Notes from an almost-empty-nester
Teens, I feel, are a much-maligned tribe, unfairly so. Of course they test your patience, empty the fridge, never empty the dust-bin, mess up the home and your schedule too. Teens mean smelly socks, empty juice cartons, shut doors, noise and drama, lots of drama….
Continue reading “Ten reasons it’s good to have a teen or two”
1. You whip out phone to click a picture and you see your own eager-beaver face because it’s always turned onto selfie mode.
2. Music suddenly becomes a big deal – a very loud deal. Everything from tukur tukur to What makes you beautiful is sung all the while.
3. Your house smells gorgeous because the kids have just had a deo war – the ‘if you spray mine I’ll spray yours’ kind of war. (Aunts please to take note: This is what happens when you gift things despite me expressly forbidding it).
4. Your daughter walks out wearing a most winsome smile till you see she’s also wearing your favourite stole. Apparently ‘Jo tera hai woh mera hai‘.
5. The demands for studs and stilettos begins to raise their ugly head.
6. Your son roams around with wet hair all day as he tries to style them into spikes and you have the unenviable task of telling him they will flop down back once they dry up and No he isn’t allowed gel for many many years yet.
7. On a similar note you also add – no makeup kits, no heels, no phones and no pocket money just yet either.
8. You resign yourself to the dangers of walking out in mismatching earrings or wearing a shrug inside out rather than wade through two kids to get to the mirror for a peek at yourself.
9. The ‘dude’ and the OMGs in the conversation go up exponentially.
10. The conversation sounds more and more like some kind of indecipherable code from a James Bond movie. ‘Meet me at the SS’, she says to her friend (That’s ‘Skating Spot’ in case you wondered).
When the kids were tiny I would put them in their stroller and head out to the mall. I’d park them in the food court and dawdle over my coffee while spooning mashed bananas into their tiny mouths. I liked watching people and they did too staring around eagerly with their button eyes.
A visit to the mall was quite a treat till..
That was the end of all the peace and quite. Since the day they crawled out of the stroller they never stopped. They kept growing and so did their need to explore. They looked everywhere including loos, trial rooms, lingerie sections and under mannequin skirts.
.. and after that nothing was enough for them. It was ‘I want’ ‘I want’ ‘I want’ all the way.
I dislike malls with a vengeance. They make the twins go a little berserk. I wrote about their mall adventures earlier here. A friend said it was because I didn’t take them often enough, which may be true. However there are other reasons:
Here’s why I’d rather not take the kids to the mall
The unending aisles, the walk-walk-walk, the no-place-to-sit (The coffee shop is a bit of a dream with two restless kids tugging at the leash). Almost always the twins end up cranky and so do I. The air-conditioning and the crowd might have something to do with it.
And that’s not a good thing, not for kids. They end up confused and unhappy as they flit from store to store and toy to toy. Either I am waiting endlessly for N who can never decide what she wants or I’m dragging H away because he wants everything.
No matter how much we shop or how many games they play, there is always that one more thing they want or one last game they need to play.
Even as a rational adult (I hope!) I end up spending more than I intended. I can fully understand how much tougher it would be for the kids. We started off with the one-toy-each-visit rule. However, even that is such a waste. Why should we shop for a toy (even one) if that is not the purpose of our visit to the mall? What’s worse, it will probably be lying forgotten within a few hours of reaching home adding to the ever-growing clutter.
.. other than mindless consumption. After a point malls are just the same. They do not stimulate the kids’ minds specially since they outgrew looking under trial room doors!
Mercifully the kids dislike shopping so I just find it easier to leave them home. Somedays I we do make a trip together – when they need to be fitted out for something or when we plan a gaming zone-food court trip. But that remains an occasional treat.
Do you like frequenting malls?
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Linking to ABC Wednesday for the letter M. With grateful thanks to Mrs Nesbitt who had this wonderful idea of bringing together bloggers from across the world through ABC Wednesday and to Roger who keeps it going week after week.
I find I cannot get on with my posting without one last 2014 post even if we’re already sitting in the second week of the new year.
Of course, this should have ideally come at the year-end but it never did happen. Seriously, I always wonder how most bloggers manage to post bang at the right time – right before a big day or after a celebration. Never ever have I managed that – which is why most festivals and birthdays sail by without a mention.
Sigh! That’s one of my resolutions then.
On with the news now..
Our Christmas play went of wonderfully and was much appreciated. That the audience was made up half of doting moms and dads and half of people who were simply glad to see the kids kept out of their way, may have something to do with it. Since many parents didn’t arrive in time, it being a working day, we had two runs of the play back to back for those who missed it.
What’s more, the kids brought out the Christmas spirit in our fuddy-duddy apartment members. An ‘uncle’ brought cake for everyone – enough to feed an army, an enterprising mom turned up with homemade chocolates, at least two others brought more bunches of chocolates and still another one got tiny gift wrapped ‘Christmas trees’, real plants, for each of the kids. One of them dressed up her little daughter as Santa and there she was – distributing sweets to adults and kids alike.
And the best part – none of it was planned, other than the play. Each of the other acts were individual acts of affection and camaraderie in true Christmas Spirit. The children of course felt on top of the world and went on to have quite a party.
Preparations are already underway for Republic Day.
By the time 2015 rolled along, I’d turned another year older and we rounded off with a wonderful family get-together at Goa.
I’ll leave you with some pictures and hope to get back really really fast.
Looking forward to a wonderful New Year.