Happy New Year

Dear Sanjiv,

This year has been great..As usual with you beside,life is always with full of twist and turns of surprise moments.
We see you growing into a wonderful kid. I learnt to expect the unexpected. Your thoughtfulness, your love for us and you laugh makes every day worth waking up.

This year you turned 6, you have improved way too well in reading and writing.
You learnt to skate, ride cycle without supporting wheels. You enjoyed yoga and a game of tennis.
Definitely you have improved your strokes in swimming and the kick in soccer.

I like the way, you tell, 'Amma it is sale' when we go for shopping. How you don't ask for a cup of grape Fanta until we go for a movie.   Your latest interest for discovery kids channel(after I locked all teen related channels), your interest to grow up is all new for me this year.

I like the way how you kept saying that your friend got a coin from tooth fairy and clearly set the tone that you need one when the tooth fairy visits you. The day you had wriggly tooth, and the excitement of loosing teeth was so cute to see. The day you lost the tooth, how you brought it carefully from school and then we both kept it under the pillow for the fairy to visit. I will never forget that day.

Beginning of the year you thought, having spike hair style was cool and by end of the year it has became inverted spike that it is monkey crop hair style. Now you want to have silky and soft hair that always falls on your forehead.

Thanks for making me enjoy all those board games again. How I learnt again to play monopoly. The game of Jega, fun time with Sphero. You wanted to do the loom bands and I ended making more bands for you to give to your friends.. Definitely You tube thought me make different loom bands.

I love our conversations during bed time and bath time. Those the are best time. I get to know a lot of about how the day went for you. The innocent secrets that comes out.

I would be lying if I say you have never driven me crazy. There are times when I have been angry at you.But those moments are like thorns in the rose plant. To hold the beauty of the rose, I need to hold on to some thorns.

Your a sensitive boy. Which is hard to find these days. I, simply overflow with joy when you say that you will cry if you see me sad. I don't have words to express when you stand up for me when appa teases me.

Your laugh, the spark in eye and naughtiness in mind, all this makes you very special.

As usual, I would like to promise to stand by you no matter what. I will teach you to make choices but never decide on your behalf. Learn from you to be happy, Go for cycling with you. Learn to skate with you.

We love you baby.

Wish you a happy new year 2015.

Questioning the presence of Santa

On 24th night, I told Sanjiv that the following day there was no office for me. He was like, why ? I told him that it was Christmas and it was public holiday. He immediately responded, oh good, I will get my present from Santa. It was already 9.00pm and this has totally slipped off my mind.
So I just went to the stocks of presents that I usually keep and found an appropriate one.  Wrapped it in the gift wrapper that looked closer to occasion and picked up a name card from my stock. I also wrote a letter 'To him from Santa'.
All set, I went to bed happily thinking Sanjiv will not be disappointed in the morning.
In morning, this is how it went and I know for sure, next year we don't have to play the role of Santa.

Sanjiv : ' Are you sure, this is from Santa'
Me: with a surprise look. 'Why ?'
Sanjiv 'The wrapper says 'JEM'. That is the store we always go. Look at the card, this is also from our closet'.
Me: 'Santa can't buy everything for everyone. So sometimes he uses things from our home. Remember last year you got the Toy's R Us store wrapper. It is also the store we always go'...
He looked lost, but kind of accepted my explanation.
He then opened the present, and another expression of disbelief.
Sanjiv: 'I don't think it is from Santa'.
Me: 'Again, why ?'.
Sanjiv: 'He always gets what I want, I wanted speed boat. But look what I got'.
Me: 'Sometime, Santa might get confused with all the request he gets'.
For sure, he didn't take this answer as it was not in his favor. I asked him to read the letter in which it stated, since he was a good boy, he will get another present for New Year. This kind of made him happy. He was playing with the new board game for a while. Then he came up to me and asked.
Sanjiv: 'Mom, are you sure it was not you who gave the present'.
Me :'Again, why do this ask this ?
Sanjiv 'In the letter, the way Sanjiv is written is same as you write'.
I struggled hard to hold on my laugh. I just told him, that is surprising, he writes like me.
Luckily we went out and his doubts stopped.
For sure next year, no need to play the role of Santa but definitely need to get him a present.

Awesome stick

Beginning of the year, his teacher told that guys will get awesome stick if they did something more than what is expected.

4 months since his class started, Sanjiv got 3 awesome sticks and all three for different reasons.

I am very happy with his progress in reading and writing.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Queries on death

In the past months, Sanjiv has queries on death. My husband gets worried when he hears such question from him. On the other hand, I tried to stay calm and answer his question as much as possible. But never in detail.

Finally one day, I decided to answer him. Here is how our conversation went

Sanjiv 'when you die, are you born as a baby'
Me : 'Mostly yes, sometime you are also born as puppy or cow'
Sanjiv: 'I don't want to be born as puppy or ant'
             'Do we get to keep the same name and same parents'
Me :  'We dont know where we will be born or what name we will get'
Saniv 'Thank gosh, you are still not too old'
Me :  'Ya baby, don't worry we all have long time. We will be happy family for many more years'
Sanjiv:  'Amma, I want the same thatha(grandpa). I don't want any other thatha'.
Me :  'Dont worry'. You are going to have same family only.

After this detail talk, he stopped to ask about death again.

But after few days, he saw me having a grey hair. He was like, mom don't worry. It is just one and you are not that old yet !!!!!!!!!! Oh gosh, this boy and his though correlations :)-

Update

He had a good b'day celebration...For first time we had pool party and kids loved the rain & pool combo. I can't say the same for the parents....Luckily I didn't hear anything from the parents :)-

He is happy to be 6 years old as he expects his teeth's to fall and the tooth fairy to give him $. His best friend got 2$ for each lost tooth and he has set the bar for tooth fairy.(He knows parents are tooth fairy)

Leader

Sanjiv: Mom I am the leader for my group for next 5 days.
Me: Oh nice. What is leader. Sanjiv
Sanjiv: I tell everyone in my group what to do and they have to listen
(My God, the Indian blood in him has taken control of his thoughts)
Me: No baby, leader means, you have to show them how to do right things and make right choices and they will follow it automatically.
Sanjv: Oh thats so hard. I thought leader doesn't have to do anything and just tell others what to do.
Me;  No baby, def not. Leader should do more.
Sanjiv: Mom you dont know. In my class it is like that only...
( Ok, I need to talk to his teacher and get this sorted out...I want him to be a good leader and not a boss in name of leader...Am I crazy to think like this. He is only 6  !!!!)

No excuse

Oh My God !!!! it is more than 3 months since my last update. Very bad...Really very bad...I don't have any excuse other than being lazy...

I haven't even posted anything on his B'day...I better get to form again..

Three musketeers of SK8

These three guys have formed a nice gang. They fight among themselves but are good friends. Let's see what happens next year.







- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Train journey

I forgot an important piece of the experience from our last India trip. Sanjiv had been in Indian train when he was 2 years old. Definitely not the same as the one he had this time. I, introduced him to the joy of standing near the door of the moving train and enjoy the breeze...Even though it was summer, still the joy of wind hitting the face was too hard to miss...I also showed him that when u have wet hand and show it out, it will be so chill...
I missed to capture the moment in my camera :)-

The proposal

The Proposal...It is not the movie that you all have seen.
In my cousin, Arvind's engagement, Sanjiv went and proposed to the to-be bride's sister...
Yes, you read it right. He didn't stop there...He went to her dad and asked for her :)-
He told uncle(Pooja's father) that his daughter is pretty and plays well, so he would like to marry her.
Oh My God.....I was not aware of all this and then uncle told me that he is happy to have my son as his son-in-law.
Woh !!!!! Now I have a possibility to have a daughter in law who will be finishing Dr. in one year's time :)- Yes, she is not a teenager...she is of legal marriage age...Just that she has to wait for another 2 decade for him to be of legal marriage age :)-

Update !!!!!

Really bad of me. I had neglected this blog for more than a month and so much has happened in the past months.....
He sings 'Let it go' song pretty well...with the expressions too
He learnt to ride bi-cycle without the supporting wheels...Not bad for first time. promised to take him again this weekend
He knows exactly what action of his will make me upset, then immediately he turns to me and says, ' mom you are the bested mom in the world, love you mom'...Okay, need to agree that this normally controls my temper...
I have got no idea why he is not correcting 'Bested'...Have told him n-number of time that it is only best !!!!
For first time we all went in Boat house (Kerala, India)....Not bad, he managed to be inside the boat for 2 days and one night without TV....
He learnt free style, back stroke to some extend...but he still enjoys to just be in water and not really swim...
Read the next blog, it is more interesting :)-

Improved

All I can say is, he has become brave than last time.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Update of his interests.

The most active kids in his class are his friends.
His favorite thing in Blue Tag.
He likes to hide all his things behind our bed rest.
Ben 10 is still his fav cartoon.
According to him everybody wants to marry him because he is different color than all of them.
'Let it go' is his fav song.
India is his country and chennai is not India.
Maths his fav subject.
He likes to go to study but can't understand why they always ask him to study.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

How brave am I ?

Definitely, till date I can't do this.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Missing

I never really understood why my mom hated when I had to move to another city for work.
Last week I experimented by sending only my son and husband to India for 3 days to get some 'My time'. That's when it hit me so hard how much I miss my son.
I regretted every free time I had in those three days.
Sleep" Every day I slept at 1.00 am and woke up at 7.00am...The sleep that comes so peacefully at 9.00pm when my son is around, refused to come closer me even past 12....
Thanks to my cousin family...they helped to fill the void space during the day time.
Shopping: when he was around, I find reason to leave him at home to go for shopping or my husband to take care of him or complain he doesn't let me shop, but when he was away I did go for shopping and didn't even like a piece for me...got few shorts for him though....
I wanted to do my nails, soak in bath tub, clean my closet...and ended up doing nothing but skype calls...
To be frank, the feeling of not really required by him, hurt me more...Had he cried in India, asking for me could have made me happy...
My mom was happy about how matured her grandson was...how well he handled the separation from me (first time in 5 1/2 years) ..but maybe I let her down by not handling it well, by declaring I will never send my son alone...
When my son came back, his sweet little hug and miss you mama, made me happy...
That's when I realized, how in these past 5 years I needed him more than he need me...More than me entertaining him, he was entertaining me, he was teaching me to enjoy the small things in life...the hug, the kiss, the small meaningless talks....
These three days hit me hard to understand that once this phase of life is gone, it will never be back...
I will have more 'Me time' for another 20-30 years maybe....but this hectic time of 'I need you mom' will not last for more than 2-3 years....
Then it will be only in memory...the empty nights when he goes for camp, please dont hug me in public and so on...will come soon...
I will ask for 'Mom I need you' more than 'My time'......

Walk in the park

Friday I had taken off from work to run some errands...I was home before Sanjiv came back from school...
It was 6pm & we decided to go to park. Surprisingly it was a breezy day. He was on his cycle and I planned to jog. He had taken his Frisbee and skipping rope. 
We played for sometime and as it got darker, I told him it was time to go back. Suddenly he was like,
mom lets sit down in the grass and enjoy some cool breeze and talk...Hmmmmm....
Sanjiv: ' Mom what do you like'
Me: ' I like to walk in the beach'
Sanjiv: ' Me too'...When you were young did u play in the grass...
ME: Yes of course, I also lie down and try to count stars...
Sanjiv 'Mom, you are silly, how can you count stars'

OMG, is my child grown already.....

Me: ' Yeah it was so much fun'
Sanjiv: 'By the time you finished counting, you could have slept'
Me: 'Yes'
Sanjiv: 'heeeeeeeeeee then what else'
Me: I used to connect the stars and make shapes...
Sanjiv :' Me too'
Me: 'Do you want to know what mom dreams of you, I dream you become a doctor'
Sanjiv: 'I want to be scientist...Mom whats your dream'
Me: 'I dream of you to be scientist'...
Sanjiv: 'See we both dream the same. So has your dream come true'.
So soon ?....
Me: ' Have you become a scientist ???'
Sanjiv: 'I am sad...you say I am not a scientist yet...I make portion in school'....

Thanks God, he is still the little kid....Not grown yet...

Me: ' Then mom has gone a step closer to my dream. If you listen to Ms.Sandra then my dream will come true one day'
Sanjiv : 'Ok mama'

And we talked more all the way back...As we entered the house, he said 'Mom, today I had very good time..Maybe we should do it more often'....

Yes, definitely I will do this more with him. 

Happy New Year

Dear Sanjiv,

Happy New Year son. Our journey is being so wonderful with you. We wish another great and healthy year for you.

Love,
Mom & Dad.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone