In the midst of a
(seemingly) important message I was posting on a whatsapp group, my
son came in rushing, explaining the rules of a game he had thought
up. He loves talking (maa par gaya hain :)), so I did what I usually
do...I ignored his animated
talk and went back to typing my message.
Now imagine two
parellel worlds playing out that moment, my child emptying his heart
out to me about this exciting new world he has created. And I am
standing right next to his universe, completely unaware of this
wonderful happening!
I had missed a
moment with my son because I did not think it was important enough.
Why do we only have
to pay attention to emergencies? Why does our child have our complete
attention only in times of crisis (exams for example, a crisis more
for us than them anyway). Why are the little everyday things with
these minions not important enough?
Is it because we
have stuffed 28 hours into a 24 hour day? Or the times we are at home
and physically with them, we are consumed by our need to ‘stay in
touch with the world’ via social media? Or because in our list of
priorities (which are longer than half marathons nowadays), spending
time being silly and playful with our child figures on the 21st
km?
So stop it, right
now. Whatever it is you are doing, and go and hug your child, kiss
him silly and tell him how much mom loves him. Next time he has
sometime to share, make him feel it is important enough for you.
I’m going to do
just that...give him my ear.
Love & light
Manisha
