Rahi turns Thirteen!!!

Dear Rahi,

It's again that special day of the year - March 8th - when you were born but guess what it's the 13th year.
Being a mother no matter how many birthdays you celebrate you're still a kid to me. Every year I go through this memory lane on your birthday because I really wonder how these times are flying with a blink of my eyes.

The journey is exciting and a beautiful learning for me as a parent because each time I am cautious and protective for you, each time you surprise me with your answers and your way of handling things. 
This year, I was nervous for you as you stepped into middle school. I felt you are naive and the world is not so my worries were how you would adapt things and to my surprise when you shared how kids bully you in the school for your height, for you voice because you're yet to hit puberty and I started worrying how these kids do like that in school even though there are so many programs for 'not to bully' or 'stop bullying'! 

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent" ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

And you would say, "Mom I told them don't worry it will happen when it will happen. I am not worried so why you're worried for my height and my voice".

I was amazed at your response. I am sure you face such things everyday in different ways and you're facing these changes and learning to cope with it. There might be things that you may not like or may get hurt with and you face it so maturely. I really don't know when did you grow up this big to adapt to the changes in your surroundings and manage the new change in your life.

On this day when you're officially a teenager, I want to say thank you for being who you are! For listening to us and for understanding our chaos with work and home front and being patient with us.

I wish you all the best for your passions and your interests in ventriloquism, singing and animation. I admire your creative mind and the ways you think which I often see through your songs, and animation stories. World may not be all that good as you think but I like that you carry the goodness for this world.

"Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value". ~ Albert Einstein 

Keep it that way because some day this world will understand and learn from you, to spread love to all living beings.

Happy Birthday my Son!

"Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love." ~ Lao Tzu

~ Dawn

Rahi turns Twelve :)

It was this day around 12 years back when I was cut to part a piece of me from my body and my soul.

Yes, every mother would understand when I say this because the ten months attachment which grows like a part of you and then are placed in front of you as a specimen – here’s your baby!

Even though the umbilical cord is cut, and the baby is separated from the mother, the child is never separated from the soul of the mother. It is that connection which always makes her worry for her child in every thick or thin times.

Thinking that it is 12 years feels like yesterday and the handsome young man that you have turned into is really amazing because my eyes have seen you changing from that infant to this young man Rahi, that you are today.

Your naïve nature and innocence have always worried me because I always feel you are in a dream world and it is true that you’re a dreamer as your stories are also related to a world which we all dream to be in. But the reality is much far from that and hence, sometimes I worry how you will cope-up with the insensitive world.

But this morning when you were telling me the incident that occurred in your class with your friend Mahnoor, where some kid was being naughty, and they were treating other kid like a slave and Mahnoor raised her concern with that kid as not to do but still he did. This made Mahnoor upset and hence she went to tell her teacher about it. Class Teacher took it as kid’s game, and she said if they are fine then you shouldn’t bother. This made Mahnoor feel sad and angry. You as a good and caring friend went to make her laugh and with your silly gesture she did laugh!

When I asked you why? what made you do so?, And your answer was that when Mahnoor gets angry she gets headache and she was holding her head, so I figured something is upsetting her.

No matter how insensitive this world may be my dear Rahi be who you are and never change. Because this is what we need more, and I am sure with your generation things will change.

Wishing you loads of love and wishes for your dreams to come true. The way every day you say, ‘I love you Mom’!, without any reason like a song, each time I thank for having you in my life. We only planned to have a baby, but we had no clue when you will be born and how you would be, but it happened to be on Women’s International Day – March 8^th and you a Feminist by nature what can I ask more!!!

Happy Birthday Son, enjoy and yes, eat less sweet hon!

~ Dawn

There is always some madness in love ...!

Love is a very beautiful word with a beautiful meaning, isn't it?

Whether the love is for your beloved, your parents, siblings, friends, animals, your children and so many more they differ in the sense the expression of each type of love can differ.

I remember when my daughter long back went for her science camp for 3 days and as usual I told her to enjoy this time. But she says I cried when she came back...! Well, even today she teases me for that and I make joke out of it that actually I cried because you came back!!!

"The moment we cry in a film is not when things are sad but when they turn out to be more beautiful than we expected them to be" ~ Alain de Botton

All that is fun and now after many years my son went for his science camp for 3 days. I have not let him go alone anywhere until this time. We never encouraged sleepover for our kids as parents. It's not that we don't understand that or know that kids enjoy but thinking of other issues we always avoided. Kids have done sleepover with friends where we as parents are also present there.

Hence, when my son was going for his science camp I had all the typical motherly worries, will he be able to find things out there, will he be able to manage himself etc..! But then I said well he has to manage no matter what because I can't go and help so why worry and get stressed!

"In order to move on, you must understand why you felt what you did and why you no longer need to feel it" ~ Mitch Albom

Though at home everyone missed him, we as parents and his sister but it was only our dog Reyna who actually expressed it by holding on to his clothes and sleeping on them.

He had left on Tuesday and today he came back. Me and my husband were waiting for the time and also the school notification about their arrival so we can go and pick him up.
The wait was done after couple of my meetings and then when I got the text message from my son's school, we both went to receive him.

I was really not sure how my reaction would be because I was normal and eager to see him and hear all his stories. The moment I saw my son's face in the middle of his other schoolmates, tears filled in... is this love? The moment he came to me and I hugged him I started crying more.

When they are far you miss them because you love them but when they are with you then? Then also it's an expression of love through tears conveying that, I missed you!

"There is nothing as powerful as mother's love, and nothing as healing as a child's soul"

~ Dawn

Happy 10th Birthday Dear Rahi

As kids grow each year, a mother adds another year of growing with them. My son Rahi turned 10 today and as much I am excited for him to be growing from a big boy to a man, it also gives me immense happiness that his mind is adapting to things around him in a way that his perspective is forming about things that surrounds him. It may be about relationship, it may be about friends, gender you name it and he has a very broadminded look out towards each.

Rahi all I want to say to you is ‘I love this boy’ who is so kind and friendly to people that anyone can be your friend and can come and confide their story with you and they will be sure that you won’t judge them.

As a mother, I always want you to think from your perspective and from others perspective as well so that you can understand what they feel and based on that you can relate and reciprocate to their situation.

Your open thoughts when you share with me, it makes me happy about your pure heart and at the same time I worry for you to be in this world which is not all that good. So, be careful and be conscious of those things and don’t let anyone take advantage of you.

As your name means ‘traveler’, be that traveler who enjoys the journey and while enjoying he learns and gives back memories to cherish.

There will be all kinds of people in the world, but look what you would like to see and be treated as and do so to others as well.

Some may say 10 is not a big number yes, but when I see you in my arms when you were 6 months and now when 10, it's not too far when you will carry me the way I carry you now. It’s a mixed feeling for a mother because it brings back all the sweet memories right from conceiving you to deliver you to all those toddler days and one thing was always common about you - you were always smiling.

Keep that smile always because even if you’re not having a good day, but your smile can make someone else’s day. Be that curious man, helping and considerate one with your passion to sing and meet your favorite singers. Dreams do come true sooner or later you will realize that.

For now, I will say enjoy every part of your journey my dear Rahi (traveler).

A Very Happy 10th Birthday Rahi

A mother's heart is always melting for her children and it's never ending - Dawn

~ Dawn