Morning Blues

My ‘fumbling’ feet finally slip comfortably into the warm slippers and then lead me to the kitchen. The eyes struggle to stay open. The right hand is more skilled in my case, so it picks a cup. Even with droopy eyes I make sure I choose and not randomly pick! It is filled with water, microwave switched on. The warmth of the ceramic soothes the morning hands. It then makes its way to the study table in her highness’ room.  To be followed by the next task - of waking her up.  If you think I ‘force’ my child to wake up so early on a winter morning, all I can do is plead ‘not guilty’! She is her own boss most of the times, except for when and what she eats and how long she is glued to her ipad. I grab my right as a parent there!!  

I can hear her whimper. I wish I could just walk away and let her sleep blissfully while I did too. I decide to give her five more minutes. She is even cozier now with the blanket wrapped neatly. Do you need to wake up, I ask? Yes, she says softly, but shows absolutely no signs of waking up.  Back in my room,  I hear her washroom door open. She’s up! And, in a few minutes, studying I see. My job is done.  If I would have walked away seeing her reluctant to wake up, hoping she could enjoy the early morning sleep and let me enjoy mine, I would have been accused of not trying hard enough! She would have not just counted the many hours she slept guiltily, but also accosted me for letting her do that.

Yes, I am getting older than I think I am, and not any wiser. Along with this comes the understanding that life isn’t (shouldn’t be) as serious as I believe.  Am in that phase of life when I am trying to pass knowledge on to the daughter.  Chaar din ki zindagi aur sau din ke gham ! Much as I like that expression, which comes to mind without any reason, I google to trace its history expecting it to be an old song stuck in my subconscious mind. I am pleased to find no semblance of it anywhere. The confidence that my biggest critic and faultfinder, the 12-year-old who rules our home, is going to throw some light on that soon, however, leaves me unsure.  I notice that the mood for the day is set in the early few morning hours.