The first question - ParenthoodDiaries #103

First question on my mind when I was 7.5 years old - "When are the holidays starting?"

First question on my mind now when my kids are 7.5 years old - "When is the school restarting?"

Same life but different responsibilities, different circumstances, different perspectives.

Well, I'm looking forward to again making holidays memorable for our boys. My creative brain needs to work in full throttle to keep them away from screens as much as possible. As they grow, it's getting utterly difficult to keep them away from screens.

These days they ask me - "You want us to not look at mobile, why do you keep looking at it...?

So these days I've come into an agreement that i won't look at mobile as well (in front of then though). So, i'm innovating ways to use mobile without kids noticing me doing so, since a lot of work happens on smart phones these days!!!

School Alumni Meet - The pretty gift I won

I won the below pretty box as a shared first prize along with my best friend Arifa, in our 10th class, in an elocution competition on the AIDS day. I still preserve this treasure, safe guarded it from the breaking skills of my children.

Our teachers used to conduct a lot of elocution competitions and used to support us with the preparation, to participate in other schools as well. Those were the days without smart phones, google usage or e-books. We and teachers used to refer books to prepare our content.

I'd say that those competitive moments and opportunities contributed towards the development of my communication skills and speech skills. I'll always be grateful to our school management and staff for such wonderful coaching.

When Genes kick-in - ParenthoodDiaries #102

When Genes kick in, we take it with smiles. And finally, there was something that we had to choose definitely different for both of them - The Spectacles (since the power is different).

It was after my fifth standard that I was taken to eye hospital and by then, the number of my short sight grew to (-3). I used to struggle to read what was written on the board and I used to think that's how everyone else would see .

My boys now were vocal enough to say they couldn't read from a distance. And they said it early, before the number would grow.

Now they look as studious as me, that's how I smile about it and move on.

Our first air travel - ParenthoodDiaries #101

We recently took Bharat & Bhuvan on an air travel for the very first time and here are some of the questions they asked. They asked every question at least thrice..

1. How the checked-in baggage will come? Is it coming behind us on a separate luggage-aircraft?

2. They saw the wing through the rear windows, and asked why "that part" was travelling along with us?

3. Are we above the clouds and hence are we in space?

4. The staircase through which we got into the aircraft, is is coming along too behind us, so that we get down again when we land?

Their inquisitiveness kept me busy and helped me in not feeling the turbulence, which otherwise would have occupied my mind throughout the travel time.

By the way, it was not just Bharat and Bhuvan's first air travel. It was also Ravi and my air travel TOGETHER for the first time ever in all the last 20 years. I too realize this, as I write this. On the day of travel, it was all about giving the first experience to kids. We didn't realize it was our first air travel together too.

Seasons change and so do we!