Just another evening with my kids.....

Nikita & Naina have exams going on. I leave office by 4pm(with permission:-p), am ready to sit down with them by 5, wind up studies by 7 & put them to bed by 8.30 pm.

Today Nikita had English Literature (imagine Eng. Lit in 1st grade :-s)) and Naina had GK. So yesterday, I first sat with the Nikita & v went thru all her portions. Then gave her a dummy test to do & started with Naina’s portions. Now Naina is in KG1 & has really basic stuff to study but it’s still an exam & we have to give it the respect it deserves…….. so she had to study 5 fruits, 5 vegetables & 5 flowers. As we were going thru’ 5 fruits (apple, orange, pineapple, pear & grapes) I remembered I had to make chapattis for dinner. So I told her to read loudly, .....oops she can’t read…..ok look at the pictures & say the name aloud. And so I was making chapattis & I could hear her saying…..carrots, green peas, potatoes, caufliflower, cabbage…..then flowers….rose, marigold, dustbin, lilies, sunflower. The chapatti roller paused. “Nainaaa…..say it once again.” “Okkkkk…..Rose, marigold, dustbin, lily, sunflower….” by now I was already reaching for the book from which she was reading from. It was..… Rose, marigold, JASMINE, lily. Couldnt help laughing out loud.

Now the chapattis were ready to be made. Just then the phone rang. Answered it & came back to put the chapatti on the tava. Found the freshly rolled chapatti stuck to the plate on which it was kept. I’m surprised. Looked more closely & found tiny fingerprints on them. Sighing, I went to the next. Same status. Out of the 9, 4 were damaged. Rolled them back to 4 lumps & started all over again. And that damn call was a wrong number.

Called them for their bath. They pretended not to hear. When I finally reached for the stick, they obliged. While bathing they were whispering to each other & giggling. They were highly excited. I was like “whats up?” Both were giggling harder than ever. “We’ll tell u after the bath”. Finally powdered & clothed….they r still giggling…..now I cdnt contain my curiosity “ok tell me now”. Both of them in unison “u gave us a bath with your soap” & rolled on the bed laughing. I went to the bathroom & checked. They were right. Not that I had any doubts. They know my soap better than theirs. I came back to the bedroom to see them smelling each others hands…….mmmmmm nice.

After dinner, there was the usual argument about whose book I’ll read. I usually settled the matter by reading the book I didn’t read the previous day. Read a story about a little girl who was a chatterbox & a pixie who kidnapped her & made her small,…… how she learnt a hard lesson & learnt to keep quiet. Watched the kids’ expressions coz I knew exactly what was going on in my 2 lil chatterboxes’ minds. Hiding a smile, I waited. Finally a small voice “but mama, pixies r make-believe characters aren’t they.” I smiled & reassured them “ofcourse they don’t exist”. Relieved, they attacked “one more story please, please, pleeeease….” Regretting my moment of weakness, I got up, tucked the sheets around them firmly, kissed them good night, & walked out.

Tiptoed back in after sometime. Both were fast asleep. Smoothened the hair back from Nikita’s face. Removed Naina’s leg from Nikita’s stomach. Knelt down beside the bed & watched them for a while.

Put my hands together & thanked my Lord.