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"Time flies over us, but leaves its shadows behind"
Nathaniel Hawthorne

It seems my posts on this blog are an annual event now, but I am still glad I have been able to write these birthday notes to Shaurya. Maybe one day he will cherish reading these with as much love as I feel in my heart, when writing them.

This year my baby turned full ten years and it seems like time grew wings and just flew by and I have been left wondering standing by the shore and watching the waves in a trance. It seems just like yesterday when I had him in my arms and now he doesn't even fit into my lap. At times I crave to have more of him and wonder at these strange ways of life as it changes everything around us before we can even blink.

Before I get any more emotional, let me share details about his special day. We hosted Shaurya’s tenth birthday party on the terrace with his close friends, cousins and family. January 8 fell on a Sunday this year and the flip side to this day was that we couldn’t manage to get hold of his school friends. His spirits were further dampened by the fact that there weren’t any boys of his age group in our family and friend circle either and eventually there were more girls in the party and they all wanted to play house and other girly games that he didn’t quite wish to participate in. Let me admit here, that it was indeed funny to see him wanting to do different things and it dawned upon me that it is only a matter of time that he will have more mature tastes and choice of sports and adventure activities. It is a very complicated feeling to describe personally as it wells me up as a mother and makes me kind of proud and anxious at the same time.

Coming back to the party, the kids were all excited as soon as they got in. Shaurya loved his batman birthday cake and we got his favorite south Indian food from a caterer who setup his small open kitchen on the terrace and served it hot. The elders relished it alike and it surprisingly went well with the drinks and other snacks. Thankfully, the weather gods were kind and even though light showers were predicted, it stayed bright and sunny and a joyous winter afternoon to be out sitting under the Sun.

Shaurya's Birthday 2017

The party continued till the evening and once everyone went back and I settled down after the necessary winding up and cleaning, I decided to make a few resolutions on this day. I guess I will include those in my little note to you my son.

Dear Shaurya,

Let me wish you a very Happy Birthday once again and happy pre-adoloscence to you. This year marks your beginning into a different realm. There will be new challenges to accept and new goals to achieve with every passing day. As your parents, your dad and I have been doing all we can to shield you from certain hardships and provide for you the best of comforts and convenience.

With this year, I want you to start feeling a little more responsible and accountable for your life and the time you spend. I need you to know that this life that you have been accustomed to is a previlege and there are millions of children in this world who do not have the luxury of a full meal during the day and live in fear under dangerous conditions. I want you to become cognizant of the world as it stands and start working towards setting up your own benchmarks on how you wish to contribute back to this life and world.

On your birthday, I resolve that I will try and spend more time with you over this year (even if we are together for most part of the day) and will try and make you do a little more with the time you have.

I will allow you to have your own say and will try and respect your decisions (with due safeguards as a parent, of course) and will encourage you to voice your opinion and will seek your point of view on matters that affect family as a whole. I resolve that I will ensure that you cultivate the confidence to be able to share your opinion when asked for and will check that while doing so, you do not disrespect or hurt someone’s feelings.

I resolve to respect your privacy but at the same time, I will expect you to not be self absorbed and neglect your parents. I look forward to the time you come and sit with me and share your experiences at school and bring your problems for me to look at. While I understand that you will get busy with your own life, I hope that you do not overlook my need of your attention and time.

And last but not the least, this year I wish to get your hand and feet imprints on clay. Don’t ask me why? I guess I just like the idea of being able to hold onto this still tender age of yours (even though your foot size is as big as mine and your hands are as big as Geeta masi)

As I said before dear, time has wings. No one knows what the next day will bring and no matter what our life allows us, I want you to know as your parents, we will always try and be there as much as we can and will support you no matter in which direction you decide to fly and soar.

I wish you all the strength in your journey this point forward. Rise and shine my son, I will always love you the way I always have.

God Bless.

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