On parenting!

Like pretty much everything else in life,my parents are total pros at parenting.The two most amazing human beings on Earth.And I gotta say,if I turn out to be even half as good and kind and smart as them,I’d have achieved something worthwhile with my life.

They don’t negotiate with terrorists

I am pretty sure that if I threatened to hold my breath till I got an extra chocolate chip cookie or something,my parents would probably let me pass out.And die.And never give in to my demands.In my house,the way to ensure you DON’T get something is to throw a temper tantrum.Things can be obtained only by calm rational arguments.There is a reason I won debate after debate in school.I am very used to negotiating and presenting my arguments.Although,I gotta say,the things I asked for were very different from what kids my age wanted.What they wanted was Barbie dolls and doll houses.I wanted glass slabs and potassium permanganate  and a dry stick of sodium.

Academics

This is the one and only thing my parents have ever demanded of me.Consistently maintaining a flawless academic track record.Topping exam after exam.And my parents have gotten into the trenches with me.My mother used to read aloud classics like “Jane Eyre” and “The adventures of Tom Sawyer” as bed time stories every night.My father taught me multiplication tables at a time when kids my age were struggling to count to a 100.And I knew what “inflation” was when half the kids my age couldn’t even spell the word.Academic excellence is an expected non negotiable thing in my house.My parents enrolled me for dance,music and drawing classes at a young age.All of which I quit.And they were ok with that.Despite great protests and pleading on my part,they forced me into learning some survival skills though.Like swimming and cycling.Looking back,I am grateful.

No bragging

While both my sister and I do have some commendable achievements,my parents never talk about that outside the house.While not inherently superstitious,they do believe in people-get-jealous-and-daughters-lose-abilities theory.

While some parents have a dedicated gallery or show case to show off their kids’ trophies,our trophies are scattered all over the house.Hiding in the most unlikely places.And if you were to visit and steal a couple of our trophies,we’d never notice.Between us,my sister and I probably have a million of those.

Think and its yours

For some reason unknown to me,I never ever ask for anything.No matter how much I want it.But my parents are mind readers.Before I’ve finished formulating,”I would like X” in my head,they’d have gone out and bought it for me.And whenever they ask me if I want something,my default answer is “no”.But they still buy it for me.

No midnight snacks

I do have some friends whose parents stay up with them all night,listening to them study,providing the occasional snacks and midnight coffee.My parents just want me to bring home the marks.They don’t bother about whether or not I burn the midnight oil for it.And they certainly never bring me snacks.Although,my father did buy me a coffee machine.I make myself coffee if I am staying up.Or not.Lets face it.I am a caffeine addict.

Hobbies

Some of my all time favorite hobbies-I certainly owe my father. We’ve been to nearly every state in India.Hence my love for travel.I and my father take walks all the time.We walk miles discussing everything from politics to religion to my favorite color.That’s the origin of my love for walks.My father enjoys all the world-going-to-end movies.Like 2012.And science fiction.And classics like “The Godfather”.And he always watches them with me and my sister.Hence my love for quality cinema.And solving math puzzles my father throws at us is my favorite form of entertainment.And whatever my current hobby is,my father supports it.When I used to collect feathers,he got me a peacock feather.The time I collected pebbles,he took me to the beach to pick the best round ones.And when I shifted to stamps,he enrolled me in some program at the post office whereby they sent me stamps every month along with little booklets explaining their back story.

Them cousins 

No one had to teach me and my sister to “share and care”.My parents let us grow wild with a train load of cousins who came in all shapes and sizes.And in a range of ages from less than 1 to married and have kids of their own.

This is a photo of a handful of us taken some 10 years ago.Like I mentioned,I’ve train loads of them.This is just a few of us.(In case you’re wondering,I am the little thing in the lavender skirt.And my sister is the one in the red and yellow frock). We are the “all for one and one for all” club.I am not joking when I say that I’d easily die for my cousins.And I know they’d do the same for me.We grew up together taking care of each other.That’s probably the source of my nurturing instincts.

Unconditional trust

My parents trust me unconditionally.They would never ever dream of spying on me.When I go out,I just say,”Bye.I am going”.My parents neither know nor care for the gory details.The where,the why,the with whom.And when people trust you this deeply,you’d rather die than betray that trust.

Out of all the gifts my parents have given me,I am deeply grateful for my roots.They are very strong and that is evident from everything I do and everything I am.But they have also given me wings which are just as strong.And as I walk out of the gate,heart in my hand,ready to take the world by the storm,my parents whisper-“Fly,baby,fly”.