I know it is another post about something being a mother has taught me, but .....so the other day I was talking to a friend on the phone and as it invariably happens, the discussion turned to Kabir. She did what most people do, asked me questions like " oh he must be walking now! Must also be saying a few words!". I know she meant it all in the most loving way just like everyone else in the family. But it got me thinking. When she said all this, it sounded as if it was a given that all of this must be happening now.(and thank God it is!) but at the same time there was also an implied statement that this is what happens, there is nothing novel about it, this is predictable stuff. I repeat, perhaps no one means it that way but for some reason that is what it sounded like to me.
In life all of us will often find ourselves in a situation where we take the path much trodden. Our experience will be very akin to what somebody has gone through and maybe we will not be breaking new ground. The nervousness and anticipation of the first day at your first job, the restlessness and the excitement from your first love, the yearning for home food when away in a foreign land and in this case, raising a child. But while what we feel may have been felt by millions, the emotion that we feel at that particular moment is ours, its new and it is unique. And if we did not feel that way, won't all the fun just vanish from new experiences?
So while my child is following a predictable path of growth (thank God yet again!), I will make no excuses for being madly excited at his first steps, or celebrating his first words with joy, or being delirious when he gets new teeth and feeling like I am the first woman on earth to have a child and all of this has never happened before. I want to cherish each moment, I want to enjoy it for its uniqueness, I want to be amazed.
In life all of us will often find ourselves in a situation where we take the path much trodden. Our experience will be very akin to what somebody has gone through and maybe we will not be breaking new ground. The nervousness and anticipation of the first day at your first job, the restlessness and the excitement from your first love, the yearning for home food when away in a foreign land and in this case, raising a child. But while what we feel may have been felt by millions, the emotion that we feel at that particular moment is ours, its new and it is unique. And if we did not feel that way, won't all the fun just vanish from new experiences?
So while my child is following a predictable path of growth (thank God yet again!), I will make no excuses for being madly excited at his first steps, or celebrating his first words with joy, or being delirious when he gets new teeth and feeling like I am the first woman on earth to have a child and all of this has never happened before. I want to cherish each moment, I want to enjoy it for its uniqueness, I want to be amazed.
