Whose Line Is It Anyway ? - #12

• The young man got the idea about "devas" and "asuras" in his balabhavan classes and how one side is good and other side is bad etc etc. On a fine day while we were driving, his curiosity as usual was kindled by a cop car passing by. Amidst my explanation on the same, I mentioned that the police catch only bad people and not us. Out came the prompt question - "you mean they will catch only the Asuras then ??". I couldnt help my laughter imagining a cop car with flashing lights chasing an Asura speeding on a buffalo and pulling him over and the cop with a movie-style-machismo asking him "May I see your rider's license and animal registration sir ?"
• Of late more than his words his emotions are becoming rather adorable. In our recent NYC trip, thanks to NYC government, kids under 4yrs of age don't need tickets for train rides/attractions. Boy, you should see his expression whenever we encounter such things. While I felt happy, he was really put down that he is not been given a ticket. Some convincing was needed that no tickets did not mean no ride.
• We drove overnight to Niagara falls and reached early morning. While my wife and I had a sleepless night, my kid and my mom caught some sleep at the back of the car. My son was fully fresh when we reached the hotel. While decided to stretch ourselves for an hour or two before going to the Falls, our son, who was all fresh and awake, couldnt understand why we all were in bed while its sunny outside. With a really quizzical look, he blurted out - "Are we owls ? Why are we going to sleep when its sunny outside?"
• The earliest time I remember making a statement starting with "My favorite.." was when I was legally eligible to have a kid of my own. Now my kid, hardly into school, is having a favorite in every aspect of his own little world. My favorite car, favorite color, favorite friend etc. While we are surprised by the display of "Generation-Me-ness", some of them outright are funny - A few are - "Appa, its cloudy today but my favorite weather is only sunny",, "Mommy, my favorite color is green. Not blue anymore". Point noted Sir !!

Puppets

Recently I had the honor of attending the "Father's Day" celebration in my son's preschool. It was so cute to see how the kids sat in front of their fathers and along with the teacher sang the song they have been practicing and presented a paper shirt/tie as gift. Very Cute !!!

However, I couldnt help getting the feeling that if these occasions, often, are forced on us by the businesses that have vested interest in the outcome. For eg, Hallmark, Archies etc for Valentine's Day comes to mind. You create a day for something, make it look really important and throw in ideas on people's mind on what to do (gift cards, bouquets, etc etc) and make a business out of it. And people fall for it all the time!!
This is my take - father and mother are some of the closest persons to you. Really special. No replacements possible. If they are truly that special, why should their day be some arbitrary day. Why not it be something unique to them - may be even their birthday.
And second, however cute my 4yr old looked on that day sitting in front of me and singing and hugging me after that (I am really thankful for all those), truth be told he had no idea what it meant. That to me was not perfectly fine. If he had to do something like that, he should feel it and do it. A regular hug from him at home after he gets up or during evening is more meaningful than this.
Please dont get me wrong here - I am not against thanking father or mother here. But let it be as special just like the special persons they really are and let it come from one's heart and not just because everyone else is doing it.
Often times, I have watched my wife growing anxious over my kid, getting tensed on issues related to him, his health etc. And almost in all those times, a flash of thought will pass my mind that this is how my mother would have been when I was that young. And that thought will get itself reflected, not necessarily in words but in spirit, when I call her over phone that day. Now, THAT DAY is truly MY MOTHER's DAY.
More often that not, when I find myself doing little sacrifices of my indulgences (very little compared to my wife) to spend time with my kid and looking at how he likes it, and, when I put in some effort to teach him something - kicking a ball - I get reminded of days when my father was there for me at every major step I could possibly imagine in my life, - I can feel a lump in my throat. Now, THAT DAY is truly MY FATHER's DAY.
As a father, I am all prepared to patiently wait for mine and till then, work towards it !!