A reason to smile ~ Joys and Challenges of Parenthood

".....and that is how my tata sky remote landed inside the water cooler.....!!"

Besides the monotony of life that overrides our moods most of the time, there are yet many things around that bring a smile on one’s face. Well just to start with, early mornings always make me smile. The bright Sun that rises in the east, the kids waiting for their school bus, the street dogs collecting their pack to get ready for the hunt, the soothing bird music that pleases the ears, the dew that kisses the eyes and also the little tomatoes that are growing on my terrace are just some of the nature’s way of expressing, “There is always a reason to smile”.

In my case however, I have every reason to smile, get stupefied, go crazy, bang my head on the wall and then have a good laugh in the end. Apparently, my lovely reason happens to be my adorable year old son who leaves no stone unturned in making my mornings hilariously tough. My son usually has that face that can make anyone believe that he is incapable of doing any mischief. Looks can be deceptive, I say! In his most sober mood, my son would either be transporting my utensils in his tricycle from kitchen to hall or shove all his miniature toys inside his father’s boots/shoes or perhaps grab those Maggi packets and place them in the most unthinkable places of home, like laundry bag, shoe cabinet or drawers of our dressing table. And how does he greet his daddy good morning? It all starts first with gentle patting, then by pulling his father’s hair and then finally waking up his ‘sleeping Daddy’ with sweet bites and warm pinches. “What a way to wake someone up!” is my husband’s usual retort in the morning later followed by his more confused reactions to unexpected mischief that our son always has up his sleeves. Like misplacing his father’s belt or shoving his tie under the bed or even placing some of his building blocks in the coziest sitting places of our home are just to name a few. Our son never ceases to surprise us with his plan of action. His face radiates innocence and his actions could nullify the very meaning of naughtiness. Reading out stories, playing with him and taking him out in the evening were probably not enough to channel his endless energy. So ever since I downloaded some old multilingual rhymes for him, his mischief had taken a back seat for a while. It is sheer pleasure to watch his tiny frame swaying in rhythm to the rhymes as he tried to catch the lyrics that appeal to him the most. As parents, my husband and I gazed at him lovingly and sighed in relief, “Respite!”

My mother often tells me, “Children understand everything. There is not a thing that they fail to catch as their grasping and understanding power surpasses ours.”. I understood what she said, in the absolute sense only after the incident I am about to narrate, happened. So my son had been enjoying his rhymes for quite some time when as a parent I realized, his rhymes period had exceeded the usual time limit of 30 minutes per day. Also the men in my house wanted to watch news @ 9, so that they could have something to discuss over dinner. So when I switched to our Tata Sky mode, my son first objected by crying and then by asking for his remote by curling his tiny fingers in and out. Although I was tempted to extend his rhyme period, the stern mother in me won over and I told him, “Enough for today!”. After a few minutes, he calmed down and stared blankly at the remote. His eyes said nothing. Silently, he left the room and moved towards the kitchen. A while later my father and my husband settled down for dinner as both did not want to miss the News @ 9 on NDTV. And then after a while, my son entered the room…..

Our TV went blank after some time. What happened thereafter was a massive search op for the Tata Sky remote that was nowhere to be found. Our bedroom resembled a war zone. The search went on for about 20 minutes. As both were busy searching, my son couldn't help pass out a small giggle which immediately convinced my husband that whatever happened had to be our son’s doing. After a lot of cajoling and pleading, my son pointed at the air cooler water window that is barely two and a half inches wide. At first, my husband flashed a torch inside to take a better look (for he really did not believe or rather want to believe that our son had forced down that not-so-sleek remote through that hole). One second look and a pair of surprised eyes were fixated on the Tata Sky remote floating in water inside the cooler. The highlight of the incident were the expressions that lit up everyone’s face. My father had that genuinely bewildered expression (as he was the one always harping on everyone, “Oh he is a child! Don’t scold him please”), my mother’s eyes had almost popped out in surprise not ready to digest the fact that her only grandson was a super sweet brat who was growing fast and there stood my husband with no expression. I could make out that he was angry but couldn't express it. However, his anger dissolved the moment, my son pulled out his usual tactic by pointing to his eyes and saying, "Aiiiizzzzzz".  (Something my husband had spent a great deal of time teaching him about eyes, nose, ears and mouth). And me being me, was the only one who was not surprised considering I get to experience the blues of his mischief every now and then, every single day.

Now as I write, I recall the days when this very little adorable bundle of joy was growing and kicking inside me, giving me undefined strength and company to enter the beautiful phase of life: Motherhood. And I realize, he is not just my strength. He is our friend, our love, the very purpose of our living, a beautiful gift from God who makes us realize the real worth of living. Of course, he is not in his best behavior all the time. Notwithstanding the fact that he somehow manages to drive both of us to the wall with his never ending mischief, but he is also the one who plays peacemaker when my husband and I get into arguments. To bring truce, all he does is tug at his father’s sleeves, hop into his lap and stroke his face with those tiny fingers until my husband starts grinning. And later he would approach me, tilt his head to one side and give me a toothy grin (which he knows makes me scoop him and smother him with kisses). How much ever he gets us mad with those unexpected incidents at the most inopportune times, at the end of every strenuous day, we just know that we have every reason to smile, to sleep in peace only after seeing that divine smile on our sleeping son’s cherubic face with his tiny hands curled around my neck and with his father’s hand on his head. 

A reason to smile, isn’t it?

Cheers & God bless...!!