Progress Reports

We had a back-to-back session of PTA meetings for Chubbocks and Puddi last week. Chubbocks has always loved schoool, from his playschool days. And he took to Shriram School like a duck to water. But this year, he has a teacher that I sensed was strict and even I felt scared of her on orientation day, so I was not surprised when he later told me that he didn't like school as much any more because she was too strict. Plus he and his gang of 8-9 pals who have all been together since nursery have been split up into different sections, so he's not been altogether happy. Moreover, this year, he gets homework every day but Wednesday, so he has been feeling burdened. I didn't know what to expect from his teacher as a report.


It turns out I didn't have to worry. She has given him such a wonderful evaluation, as have most of his other teachers. In fact, she had written, "A gentle and caring child, he has earned the respect f his peers and teachers alike," which I thought was really amazing. I remember when he was younger, he used to get bullied/ occasionally beaten by other kids and A and I used to have this violence/ non-violence debate, so it feels nice to have his peaceful stance appreciated. And of course, since A and I are at the receiving end of his hair-trigger temper, it was quite a giggle to read that 'it is a pleasure to have such a well-mannered child in my class." As proof of living vicariously through my kids, I exhibit my inordinate pride in having Chubbocks's sports teacher point him out as one of the 2-3 kids talented at soccer - I suck at most sports but soccer was one of my few loves.


For Puddi, Shriram is the third school she's attended, since playschool days, but it's the first one which has such a long day. She goes off with Chubbocks at 7:45 am and they both return at about 3:15 pm, so it is a big change from going to school for 2-3 hours or so. She had a few adjustment problems for the first couple of days but soon got over crying on her way in. An even bigger milestone for her is that she also goes in the school bus along with Chubbocks. The school had asked for parents to volunteer to ride along from time to time to keep an eye on how systems are working, and the afternoon I rode along, I saw her in full action. This 4 year old marches into the bus with all the confidence of a much-older kid, finds a seat for herself and best friend Rehaan, and chattily says hi to the much older kids walking past. A 14 year old boy gave her an embarrassed and somewhat reluctant Hi Alena, as he went past, in response to her enthusiastic and loud greeting, so I guessed Puddi was doing all right. But this was the first formal PTA meeting we'd ever attended for her so we wondered what her teacher would say.

I was blown away by the teacher. First of all, the teacher says Puddi eats all her food fast and then walks around the class chatting with her friends - Puddi who's famous in her family for keeping one morsel in her cheek for as long as 45 minutes!!!Apparently it's a common sight for her to walk around with cheeks smeared with chocolate from her Nutella sandwich at snack times. Then the teacher raved all about Pud's dancing skills saying she moves so beautifully, so rhythmic, have never seen such coordination in such a young child...Some remarks: The 'singing nightingale' of her class; "P's glowing smile in the morning definitely makes one's day'. And the clincher - her teacher said with a wistful tone in her voice, in October, with some 6 months to go for the school year to end, that she's really going to miss having her in class!

The Little Ironies of Motherhood

Disclaimer: I am Not!!! expecting a fourth baby, and no such plans. Am done with the baby-making. The first three instances are what happened to me with one or other of my 3 babies,

1. You finally lose all the maternity( or so you tell the world) weight and rush out to buy yourself a new wardrobe...and then find out you're unexpectedly pregnant again!
2. In the same vein( as a mother of 3)...you give away all the infant clothes, stating "I'm done with the baby business...' when ( for the ironical part of situation, see tail end of above!)
3. You just land a job you have coveted that involves late hours, lots of travelling and lots of challenge, when...a.( look up pt. #1); b. you are told you cannot travel/ exert yourself during your pregnancy!
4. You have 8 bathrooms in the house, 7 of which are free, but the kids insist they have to use the one you're sitting in RIGHT NOW!
5. You've just been enjoying a long stretch of domestic harmony with spouse when spouse's parents breeze into town and your smart-alec son says, "Mamma and abba fight a lot'!
6. You spend the first two years praying they'll start speaking soon and the next 10 trying to find the 'mute' button.
7. You find yourself saying, "If you hit her again, I'll murder you", with no sense of irony!
8. The spouse who was so broody he could have given birth long before you got married turns to you in the middle of a fight-to-the-death between your monsters and says, "So, whose idea was this whole parenting thing, anyway?"
9. Your evening with the spouse consists of a series of disjointed phrases interrupted by the kids. And when they're all finally asleep and you have all his attention and he turns to you and says, "What did you want to tell me, darling?", you can't remember.
10. You think of yourself as the most unmaternal woman ever. And once you spawn the brats, you just can't get enough of them and will walk up to strangers to bore them with the latest Bojjandi story ( exhibit 1: this blog!)

This is to add to Rohini's collection of The Ironies of Motherhood!