Simple things which comes a long way
Last week Shreya and I attended a birthday party in my apartment.
It was Ben 10 themed birthday party. There was a large Ben 10 cake ordered from Leela Palace, Ben 10 balloons, Ben 10 paper plates, kids wearing mask, loud sound playing some bollywood mix, pani puri and chat stalls, juice counter, goody bags and many other things which I found completely unnecessary for a 5 years old's birthday party.
4 course meal ordered from resturants which includes North-Indian, South-indian and Chinese delicacies. Much halla-bol happened over the party and me & Shreya spent the better part of the evening dancing to the tune of "Chikni Chameli".
Coming home with a big Ben 10 goody bag, I was discussing with S about the entire different type of birthday parties of our childhood. The simple do-it-at-home affairs where you would plan the party games yourself and spend the afternoon feverishly making chits for passing-the-parcel planned for the evening while your mother work in the kitchen to provide the few guests with home-made food and baking the cake while father is busy decorating the living room with balloons and coloured papers.
It is difficult to get such parties these days. We can't really blame the parents because a young child, after having attended a Lion king themed party or farm house party, would not really be satisfied with simple-do-it-at-home party on her special day. However, after having attended a handful of such parties, I have decided to pass onto Shreya the simple, "close family & friend" birthday parties of my childhood.
This got me thinking of a few other things that I would like to pass on to Shreya from my childhood. The simple, little things, that you could easily overlook, but had a deep impact in your life and played a major role in making your childhood rewarding and memorable.
As a child, my mom had ensured to enroll me in various activities other than the regular studies. Different form of dances (I had completed "Bisarad" in Rabindra Nritya, Kathak and Bharatnatyam..although I know I don't look like that with layers of fats accumulated all over my body with time), different style of singing classes (Rabindra Sangeet was my fav among them besides Indian Classical) and Fine Arts (this had never provoked any interest in me). The knowledge acquired from these activities has not only boosted my confidence but also helped me spent my spare time effectively. Managing a hectic 9-5 job along with home and still ensuring that her kid gets all that she needs and much more than that, is not a child-play and only a "supermom" can do that. Not sure how much can I replicate my mother, but I am sure gonna give a serious try. Dance is something which tops my list although S is very fond that his princess gets proper training in classical music.
I was my mother's daughter all along and this bond has gone deeper and closer with time (touchwood). We all love our parents but parenthood definitely takes the "bond" to an entirely new level. Bonding with Mom and sharing anything and everything under the sun with her and having the confidence to turn to her for any kind of advice is something which I would like to pass onto Shreya. I am for sure waiting to play with her barbie dolls, hide and seek, put up skits, sleep in a tent and do all the fun stuff that I did or wanted to do when I was a kid. Daughter's are the biggest treasure for any mother and to be my daughter's bestest friend is definietely in my wish-list.
Love for reading and books is the next in my list. A lot of people scoffed when I began reading to Shreya when she was just couple of months old, but when I peek into her room now and see her little head bent over a book, I know that with books, it is never too early to begin.
Next in my list is bonding with family. My parents imposed on me to be part of any family get-together, come hell or high water. Vacation or days when studies can be skipped, me along with my parents would be seen socialising. Connecting with family and those small family visit/get-togethers helped us grow closer. And so in my little family now, I try to recreate this and plan to continue that to make Shreya realise the very importance of "family".
Trips during every summer and puja holidays, short or long distance does not matter, used to be something which I looked forward to as a kid. Those long train journerys, sometimes just-3-of-us and sometimes in group, used to be so much fun. Even short distance trips were so much refreshing. I just can't wait for Shreya to grow and we three put on our travelling pants on every oppurtunity we get.
And lastly, I’d like to teach Shreya "value for money". Being the only child of an working parents, I could have led a very lavish (read spoilt) life. But my parents have kept a tab on that and with time made me realise the value for money and this realization has come a long way in my life. I would like to inbuild same realisation in Shreya.
There are many other things I’d like to pass onto Shreya, and like every other parent if I had to list them all, this could be a never-ending post.
What about you? What are the things from your own childhood that you would like to pass on to your children?
It was Ben 10 themed birthday party. There was a large Ben 10 cake ordered from Leela Palace, Ben 10 balloons, Ben 10 paper plates, kids wearing mask, loud sound playing some bollywood mix, pani puri and chat stalls, juice counter, goody bags and many other things which I found completely unnecessary for a 5 years old's birthday party.
4 course meal ordered from resturants which includes North-Indian, South-indian and Chinese delicacies. Much halla-bol happened over the party and me & Shreya spent the better part of the evening dancing to the tune of "Chikni Chameli".
Coming home with a big Ben 10 goody bag, I was discussing with S about the entire different type of birthday parties of our childhood. The simple do-it-at-home affairs where you would plan the party games yourself and spend the afternoon feverishly making chits for passing-the-parcel planned for the evening while your mother work in the kitchen to provide the few guests with home-made food and baking the cake while father is busy decorating the living room with balloons and coloured papers.
It is difficult to get such parties these days. We can't really blame the parents because a young child, after having attended a Lion king themed party or farm house party, would not really be satisfied with simple-do-it-at-home party on her special day. However, after having attended a handful of such parties, I have decided to pass onto Shreya the simple, "close family & friend" birthday parties of my childhood.
This got me thinking of a few other things that I would like to pass on to Shreya from my childhood. The simple, little things, that you could easily overlook, but had a deep impact in your life and played a major role in making your childhood rewarding and memorable.
As a child, my mom had ensured to enroll me in various activities other than the regular studies. Different form of dances (I had completed "Bisarad" in Rabindra Nritya, Kathak and Bharatnatyam..although I know I don't look like that with layers of fats accumulated all over my body with time), different style of singing classes (Rabindra Sangeet was my fav among them besides Indian Classical) and Fine Arts (this had never provoked any interest in me). The knowledge acquired from these activities has not only boosted my confidence but also helped me spent my spare time effectively. Managing a hectic 9-5 job along with home and still ensuring that her kid gets all that she needs and much more than that, is not a child-play and only a "supermom" can do that. Not sure how much can I replicate my mother, but I am sure gonna give a serious try. Dance is something which tops my list although S is very fond that his princess gets proper training in classical music.
I was my mother's daughter all along and this bond has gone deeper and closer with time (touchwood). We all love our parents but parenthood definitely takes the "bond" to an entirely new level. Bonding with Mom and sharing anything and everything under the sun with her and having the confidence to turn to her for any kind of advice is something which I would like to pass onto Shreya. I am for sure waiting to play with her barbie dolls, hide and seek, put up skits, sleep in a tent and do all the fun stuff that I did or wanted to do when I was a kid. Daughter's are the biggest treasure for any mother and to be my daughter's bestest friend is definietely in my wish-list.
Love for reading and books is the next in my list. A lot of people scoffed when I began reading to Shreya when she was just couple of months old, but when I peek into her room now and see her little head bent over a book, I know that with books, it is never too early to begin.
Next in my list is bonding with family. My parents imposed on me to be part of any family get-together, come hell or high water. Vacation or days when studies can be skipped, me along with my parents would be seen socialising. Connecting with family and those small family visit/get-togethers helped us grow closer. And so in my little family now, I try to recreate this and plan to continue that to make Shreya realise the very importance of "family".
Trips during every summer and puja holidays, short or long distance does not matter, used to be something which I looked forward to as a kid. Those long train journerys, sometimes just-3-of-us and sometimes in group, used to be so much fun. Even short distance trips were so much refreshing. I just can't wait for Shreya to grow and we three put on our travelling pants on every oppurtunity we get.
And lastly, I’d like to teach Shreya "value for money". Being the only child of an working parents, I could have led a very lavish (read spoilt) life. But my parents have kept a tab on that and with time made me realise the value for money and this realization has come a long way in my life. I would like to inbuild same realisation in Shreya.
There are many other things I’d like to pass onto Shreya, and like every other parent if I had to list them all, this could be a never-ending post.
What about you? What are the things from your own childhood that you would like to pass on to your children?
Wow Sumita, extremely well written. About the fancy birthday bits I'm totally with u. I celebrated Z's 1st in Goa (just nice family vacation) and enjoyed a lot. Your blog has made my mind go ticking and I would soon want to come up with something similar... so that I don't tend to forget it in the long run :-). Keep writing.
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