Wagging Away

To lose my temper at D-Poo? No, I know the answer to that one and yet I find myself doing so and sometimes over the smallest perceived infractions... Such as "why can't she wear her socks the second I command her to?" Why doesn't she brush her teeth at the moment I tell her to and does she really need to hang at that awkward angle? Worse still, is she doing all this deliberately?" The answers are of course rational and I know she doesn't mean it. But then shouldn't she learn better? Isn't she old enough? I, unfortunately have fallen into the trap: of the expectant parent. When they're just babies we smother the need to receive back as much as we give to them. But as they get older this changes. We expect something back in return too: obedience, ability to dine with royalty without splling the icecream, and later in life academic and social brilliance. Of course very few are driven all the way, but parents do expect. And so we get disappointed and ...

The average Indian will know of the great "mundan/mottai" experience. Babies and children ranging in age from 6 monnths to about 8 years or so with variously shaved heads. Sometimes found chanting the name of the Lord as they trudge up (or down) from Tirupathi or whereever else their family decreed they lose their pride. And then the tradition aspect: with each family having a personal favorite deity and a defined number of mottais one was supposed to have. And then of course another tradition: do we inflict this only on the boys or does equality mean girls participate too? And will there be divine repurcussions if one breaks with the tradition (stupid question that one: Of course! Duh!!). And so we marched into the 21st century, armed with a socially acceptable explanation to salvage our conscience for carrying on a silly tradition: If you shave off the baby hair you get more even growth and get rid of any defects (actual and supposed) in hairline and baldspots on the crown ...

I really ought to give up reading the news... keeps giving me mommy blog ideas and I end up ranting and raving and writing for hours on end...oh well As teens, a lot of us spent umpteen (Ha!) hours annoying fathers and brothers preening in front of mirrors, examining ourselves till we were just right. Add to that a need to look slim and most of us watched what we ate or at least pretended we did. And, of course, dissed our moms who kept telling us to eat well and other assorted friends and relatives who would chirpily claim that plump was so becoming!!! Really what did they know... and what was this obsession with food anyways? And so we travelled into our 20s and 30s eating enough and dieting when we felt that fave pair of jeans fold down near the tummy!!! And then babies happen.... and we turn into our mothers. Feeding a yelling screaming newborn (and all the assorted things that could go wrong if you don't do it just right) is just the beginning of a lifelong commitment to feed ...