Category: Kids
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Countering Biases
I watch Laddu toddle onto the driveway. The breeze lifts the hair off her neck. The exhilaration on her face is a treat to watch. Her sisters run around her feeling the wind and enjoying the sun. I feel irrationally happy. We stand, the four of us in the afternoon sun, minutes before we would…
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Teaching Love
“Kiss!” I demand pointing to my cheek. Laddu jabs my cheek with her index finger and repeats after me. “Kiss” she says her eyes twinkling, shaking her head as she runs away. I scoop her in my arms, twirl and rain kisses on her face. She refuses to succumb to my exhortation. I let her…
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Defiance
I turned around from loading the dishwasher to see if Pattu was done finishing the food left over from lunch. She pushed the half done box to me. I nudged it back toward her indicating it was not good to waste food. A cheeky look on her face, she pushed it back. We pushed back…
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Swarming
I am bent double tying the shoe laces, the chill air from the outside seeping in from the now open garage door. Pattu is outside, her pigtail flying in the wind, scootering as she calls it. Ammu waits impatiently for me to be done, her free leg, tapping away. Laddu sits next to her on…
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Scripted lives
I stand on the wooden steps that lead away from the kitchen into the garage, holding out pretty backpacks with swirls of color. A heart blinks on one and a butterfly on another. The twins turn their backs to me so I can help them with their bags. I stand as they leave, their rain coats…
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Bad Days. Good Days.
Laddu and I stand by the dining room window looking out. Ammu and Pattu walk home, their backpacks bouncing on their back. Their fine hair moves with the breeze. In identical rompers, they sprint the last few yards home. I am now by the door to the garage, waiting with a smile. “I had a…
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Names, Naming
It is Sunday night. Picking up after the kids this evening, I noticed Ammu’s school bag open. A folder lay half outside. I picked it up and smiled as I saw the project that they had worked on before start of school inside it. It had to do with a licence plate of sorts with…
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The End of Summer
It occurred to me at the beginning of August that I probably should start sorting through the kids clothes assessing what to keep and what to throw. I let the thought slide. There are four more weeks before school starts. Plenty of time right? Wrong! So, here I am with a day to go before…
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Spreading their wings
I circle the low-slung building that houses the elementary school scanning the sides for parking. Even as I despair of finding one, I spy a red arrow pointing further down for additional parking. The clock reads 5:55 PM. I park and hold the girls close as I follow the crowd to the doors. A few…