First Sling

“Amma today I want cheese dosa for dinner”.Declared Achu. Okay I turned the stove on and placed the dosa pan on the flame. No no no he came running again, leaving his study table. See amma it has been a long time since you made payasam. So could you please make payasam now.. please ,please please…. Keep this pan aside pleeease.

Okay you win. I will make payasam for you , in the meantime you go and finish your homework. “ Jacob you already finished yours right? Go and play in the other room without disturbing your brother.”
There I became busy in preparing some quick payasam .Its almost done Again another scream. “Ammmma… Jacob is troubling me.”Mhm. …I rushed into his study room , there he stands making faces at Achu, trying his level best to irritate him.

“You young man out, out of the room right now. I pulled him out in a hurry, my payasam will get burned- and almost closed the door.He screamed loudly. Gosh… I didn’t notice his little finger stuck between the hinges. My God what do I do now, I am alone with the kids as their father is away most of the time on official assignments. I rushed for ice , in the meantime yelling to Isaac “ take my mobile and call the taxi” He did it in a split second .

Next moment I was down in the taxi carrying my screaming little boy. Rushed to the casualty of a nearby hospital. “Leave the boy here go pay the money and come”. Said the nurse. I ran only to find a long queue. I was worried to death. There stood a gentle man with a kind face. “ Please can I pay for my son first, please.” He agreed and I rushed in again.
X ray – for sure. Declared the duty doctor. Went to the first floor, carrying the lil one.He was clinging to me hard like a frightened kitten. Xray is done. Rushed down the flight of stairs, cant wait for the lift. Whew. … “doctor bahar gaya. Dus baje ayenge”(Doctor went out , will be back by 10.00 ) If you want you can take him somewhere else. Or give him some pain killer and wait.

No way. Im not going to wait for 3 hrs. Thanks a lot. I will find another hospital. Rushed to the next hospital. The girl at the reception was more humane. You just rush to room no.6 .Dont bother about payment now. Her words came out as a cool breeze for me. I ran to the room where the nurse took charge immediately. Ortho doc arrived in a haste. Examinations….yes there is a minor fracture on his little finger. Don’t worry he will be okay.

The little finger was plastered and the right hand secured in a sling.
It’s 10pm. There he is, sleeping with a band-aid on his right little finger and the hand comfortably held in a sling. Pains of bringing up two little boys single handedly.

But one thing is true, when you have problems to solve, you become strong automatically, and you will be surprised how gracefully you could overcome it. Thanks to my parents, for my upbringing , for teaching me to be independent even when I am miles apart from them in a foreign country.

Im not a small boy anymore

Ammaaa, he called out in his usual musical tone, and came to me . Seeing that I am in the midst of something he lied down on the sofa next to me with his head high on the hand rest, his legs crossed above one another. Mmm a quite seriouse scene. I was curious to know what is that all about. I didn’t have to wait. There came the second Amma…. Note. I said Yes??? You see…. I don’t like the cycles having balancing wheel. . Yeah? But why? Amma , its for small children. Not for big first standard boys like me. Thank God acha removed my balance wheel long before. You cannot even ride fast with those extra wheels on. Its so funny no Amma ? to see children riding cycles with balance wheel??

I was startled for a while, I sat there with my jaws dropped. Is this the same boy who made sky and earth one to make his bend balance wheel straight so that he can ride comfortably , just a few months ago? Is this the same boy who always had the suffix “Im a small boy no?” God….. suddenly, as he got promotion to usual school uniform like his brother, from the colourful dresses of Kindergarten, he has ”Grown Up” overnight to a biiig first standard boy.

After a pause I agreed, yeah, I think you are right. You are not a small boy anymore. You are Jacob George Dominic . Std-I-J

My first bundle of joy

Wow! Amma you are so coool! You are a great artist! Cried out my seven yrs old boy from the dining table. What have I done now??? I was busy turning the next banana dosa which I was making for their dinner. I didn’t have to strain my brain too much; there he came beaming with the dosa which I had just tossed into his plate. What? Whats that now?? Amma see this, this is the exact way my art sir taught me to do shading. See this dosa, here towards this end, it is light, then see its little dark, then more dark. Wow you are an artist.

“Okay now go back to table and finish your dinner and be ready for rossary.” I said neutrally and pretended that Im busy in the kitchen. But I couldn’t stop thinking… this is the specialty and innocence of childhood. For them everything is important. They see things we elders never see. They find happiness in everything which may seem silly for the elders.

My little boy, he never misses a chance to praise any one if he genuinely feels that they have done something really wonderful according to his measuring scale. Always there is a bright smile on his face and he says when asked about this, its because my name is Isaac-“ the one who smiles”. Yes dear you are my bundle of joy. You always bring smile on my face, even when I am low & down.
I am lucky to have a son like you; who sometimes acts as my mother, grandfather and the next moment turns into my whining little boy who wants amma to play “Peekachoo” with him. Thank you almighty lord for this wonderful blessing