Unfriendly Neighborhood Ducks

The ducks in our neighborhood are not the friendly kind. That's what I learnt the other day:

I looked out from the living room window one evening and saw two ducks crossing the front yard gate. Evening stroll. I immediately jumped up. So far Suhaana has only seen ducks from afar on the lake. But here they are on the front gate, this was different!

I called out to the little girl and opened the door to show her the ducks on the front gate. I didn't even have a chance to put her slippers on and she was gone!

She ran behind the ducks, who seemed mildly amused but kept a few feet's safe distance. But my little girl was too excited to pay heed to that. She ran behind them and pointed an excited finger at them: "Duck! Duck!".

The ducks were slowly moving to keep a constant few feet's distance with the pesky child. But the little baby was persistent! She ran behind them for a long distance. When they quacked, she even quacked back at them to initiate familiarity. "Quack quack!" she shouted! I ran behind the three of them (two ducks and a little girl) laughing at the cuteness of it all.

Evidently the ducks didn't appreciate the intrusion, and eventually realized they can't shake off the child so they flew away. Poor Suhaana kept calling "Hey Ducks! Ducks!" after them but they were gone. Mumma had to console the baby the ducks have gone to bed, and now it's the baby's turn; and returned home.

Friendly ducks they were not!

Reality is Only A Probability

I love Calvin's dad - he's done the impossible! He's taken this really tough job of parenting and turned it around to be a vehicle of his amusements and experiments! Its pure genius! I'm surprised its not already patented.

What I also agree with Calvin's dad is that popular knowledge is incredibly boring. Alternate outlandish explanations with no bearing on scientific data or populist notions of reality are so much more interesting. And quantum mechanics itself tells us- we can never be 100% sure- there's always a level of uncertainties even to our most certain realities. Which means the outlandish explanations are not really falsehood and made-up lies after all - just alternate realities. Much like alternate universes.

Now with that preface it's only a good thing that sometimes when Miss Suhaana says something wrong (by popular knowledge anyway) but incredibly cute, I have to encourage her - its only part of good parenting.

Sometime back Miss Haana was learning to identify the eyes and nose and ears etc. And somehow she got the eyes and nose messed up, such that most days, the eye is the nose and the nose is the eye. I do as any good parent would be expected I do.. Never stop laughing as I agree with her- point to her eye and say "N.O.S.E.")!

Lately she's learnt the three words that preface her big jumps- ready-steady-go. Only that for her- it is "Ready. Steady. G.O.A.T"!! Once again, being the supportive that I resolve to be- I agree with her and make it a point to say "Goat" every time I can!! It is hilarious!

As she grows up, I do intend to teach her about how big the sun is and where it sets as well! :)

Heavy Stuff

It's hard as a parent to NOT be the preferred parent. I've been trying to deny the feeling for some time, but every time I see it (Suhaana preferring Raj to me), it stings. There are just no two ways of saying it! On the other hand, maybe it's the universe's way of saying what goes around comes around.

When I was little, I had my favorites. And that actually continues till date. My dad was my role model when I was young. Intelligent, charismatic, righteous, just - just about everything. I remember when I was 5 or 6, my mom jokingly asked me who I love more, Papa or Mummy. I gave a politically correct reply of "Both". But I don't think there ever was a question about blinded-in-love-role model! So could this be payback time for me?

In my defense, I wasn't really the favorite child for my parents either. For a long time I thought it was only my mom playing favorites. But much later I realized, it was so for both my parents. As both my sister and I grew up, on occasion I was the preferred one but only because she was not preferred - she was in a temperamental stage. I was preferred because of lack of options.

Now the tables are turned. And as a parent, eager to correct the "wrongs", I compensate: a blog to commemorate every nuance of Suhaana's growing up. An email address to store every loving note until eternity. No, we'll not make the same mistakes. We'll make different ones.

I guess for several families, the Mom is the preferred parent, because she's the one who's around mostly, and she's too busy to fuss about such non-issues. And I guess I should be thankful of my situation of equitable division of labor. (I call it equitable, I've never asked Raj what he thinks about it. I've figured it best to steer clear of those discussions!) And yet, here we are. I either need to climb the social charts of likeability really quickly or brace myself for the teenage years to come.

Prepare For Bed

Suhaana does know how to prepare to go to bed. (Not to be confused with her actually going to bed/sleep. )

She knows:
Once she's taken her bath, then Mommy towels her dry. Then she opens her arms to get a ride to the bed.
Once she hits the bed (minor detail alert: no clothes or diaper yet), she knows it must be bed time. She pulls away from Mummy's arms and is on her way towards the pillows. While Mommy makes attempts to dab creme onto the slippery baby, she buries her face on the pillows. Then rolls around till she can pull the sheets up to her shoulders so that she's tucked in properly. Then looks on to the exasperated parent with a grin and "eet deem" (sweet dreams for the non-parents!).

Now of course this is just another one of those let's-try-this-'cause-it's-fun moments. Any hope I might have that she will fall asleep that quickly are eagerly dashed as she rolls back around and is on to the next game!

Sea Wolf

I just finished the Sea Wolf by Jack London. Leant to me by my friend (thank you very much!). Beautiful golden edged hard bound book; but even more wondrous in the effectiveness of the journey it takes the reader through. I'm still a little taken aback by the ending and still trying to make sense of it all. It's the same stuff as art movies in India. And it just struck me, as I write this, that I'm not sure if 'art movies' is a universal or a very Indian term. Basically the type of media that is open ended and thought provoking. No wonderful twists in the end, no painfully euphoric reuniting of torn lovers in the end( I was hoping so badly!). Sea Wolf- raging brutality and barbaric power, culminating in a gradual, silent end. Or depending on which way you look at it, a lifetime of high moral ground, given up and driven out, for the universal will to survive.

And while I was trying to make sense of it, I wonder... We prepare our children for the life they are to lead in all ways possible: good manners to fit in the society, good hygiene, good nutrition for a healthy body, good education for a healthy mind. What about the meaning of it all? The power of love, the purpose of life, the ignominious and the glorious, and the road to choose? Of course that assumes we as parents have figured this out, which, in my case is a long shot. But maybe our legacy to the next generation would be, other than material things, wisdom. Or at least the practice of soulful introspection and a never ending supply of questions.