love remains, that it only grows with time, and never see a downward trend! My girl, I can't even imagine not being so loved by you ever in my life! So hold this love for us in your heart!
>>>Hold on to your faith in me, because I’ll always try to be better for you.<<<
I already feel that I am way too short of a perfect mother. What is a perfect mother by the way. Someone who would always be by your side, and not let you eat junk food at all, and never let you play endlessly, and always making you sleep on time and holds onto the concept of limited TV viewing? Because I am not doing any of that! I am being by your side, enough to let you feel my presence but let go of you so you learn to be on your own. I am giving you enough nutritious food, but spoiling you with a pack of noodles and chocolates at regular intervals. If you will not eat all this now, then when will you?! I am letting you play for N number of hours, because I know you have the liberty to engage in endless games only right now! I do let you sleep late, because I am desperate to get some work done so I let you
watch way too many episodes of Peppa Pig or Holly and Ben's a little Kingdom while I type away on the
computer or finish my chores.
I’m nowhere close to the perfect mom, but from time to time I do feel that I am the perfect mom for you! And I really hope, you too believe this as you grow up and understand the meaning of all this!
I am always trying to be better for you.
I am always working to challenge my own weaknesses—my general lack of
patience, my Type-A desire to have everything planned out, my tendency
to give in to your incessant requests for chocolates, and on and on and
on—in the hopes that your life will be better for it.
Hold on to my hand - my love, because neither one of us is ready to let go just yet.
When I look at this past one year I am shocked at how much you’ve developed in terms of language, understanding, your own sense of being an individual and how much more independent you are now. My heart both soars and aches to realize how much more independent you’ll grow over the next 12 months. What will be the milestones, where I will have to let go and where I would be adamant never to let go! As you navigate through these few important school years, I hope you’ll keep reaching for my hand, and I’ll keep holding on tight to it.
Your 3rd birthday brought thrice the happiness of what we felt when you came into our arms three years ago. Vrinda! You are so very very loved! And we are so so very lucky to have you!
