My BIG GIRL!!

OMG, You are 7!!!! Wasn’t it just 7 minutes ago that I breastfed you? Hahaha.. You will probably say Eww Mama! when you read this.

Oh yes! You will actually read this letter. Alright.. I feel the pressure now.

So, I have been writing you a letter every year on your birthday and now that you are 7, you will read this letter and hopefully appreciate how much your mama loves you and how she loves these little rituals which are exclusive to us. (Daddy is a good man, but Mum writes you letters .. Get it?)

Seven years ago, today you were born. You were this tiny little star with the most beautiful fingernails. Yup! I loved every bit of you and I observed every inch of you. My little star!

For the next two and half years of our lives, we were stuck together like Siamese Twins. I practised Attachment Parenting and you took it quite literally 🙂

We ate together, slept together (with lots of difficulties but well..we did!), showered together and pooped together (TMI.. I know!) and somewhere in-between you crawled, you talked, you walked, you ran, you jumped.. you get the gist, don’t you?

Let me tell you a little about yourself. Do you know what kind of a 7-year-old girl are you?

The kind one. The caring one. The curious one. The Cute one. The clever one and the creative one.

A Girl & Her DogYou aced your Year 2 exams. You got an Outstanding score in every subject except PE & Arabic (You got V.Good in it.) and your teachers love you. You have been selected for the “Leadership Programme” and awarded the AGT Certificate (academically gifted & talented) in Maths. You have already written and illustrated 2 Children’s books. You have played Piano in one virtual concert. You are very good at Art and you love to sing and dance. Your favourite singers are Ava Max and Dua Lipa and your favourite genre of books are “Indian Mythology”. You know so much about Indian Gods and Goddesses and you have read “The Ramayana”, “The Hitopadesha”, “The Panchatantra” and stories by Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda and Sudha Moorthy. As your mother, it was my conscious effort to bring to you a love for Indian culture and what better way than books. I love that you love to read. That you can spend hours by yourself reading and creating stories of your own.

I hope to see you explore all your creative talents like singing, painting, dancing and acting, even more, this year to hone these talents.  I see a lot of me in you when you read, and sing, and confidently speak in front of the camera. Yes! you are my blogging partner and a lot of people who follow me, love you.

My darling, you are so gifted.

You love numbers. You have got this from your Dad. You love Video Games. And you have got that too from your Dad. Your favourite video game these days are “Pokemon”. Dad says you are very good at gaming too, though of course, you only get limited time because of my strict “screen time” rules.

I love that you follow the rules and always make good decisions for yourself. I sincerely hope that this is one quality you carry with you throughout your life. You are a conscious kid, with a natural bent towards kindness, compassion and spirituality. You have a very beautiful heart. You think of everyone and you always try and do good, be good, not to please us, but to feel good. It is your natural state to be a sweet and emotionally mature child. You surprise me with your profound wisdom, even at this age.

Your Maasi says, that you are a beautiful mix of your Dad and me. You still look a lot like your Dad but you have my smile and my style too. We are both a bit sassy- smart-assy 🙂

This year, there was a milestone in your life. You have been a staunch vegetarian, just like me. But something flipped in you on 2nd April 2021 to be precise and you asked tour Dad for ” Bacon”.

I fail to understand what really happened to this date, but you are a meat-eater now and a very happy one at that. You LOVE Sushi! You love Bacon.. and your Dad cooks special dishes for you now, in my otherwise vegetarian kitchen. Your Dad has got a foodie-companion in you and I am just happy that you are no more a “Picky Eater”. It only took you 6 years to get on the “Family Diet”, but here we are and it’s a welcome change, even with meat in it.

What’s new behaviorally in you?

I can see a competitive side growing in you now. You like to win. Dad and I are trying to teach you that there is nothing wrong with ambition and the aspiration to win. It is in fact a very driving emotion, but we also would like to see you develop some sportsmanship. True honour, is in winning or losing but with honesty and compassion.

You are a lot of fun and you are developing quite a nerdy sense of humour. You do play on words. You do many accents and you love knock-knock jokes.  Your favourite thing in the world is to play goofy games with your Dad with a crazy amount of tickles and silly humour roped into it. You two are equally crazy and I love watching you two play and literally roll on the floor laughing. (I don’t appreciate my bed linen get all messy though !!)

My darling girl, you continue to amaze us in many unique ways. We love how much you care about the environment, how much you strive to “do” the right things, and work so hard and so sincerely for all your academic as well as co-curricular pursuits. Whatever you do, you do with such dedication and grace that it warms our hearts and makes us so proud of you.

And you don’t even let me give up.  When I work out to those youtube videos, you motivate me quite vocally. When I start to get tired and skip a few sets, you quickly come to me with that serious face that reminds me of my Gym Instructor and say, ” Mommy! You can do it. You are a strong girl.” and gently pat my pack during my plan position, as if to give me the love and support and “Reiki” (your words.. how do you know Reiki??)

I lovingly call you my “Fitness Coach” and you correct me and say, ” Mumma! I am your life coach”

When you talk this way to me, I know I am setting you up to feel the strength within you. I know every strength I show, becomes a part of you and I make sure that I also include you in some of my vulnerable moments too, so you know, life can get you down sometimes but the women we are, we always bounce back with double “Josh”.

On your 7th Birthday, I pray to God that may you retain your sweetness. Your kind heart and pure thoughts are your strongest possession. The bond you and I share is the strongest bond I have felt in my life and I cherish it and am forever grateful for it.

I love how special you make me feel every day. It is my endeavour to return the same love to you, with all my heart and soul.

 

You make this world better because you are in it. I hope and pray that may you shine bright and make yourself happy always and every day. May you attract great opportunities and good people and grow into a better version of yourself every year. And I hope I continue to learn from you and evolve with you and be the mother you need at every stage of your life.. because my love, being your mom is not only my favourite identity but an absolute privilege and I love you so much..

Happy Birthday my one and only child.

You are Precious.

Love,

Mumma