The first glimpse of hers brought up a very common response that anyone would give to an year old baby girl and made me say “Oh Man!!!!! She is so cute” (though now I truly feel that was an understatement). Here she was, a sweet, calm toddler looking at me with an expression as if I had landed from some other planet or rather another galaxy all together. Well she wasn’t really wrong in imagining so, considering the condition I was in (courtesy: The bus journey). But in midst of all this my eyes were searching for my 2 yr old nephew (whom I had seen few months ago) and there he was giving me another shocked look as if he had seen some ghost. Well I must tell you, kids have this natural talent of expressing themselves without words and with their expression they meant “Stranger, who so ever you are please get home ASAP, freshen up and then try your lovey-dovey acts with us.”
Day 1:- The kids who seemed to be calm & sweet gradually turned bubbly as we got home. I guess they had just got used to the stranger who had intruded in their territory. It was fun initially as that’s exactly what I had come there for. To be with them, have fun, become a kid again and forget about the rest of the fast paced world where somehow somewhere I had lost myself as a person. Soon enough I learnt that they weren’t really those perfect angels and had lots in store for me. One of the very first being - not sleeping peacefully at night and giving an unwanted cry after every hour or so as if they were watching some horror movie in their dreams. As for me, who is the last person on earth to wake up in the middle of the night to even get a glass of water for myself, it was quite some a sight to see my elder sis see all their tantrums and cater to their needs. Turning to the other side of the bed I said to myself, “Guess this is just a beginning” and come to think of it I was so right.
Day 2:- Two tiny little hands tried to wake me up at around 7 in the morning and when I looked outta my blanket with utmost anger( considering how peacefully I had slept throughout the night) there was this round cute face with such a big grin which almost meant “ Ahaa! Mission Accomplished”. But before I could ask her to buzz off, she just got me mesmerized by her innocence ( reminds me of the Puss in boots from Shrek) and there I was on my toes, outta the blanket in a minute all set to cuddle her, play and enjoy the beautiful day. Consequently my nephew also joined us and there we were making the loudest screams, playing with anything and everything that remotely resembled a ball. I was almost settling with this thought in my mind “ Hey taking care of young toddlers aint that a big task , after all they jus spoil a part of ur sleep” that my little angel came upto me and took me to the dining area and said…" chu-chu!!!!!!"(she barely speaks 4 words- n learning this one so fast is like a blessing). I was almost dumbstruck thinking “Lord!!!!! Couldn’t she tell me about it before doing it, I could have taken her to the loo” That would have been so easy and systematic. But then again her innocence and that stupid grin on her face which this time gave a satisfied look that said “Wow I am so relieved!!! Masi pls clean me and this area ASAP so that I can wander around some more and think of my next target area.” Well that wasn’t all; my nephew was a step ahead. He got so friendly to his Masi (who seemed to be a perfect ghost to him a night earlier) that he went to poo and at the time of cleaning he shouted…"Masssi!!!!! Aap taaahan( kahan) to( ho)???? Meri potty aap tlean (clean) tar (kar) do peeeleess (please)”. Hmmm!!! My initial reaction was “What the *&*$#???” But then like I said they just had me dumbstruck with their love n warmth that it just seemed to be like a routine job. N that’s how I spent another day with my toddlers. Feeding them, bathing them, playing with them, and fooling them around. But then suddenly a thought appeared to me as to why was I doing all that. Was it because I like kids in general or because they were related to me or was it because it was totally unconditional. Maybe my part of it was conditional as I knew they are just an extension of my family. But when I looked upto my sis & her life which she was happily living with them and the universal love bond that she had developed with her kids, my views changed. She wasn’t well herself but made sure she took good care of the kids. Her pain, problems didn’t just seem to come in her way. All that mattered to her was the twinkle in the eyes of her angels and the satisfaction that they were happy.
I had started believing in the sweet tale of this selfless love that my angels and my sis had taught me and it gave immense happiness to realize that in this fast paced, super sonic life there does exist some selfless, lovable and pure feeling which makes life worth living. But then out of the blue a question popped up made me think is it only because of the fact they are our extension and to them we are their soul nurturers? Or is it because now we surely know that there is someone to fulfill our half blossomed dreams and keep assuring the world “Boss! Hold on for a couple of years, the best is yet to come!!!” Maybe years down the line we would get back in some pay back mode and expect these kids to do wonders in every field and do us proud. Whatever it may be, intentionally or unintentionally we have all been a part of it somewhere, sometime. But as for me, I prefer to remain in the sweet tale of selfless love and Hats off!! to all nurturers for showering the same on their kids.
