We are 10!

 Hello double digits. 

- We are 10 and we know it all. 

- Mom and Dad are no longer cool. 

- Friendships run strong.

- Other things not cool: Pink, Glitter, Frills

- What is very cool: Anime, Black - all shades of black :D, and all things Kawaii!

- Dream destination: Japan - because anime, duh!

- Roblox is the new Minecraft. 

- We stand tall and can't wait to surpass mom's height.

- Best co-traveller ever. Loves new experiences.

- A bit of that teenage whiny noise finds it's way and mom shuts it down immediately. 

- Overwhelming emotions sometimes - mostly when asked to clean the room.

- Horseriding, coding, gymnastics, swimming, piano - we do it all. Slave driver. Mom's the slave :D.

- We are still cuddly and snuggly but mostly at bedtime and in the morning. Any other time love yous or kisses are exchanged, mom's just sappy.

- We love writing fiction! Oh I am so proud of her writing. The genre is usually horror or something but the vocabulary and the plot complexities promise to keep you hooked!

- Fits into mom's shoes, steals mom's clothing even. 

Can't wait to see what the decade brings. Actually, scratch that, can wait :)

First sleepover!

We have been talking about sleepovers for sometime now - but no real plans had materialized - until yesterday!

Miss M got invited over for a sleepover at one of her bestie's place with another friend - so the three of them. And there didn't seem to be a reason to say no. The girls have been friends for a while - we know the families - a couple a of streets away - it was time to let go a little more...

And so we had another of a big big first - first sleep over with friends, first night away from mommy, mommy's first night away from baby - but it all went over so well. My one and only criteria was that we should know the family and since that box was checked I had no fear in my heart.

Manya came back today with a huge grin and heave eyes - ofcourse they had hardly slept. But it had been super fun for them and she dropped dead in bed at 5pm :).

Foot note: Mommy also survived her first night away quite well - Vish and I hit a local pub, watched a movie at home and had icecream in bed - something we have not done in forever :).

First day of Fourth Grade

 First day of fourth grade. And here’s how sassy and grown up we have become…

We do our customary pictures.

M: Mom these pictures are great for your records and posterity but can you not post them on any social media. Thank you.

Me: Umm okay but just so you know I have a secure account and share only with added friends.

M: That’s okay but you do know nothing is really safe once it’s out there somewhere. Didn’t you tell me the other day that even what I send on email remains somewhere for ever. And anyways it’s not even that - I just don’t want my pictures on your social media.

Me (sheepishly): Yeah sure, whatever. I respect your wishes. Will not post.

M: Also, let me know what you want for your birthday or i can take you out. My budget is very limited though.

Me: Noted. Thank you.

Phew. She is getting too big for her boots and already fits into my shoes. And no, I did not seek permission from her to post this conversation.

Happy first day of school to us!

Boys are good too!

 After school today…

Me: what’s new at school?

M: do you know what boy-a did today?

Me: no idea

M: he snapped his fingers at the teacher

Me: oh that wasn’t nice at all

M: no, but see that’s the thing with boys - they are not thinking

Me: uhuh

M: boy-a is not a bad guy but he just did it. Also did you know he has a crush on girl-a and everybody knows because he clearly needs help - but girl-a doesn’t know

Me: well that’s pointless he should just tell her - why this big drama

M: you don’t understand mom - he can’t just tell her - that’s a big step to take on your own.

Me: well it doesn’t matter either ways - I mean what’s a crush anyway / it’s like you like one person more than the others - what else!

M: yeah but eventually you might date then and end up marrying them - it all starts with a crush

Me: that’s nonsense - between crush and marriage lies an eternity - and nothing’s certain - people change, feelings change.

M: that’s true and anyways it’s does not seem very wise to marry the first crush you have ..

Me: truer words of wisdom have not been spoken

M: i don’t even know if I’ll ever end up marrying you know

Me: well time will tell..

M: yep but it seems difficult - I mean in my experience only one-third of the boys are really sensible you know. What do you think is the ratio?

Me: no that sounds about right..but let’s not get into this generic boy bashing - I mean talking of generalizations there might be some great things about boys.

M: ofcourse - the best thing about boys is that they are very simple - they don’t think much - they fight, they make up, they move on - it’s not like they say something and mean something else - it’s pretty straightforward - you know like baboons - I love that about boys

Whatever ounce of self control I had was lost with that comment - and I had to excuse myself to laugh in private because this was a very sincere conversation and I didn’t want her to feel I was condescending in any which way - It’s just that I don’t remember being so insightful in 3rd Grade!

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54Nithya Iyer, Aparna Bhaduri and 52 others