Dear Piya,
Taking care of a baby is quite a task for a mother.
I could write this whole letter solely upon how tedious it becomes for me to live through the cycle of ‘Feed, Clean, Repeat’ again and again, through years together; waiting for you to become self-sufficient one day.
Ironically, I am told that after the child does become independent, this phase is what a mother misses the most. I guess there is deeper emotion somewhere in being needed by your child.
But that seems to be a feeling reserved for exploration only in retrospect.
Because while this cycle goes on & on, a mother keeps putting in efforts to make the child not call ‘Mumma’ every second second.
Two major tasks I wished for you to master were - potty-training & self-feeding.
While you helped me immensely by mastering the former really early, your practical application of the latter came with an unforeseen round of troubles.
I think I should introduce the phrase ‘Aapey Aapey’ at this point - it stands for a screaming ‘I will do it myself!’
Oh, if I had a penny for every time you shouted ‘Aapey Aapey’!
You are a quick learner, baby.
You realised pretty soon that eating on your own is more in your favour than mine (I would be relived of the task of sitting patiently for an hour as you weigh whether you want to eat or not).
Yes, so you were the bigger beneficiary here and this is how. As your mother, I am obliged to make food for you that is more healthy than tasty. I was able to keep your sticky little hands off a lot of chocolates, chips & ice creams this way, for the first two years.
I did instil the concept of ‘Do it yourself’ alongside, in order to make you do your own chores like eating, wiping, picking up your toys etc. but I did not see this backfiring in any way - here came the terrible twos.
Herein, you knew you were better off without Mumma’s pestering to eat.
So you mastered the phrase ‘Aapey Aapey’.
“Eat your food, Piya! It’s getting cold.”
“Aapey, Aapey, Mumma”, you would say, only to grab the roti, make it barely touch the sabzi, and call it your meal.
“This is soup, Piya! What will you do with a fork in it?”
“Aapey, Aapey, Mumma!” And there went the soup, your clothes and the floor on their way to getting spoilt.
“Time to brush your teeth, Piya!”
“Aapey, Aapey!!!” You would scream if I even touched your toothbrush. I would stare as you chew through the toothpaste for 5 long minutes, before trying to make you brush properly, and that is where the ‘Aapey, Aapey’ scream would ring aloud again.
Oh, yes, this phrase has now seeped into every aspect of our lives and is not just limited to you eating a meal anymore.
You want to select your clothes ‘Aapey, Aapey’, which seldom match to make a pair.
You want to bathe on your own, which makes the bathroom a pond in no time
You want to carry your toys all by yourself too, which only means that the scatter-farm-exhibit is open for anybody & everybody to enjoy across the house.
Oh, for the good old days when I did things for you by myself! Yes, my back did hurt, and yes, I did wish for some of the work to be delegated to you.
But if only I had known the stubbornness of this ‘Aapey, Aapey’...
Wait, you are making way to my cosmetic-box again.
Wait!
That is not for ‘Aapey, Aapey!’
Wait.....!
Aapey, Aapey,
Maa.
Taking care of a baby is quite a task for a mother.
I could write this whole letter solely upon how tedious it becomes for me to live through the cycle of ‘Feed, Clean, Repeat’ again and again, through years together; waiting for you to become self-sufficient one day.
Ironically, I am told that after the child does become independent, this phase is what a mother misses the most. I guess there is deeper emotion somewhere in being needed by your child.
But that seems to be a feeling reserved for exploration only in retrospect.
Because while this cycle goes on & on, a mother keeps putting in efforts to make the child not call ‘Mumma’ every second second.
Two major tasks I wished for you to master were - potty-training & self-feeding.
While you helped me immensely by mastering the former really early, your practical application of the latter came with an unforeseen round of troubles.
I think I should introduce the phrase ‘Aapey Aapey’ at this point - it stands for a screaming ‘I will do it myself!’
Oh, if I had a penny for every time you shouted ‘Aapey Aapey’!
You are a quick learner, baby.
You realised pretty soon that eating on your own is more in your favour than mine (I would be relived of the task of sitting patiently for an hour as you weigh whether you want to eat or not).
Yes, so you were the bigger beneficiary here and this is how. As your mother, I am obliged to make food for you that is more healthy than tasty. I was able to keep your sticky little hands off a lot of chocolates, chips & ice creams this way, for the first two years.
I did instil the concept of ‘Do it yourself’ alongside, in order to make you do your own chores like eating, wiping, picking up your toys etc. but I did not see this backfiring in any way - here came the terrible twos.
Herein, you knew you were better off without Mumma’s pestering to eat.
So you mastered the phrase ‘Aapey Aapey’.
“Eat your food, Piya! It’s getting cold.”
“Aapey, Aapey, Mumma”, you would say, only to grab the roti, make it barely touch the sabzi, and call it your meal.
“This is soup, Piya! What will you do with a fork in it?”
“Aapey, Aapey, Mumma!” And there went the soup, your clothes and the floor on their way to getting spoilt.
“Time to brush your teeth, Piya!”
“Aapey, Aapey!!!” You would scream if I even touched your toothbrush. I would stare as you chew through the toothpaste for 5 long minutes, before trying to make you brush properly, and that is where the ‘Aapey, Aapey’ scream would ring aloud again.
Oh, yes, this phrase has now seeped into every aspect of our lives and is not just limited to you eating a meal anymore.
You want to select your clothes ‘Aapey, Aapey’, which seldom match to make a pair.
You want to bathe on your own, which makes the bathroom a pond in no time
You want to carry your toys all by yourself too, which only means that the scatter-farm-exhibit is open for anybody & everybody to enjoy across the house.
Oh, for the good old days when I did things for you by myself! Yes, my back did hurt, and yes, I did wish for some of the work to be delegated to you.
But if only I had known the stubbornness of this ‘Aapey, Aapey’...
Wait, you are making way to my cosmetic-box again.
Wait!
That is not for ‘Aapey, Aapey!’
Wait.....!
Aapey, Aapey,
Maa.
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