Category: Kids
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Gen X, Gen Z And, Gen Alpha
“Let me show you what I made…” Laddu’s voice trails off as she extends her phone to me. A video, less than a minute long plays. I am impressed with the little one’s editing skills and I say so. “So, can I have my YT channel please?” Her eyebrows go up and down as she…
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Love That Spilleth Over
Laddu peeks in the study and noticing I am on a work call, closes the door gently behind her as she runs upstairs in search of akkas. Her pigtails bounce up and down as she scampers away and my heart swells with a feeling that feels too big for me. I am disoriented by the…
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Slice Of Life: Watching Children Grow
Laddu stands in front of me, her body leaner, taller than I thought. I liberally apply a moisturizer to her skin that drinks it in. Her long hair is in braids, one on either side of her face. The baby fat is melting away leaving in place a little girl who is growing way too…
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Like A Yo-yo
She rolls to and from me like a yo-yo, the weight of her body propelling her first one way and then another. I clutch at her something fierce and let go with just the same vigor. We are on the bed, Laddu and I. It has been a month since she has given up her…
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When I am Gone
She flicks a tear from her cheek, her nervous laugh a cover for unexpected emotion. Pattu reaches out, her fingers lacing themselves through mine. Ammu is on my lap, her neck nestled in the crook of my neck and shoulder. She nuzzles, her cheeks wet with tears. I am overwhelmed. By the tears. By the…
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10 Reason Why Kids Will Change Your Life
You get to enjoy watching the sun rise on a Sunday morning in the predawn hours even if you only went to bed at 2:00 AM You went to bed at 2:00 AM because you *finally* got four uninterrupted hours to read that book that has been lying on your bedside table for a few…
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Holding Back Tears
My calf muscle aches as I bend over yet another trash bag that is over half full of gently used children’s clothing. All through the morning I picked through, sifted and made piles of clothes. In excellent condition, good condition and definitely well-used ones. They went into different bags. Some on FB marketplace to find…
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Letters To My Daughters: Move On
Dear Ammu, Pattu, and Laddu, Tonight, Ammu dissolved into tears and I stood by powerless, rudderless. What happened today is not the first. It will not be the last either. It happens to all of us. People we want to be friends with don’t feel that way about us. As you stood sobbing, your eyes…
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Crushes and Blushes
Pattu says, “Amma, Ammu has a crush on M.” Ammu blushes a deep red. Then I ask Pattu “Do you still crush on L?” Pattu blushes deep red. Ammu tells Pattu “M is just a friend. Not a crush!” Pattu persists until Ammu relents “His name starts with C” We all take turns guessing until…
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Of Summers And The Slowing Of Time
She stands on the wooden floor, her eyes large and brimming with tears. I scoop her up and place her on the island. “I don’t want you to come down after I sleep,” her voice quavers as she voices her fears. I press her close to me wondering how to reassure her that it does…