Dearest Appa,
Happy Father's Day!!! I hope I can say this today and every single day just like I have been wishing Amma 'Happy Mother's Day' long after its been gone
I wanted to keep this letter brief and to-the-point because you know how I am a boy of not too many words ...
Thanks for being the greatest appa in the world..You mean the world to me and I hope we can stay close and share a fantastic relationship in the years to come..I look up to you for everything and I want to be like you when I grow up. as you know, I wait eagerly for your approval on what I do and am always rewarded with hugs, kisses and praise for my achievements (Amma thinks you over-act a bit but you know how these girls are!!)
Thanks also for spending time with me, taking me to the firestation and the construction site and putting me on the bull dozer when no-one was looking so you could get a picture,I know you are the Chief picture man in the house because if left to Amma, I would not haave any pictures of me doing things like holding the golf club or wearing my underwear on my head while sitting on the potty or listening to the ipod. I also love 'helpng you' work on the house whether its out in the lawn, in the garage or build things. You are quite a handyman (Lucky Amma!!!)
I know you are the expert at putting me down for a nap. Those nights(that Amma would love to forget) when I was teething, you paced the house with me on your shoulder singing and humming ..You have such a good voice and I love all your songs My favorite is Harivarasanam.
You are also super-patient and always try to answer my endless 'why's' without even a sign of boredom or frustration.
I almost forgot to thank you also for agreeing to write this blog with Amma ..
I could go on and on but remember I promised to keep this short ..I have to go now and play and maybe I'll even decide to take a nap today..
So, here's to my Appa, the cool, fun-loving, patient father anyone could have...
Hugs and kisses,
your 'sarkkarai kodam'
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Everything about firetrucks and firehoses
Round 1 - After constantly asking what sound a fire-engine makes ( Wheee-oo, Wheee-oo, for those who dont know yet!), when the little bear was 18 months old, we took him to a nearby firestation to show him what a fire truck looked like, hoses looked like, that the firefighters were real folks and friendly thinking he would really enjoy it. Well it turned out to be a disaster, with uncontrolled bawling, tears streaming and him wanting to get out of that place as soon as humanly possible even with the best coaxing and distractions from me (papa bear) and the firefighters. So, we put it off for another day and time knowing that it was the sheer monstrosity of the trucks and the building and the reality of actually seeing one in person, that scared the bejeezes out of him!
Round 2 - When little bear had played with lot more firetrucks, walked around with the plastic firehouse subs firetruck hat until it shredded away in pieces, 5-6 more fire truck books, we thought at 26 months, he was "ready". So, Thatha little bear and I went to a firestation, with lots of preparation and "no crying" gentle reminders to make this a fun experience.
So......it turned out to be as expected, no crying, lots of questions, inquisitive minds playing with the steering wheel, hoses, lights, boots, seeing their gym, sleeping quarters, kitchen all made it "come real" to him. Having developed a vocabulary of a 4 year old in his 2.25 yr old body, he floored the firefighters with his pointing to a fire extinguisher and saying "that is a fire extinguisher"...one of whom remarked that the other one next to him, probably could not say it even now. He then proceeds to "run over" to a motorcycle (Kawasaki ZZ - R 1200, papa bear knows a bit about motorcycles from his younger days and mama-bear pretends to not want to hear a word of it) and wants to get on top of it. The firefighter who owns that motorcycle nervously laughs and I distract him from it. It was then that the little-bear unleashes one of those lines " daddy - thats tiger woods" at which point I have no idea whether I am dead or alive, not knowing how to react...i yelp out "haha, you said your name was trevor, he heard tiger and he is a BIG fan of tiger woods when we watch golf together" and try to get out of that moment....actually, little bear in his kaleidoscopic vision, saw a tall, athletic, 6-2", 200 lb, african american gentleman of mixed race and a wide smile and thought - this must be the real thing! So, i sheepishly excuse myself, walk through the kitchen when little bear stops and remarks " firefighters are eating bread", while I have been nudging them to advise him to drink milk, eat veggies etc, to become strong like them. Another oopsie moment of truth
Now, at 29 months, he is very comfortable with firetrucks, firefighters, fire, water to put out fire and no anxiety over things...all he wants to do it be a firefighter at home. One morning, when I was getting ready for work, he got hold of an old tie of mine, pulled it out and pretended that was firehose and he was intent on putting out fire in the house. I thought it was a one-day event that would soon be forgotten. Unfortunately, that rust-colored tie is in tatters, has all kinds of stains and has been used on a daily-basis to not only be a firehose, but a belt, a way to drag another toy.
Other firehoses are an ethernet cat-5 cable, mama-bear's belt, my belt, strings that hold together anything, draw strings from pajamas, belt-like things on mama-bear's blouses (who knows what they are called). Anything that's vertical is a fire-pole that firefighters slide down on...spindles on staircases, temporarily vertical golf club etc.
One last thing on this topic are the firegloves that firefighters wear - almost always his socks come off his foot and he manages to put on each sock of a pair on his hands stretched as high as possible and walk around like that for a while.
Absolute delight to watch at this stage, but at times tests your nerves, when you ABSOLUTELY must let him play with pretend-tie-as-a-firehose or read his fire-book for 10 whole minutes when you are trying to quickly brush his teeth and put him to bed or getting ready to leave for work....or else all sanity will break loose!
Round 2 - When little bear had played with lot more firetrucks, walked around with the plastic firehouse subs firetruck hat until it shredded away in pieces, 5-6 more fire truck books, we thought at 26 months, he was "ready". So, Thatha little bear and I went to a firestation, with lots of preparation and "no crying" gentle reminders to make this a fun experience.
So......it turned out to be as expected, no crying, lots of questions, inquisitive minds playing with the steering wheel, hoses, lights, boots, seeing their gym, sleeping quarters, kitchen all made it "come real" to him. Having developed a vocabulary of a 4 year old in his 2.25 yr old body, he floored the firefighters with his pointing to a fire extinguisher and saying "that is a fire extinguisher"...one of whom remarked that the other one next to him, probably could not say it even now. He then proceeds to "run over" to a motorcycle (Kawasaki ZZ - R 1200, papa bear knows a bit about motorcycles from his younger days and mama-bear pretends to not want to hear a word of it) and wants to get on top of it. The firefighter who owns that motorcycle nervously laughs and I distract him from it. It was then that the little-bear unleashes one of those lines " daddy - thats tiger woods" at which point I have no idea whether I am dead or alive, not knowing how to react...i yelp out "haha, you said your name was trevor, he heard tiger and he is a BIG fan of tiger woods when we watch golf together" and try to get out of that moment....actually, little bear in his kaleidoscopic vision, saw a tall, athletic, 6-2", 200 lb, african american gentleman of mixed race and a wide smile and thought - this must be the real thing! So, i sheepishly excuse myself, walk through the kitchen when little bear stops and remarks " firefighters are eating bread", while I have been nudging them to advise him to drink milk, eat veggies etc, to become strong like them. Another oopsie moment of truth
Now, at 29 months, he is very comfortable with firetrucks, firefighters, fire, water to put out fire and no anxiety over things...all he wants to do it be a firefighter at home. One morning, when I was getting ready for work, he got hold of an old tie of mine, pulled it out and pretended that was firehose and he was intent on putting out fire in the house. I thought it was a one-day event that would soon be forgotten. Unfortunately, that rust-colored tie is in tatters, has all kinds of stains and has been used on a daily-basis to not only be a firehose, but a belt, a way to drag another toy.
Other firehoses are an ethernet cat-5 cable, mama-bear's belt, my belt, strings that hold together anything, draw strings from pajamas, belt-like things on mama-bear's blouses (who knows what they are called). Anything that's vertical is a fire-pole that firefighters slide down on...spindles on staircases, temporarily vertical golf club etc.
One last thing on this topic are the firegloves that firefighters wear - almost always his socks come off his foot and he manages to put on each sock of a pair on his hands stretched as high as possible and walk around like that for a while.
Absolute delight to watch at this stage, but at times tests your nerves, when you ABSOLUTELY must let him play with pretend-tie-as-a-firehose or read his fire-book for 10 whole minutes when you are trying to quickly brush his teeth and put him to bed or getting ready to leave for work....or else all sanity will break loose!
Thursday, May 29, 2008
The rest of the story!
Life has been very busy here in the Little Bear household.
There have been business trips taken by both Appa and me, preparation for a trip to visit family in San Fransciso over the Memorial Day weekend, the actual long trip and the return trip followed by the Little Bear coming down with a stubborn viral infection.
The toys are untouched, the books unread and the stuffed animals ignored while the entire house focuses on Little Bear. He has a fever and a sore throat. His appetite seems to be coming back but the sore throat hinders the swallowing which makes him really whiny, clingy and fussy. Where did my easy-going baby go? We are still trying to figure out what exactly to feed him - milkshakes or puddings or bread. The only thing that he actually wants (Thank God for that!) is apples. Is there a cookbook with comfort food recipes to feed kids when they get sick?
When the fever goes down, Little Bear is a joy to be around. he runs around, jumps down from the couch, drags his friend the 'Swiffer' around the kitchen and living room and tells me that he wants to go the school that firemen go to...Yes! he has declared that he has no interest in going to the Montesori where we enrolled him for this fall. He only wants to go to the fireman school because that's what he wants to become - A fireman. Plus 'Barney' says that you should exercise and lift weights to be healthy and become a fireman ..'So, can I get your weights from the garage to lift...?' he pleads. I look at him and with a straight face say that you can lift weights tomorrow when your fever is gone..How about you eat some 'dal' now? 'Barney also says that you should eat vegetables and healthy food to become a fireman' I remind him..(Ok! I made that up but are not white lies every parent's secret weapon?)
We hope Little Bear feels better soon. Well meaning friends tell us that it is a good thing when kids get sick because thats how their immune system get strong...This makes logical sense but its really hard to see him unwell. There is also a soft nagging voice telling me to be strong because the worst is yet to come - as he grows up, there will be plenty of fevers and sniffles, doctor's visits, medicines and tears. At times like this I turn to the Serenity prayer ..
'God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things that should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.'
There have been business trips taken by both Appa and me, preparation for a trip to visit family in San Fransciso over the Memorial Day weekend, the actual long trip and the return trip followed by the Little Bear coming down with a stubborn viral infection.
The toys are untouched, the books unread and the stuffed animals ignored while the entire house focuses on Little Bear. He has a fever and a sore throat. His appetite seems to be coming back but the sore throat hinders the swallowing which makes him really whiny, clingy and fussy. Where did my easy-going baby go? We are still trying to figure out what exactly to feed him - milkshakes or puddings or bread. The only thing that he actually wants (Thank God for that!) is apples. Is there a cookbook with comfort food recipes to feed kids when they get sick?
When the fever goes down, Little Bear is a joy to be around. he runs around, jumps down from the couch, drags his friend the 'Swiffer' around the kitchen and living room and tells me that he wants to go the school that firemen go to...Yes! he has declared that he has no interest in going to the Montesori where we enrolled him for this fall. He only wants to go to the fireman school because that's what he wants to become - A fireman. Plus 'Barney' says that you should exercise and lift weights to be healthy and become a fireman ..'So, can I get your weights from the garage to lift...?' he pleads. I look at him and with a straight face say that you can lift weights tomorrow when your fever is gone..How about you eat some 'dal' now? 'Barney also says that you should eat vegetables and healthy food to become a fireman' I remind him..(Ok! I made that up but are not white lies every parent's secret weapon?)
We hope Little Bear feels better soon. Well meaning friends tell us that it is a good thing when kids get sick because thats how their immune system get strong...This makes logical sense but its really hard to see him unwell. There is also a soft nagging voice telling me to be strong because the worst is yet to come - as he grows up, there will be plenty of fevers and sniffles, doctor's visits, medicines and tears. At times like this I turn to the Serenity prayer ..
'God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things that should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.'
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Lucky to be a Mom!
Last Sunday was Mother's Day - a day that is celebrated to honor one's mom and also give her a little break from the everyday mundane motherly duties...I normally don't care for the other Hallmark days such as Valentine's Day and Sweetest Day but I think Mother's Day is a much deserved day for all mothers..
This year Mother's Day turned into a Mother's fun weekend with little or no time spent with DH and Little Bear. I spent Saturday with some close dear friends who are also moms indulging in some much needed, super-effective retail therapy followed by a sumptuos meal and gossip. Meanwhile DH fed and bathed the Little Bear, put him down for a nap and then took him to a birthday party...Seriously, the man definitely is a keeper. I returned home to find roses sitting in a vase on the kitchen island, with a box of expensive choclate and a card signed by Little Bear ...I could almost picture DH coaxing the boy to hold the pen, so he could help him sign his name, amidst protests that he wanted to do it 'himself' (which by-the-way is the matra in our house at the moment)..There were also some finger prints of his little hands on the side ..
On Sunday, we went out to breakfast and then proceeded to tackle all the weekend chores...Every hour or so, I was cheerily greeted by Little Bear with a Happy Mother's Day ..
DH has always been very creative in his gifts for Mother's Day. 2 years ago on my first Mother's Day he gave me a picture frame with Little Bear's picture and the poem 'What is a Boy'..The picture hangs in our bedroom reminding me of that first year as a mother when I was full of doubts and did not know what to expect ...is this a Thankless job I found myself often asking? that first year I was so tired all the time from lack of sleep and trying to juggle the rest of what had been my life with taking care of Little Bear that I had not thought much of Mother's Day ..
This year, however I have the energy and perspective to really understand what Mother's Day really is.. There would be no DAY if I was not chosen to be a mother..so Little Bear, Thank You for being my son and DH, thank you for being there to help me on this motherhood journey
A friend sent this to me a long time ago ..
A newborn's conversation with God. .
A baby asked God, "They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?" God said, "Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you."The child further inquired, "But tell me, here in heaven I don't have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy."
God said, "Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy." Again the child asked, "And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to Me if I don't know the language?"
God said, "Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you to understand."
"And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?" God said, "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray." "Who will protect me?"
God said, "Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its life."
At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, "God, if I am To leave now, please tell me my angel's name."
God said, "You will simply call her, "Mom."
This year Mother's Day turned into a Mother's fun weekend with little or no time spent with DH and Little Bear. I spent Saturday with some close dear friends who are also moms indulging in some much needed, super-effective retail therapy followed by a sumptuos meal and gossip. Meanwhile DH fed and bathed the Little Bear, put him down for a nap and then took him to a birthday party...Seriously, the man definitely is a keeper. I returned home to find roses sitting in a vase on the kitchen island, with a box of expensive choclate and a card signed by Little Bear ...I could almost picture DH coaxing the boy to hold the pen, so he could help him sign his name, amidst protests that he wanted to do it 'himself' (which by-the-way is the matra in our house at the moment)..There were also some finger prints of his little hands on the side ..
On Sunday, we went out to breakfast and then proceeded to tackle all the weekend chores...Every hour or so, I was cheerily greeted by Little Bear with a Happy Mother's Day ..
DH has always been very creative in his gifts for Mother's Day. 2 years ago on my first Mother's Day he gave me a picture frame with Little Bear's picture and the poem 'What is a Boy'..The picture hangs in our bedroom reminding me of that first year as a mother when I was full of doubts and did not know what to expect ...is this a Thankless job I found myself often asking? that first year I was so tired all the time from lack of sleep and trying to juggle the rest of what had been my life with taking care of Little Bear that I had not thought much of Mother's Day ..
This year, however I have the energy and perspective to really understand what Mother's Day really is.. There would be no DAY if I was not chosen to be a mother..so Little Bear, Thank You for being my son and DH, thank you for being there to help me on this motherhood journey
A friend sent this to me a long time ago ..
A newborn's conversation with God. .
A baby asked God, "They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?" God said, "Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you."The child further inquired, "But tell me, here in heaven I don't have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy."
God said, "Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy." Again the child asked, "And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to Me if I don't know the language?"
God said, "Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you to understand."
"And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?" God said, "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray." "Who will protect me?"
God said, "Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its life."
At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, "God, if I am To leave now, please tell me my angel's name."
God said, "You will simply call her, "Mom."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
