Kids will be kids...

Children never fail to amaze me…From their unadulterated mind to their profound inquisitiveness; kids always keep the world vibrant and lively. As a mother, I see Reet and Ryan, my sons, exhibiting newer traits of their personalities every day. I guess everybody thinks that their generation was naive during childhood (“When we were young, we did not know about all these things. Look at today’s kids! They are so forthcoming and smart.”). Yes, we all somehow feel that our kids are smarter than we were. Just as our parents thought about us when we were young!

Let me share a few personal experiences.

I like to travel and just go around places. It has been a constant trait. My husband never tells me where to go or where not to go. In fact, he makes it a point to take out time from his hectic schedule to take me to places I wish to visit. But many a times, I go alone. As the kids have school, I prefer not to take them out on weekdays. A couple of days back, I went to my friend Gita’s place in the evening. By the time I reached home, it was around eight o’clock. Reet, my elder son, opened the door for me. He looked at me sombrely, indicated his right index finger to his left wrist, and enquired seriously, “Is this the time to come home? You are so late!.” A question my five-and-a-half year old baby posed to me, while his father never even bothered all these years!!

Coming to the little king Ryan, all of three years with a chest where the ribs are so prominent that I am reminded of the keys of a harmonium, I admit that he is an even tougher task maker. The other day, I was scolding Reet, his elder brother, over something. Ryan, barely out of his diapers, declared loud and clear, “Ma, we both will pack our bags and leave home if you keep scolding us like this. बहुत हो गया…” I was forced to shut up, and was reminded of the little boy in the Dhara refined oil advertisement (Remember? The जलेबी boy who later acted in “Kuch Kuch Hota Hain” as the little sardar).

You know, at times I eavesdrop…Just to hear what they discuss. One fine evening, when they were both watching “Oggy and the Cockroaches”, I sneaked into the room. Reet was telling Ryan, “Ma looks like a balloon.” 

To this, Ryan replied, “But she looks ok.” 

Reet said, “She looks good in saree. There is this girl named Mishti in my class; she has hair like Ma’s.”

I decided to leave the two young men to their own resources!

Childhood is beautiful. Everyone of us go back to our childhoods at times. We think of the demons that came to take our parents away at night, we think of the inaccessible chocolates than were kept in the fridge, we reminisce about the lazy afternoons when the grown-ups slept and we had enough opportunity to sneak into the kitchen and open the lid of the Amulspray tin and put generous spoonfuls in our greedy mouths…

Who said, ““For in every adult there dwells the child that was, and in every child there lies the adult that will be.”??? I cannot agree more…..