5 years back , at around this time of the year, I had written this blog post, as little Raya stood at the threshold of kindergarten. Today she is a rising 5th grader and our little Rayan stands at the same threshold. He is a rising kindergartener ready to start elementary school in a week’s time…
Yesterday, the rising kindergartener’s back pack came in…and oh there was so much excitement…such are the little joys of life! Yesterday, the school bus schedule came in as well…and suddenly the realization dawned on me that my little baby boy wasn’t a baby any more . Needless to say it brought a a lump to my throat( and DD had a hearty laugh at this …oh well!)
The years have indeed whizzed past …
Little Rayan is today a week away from starting kindergarten. He loves Mac and cheese , fruit and yogurt ( yes you read that right indeed…fruit is on that list!) He wants to be a ‘chef’ at the lemonade stand when he grows up ( whatever that means 😂) His favorite song is “What a man gotta do” by Jonas brothers and he says it reminds him of his ‘Koka’ ( My dad). His favorite book is the set of “The Biscuit” books. His favorite sports are tennis & soccer. He has the “Bong” sweet tooth..gets it from his dad, of course! He is scared of monsters, spiders and bugs. While he is not a chatterbox like his big sister , he is the one in the family who keeps us entertained with his well timed wise cracks…
Little Raya , who is not so little anymore , is today 3 weeks short of her 10th birthday. She is one week away from starting 5th grade. She continues to be a chatterbox and a social butterfly. She also continues to love 'mac and cheese' , ‘hot dogs' and 'butter rice'('makhon bhaat'). She has a mind and personality of her own and she owns it well! 😂 She loves music and dancing …wants to be able to sing like Adele & Taylor Switft when she grows up in addition to becoming an inventor and teacher. Her favorite sports are swimming,tennis and acro dance ( I was told
by her that’s a sport indeed !) Her favorite book is “Keeper of the Lost Cities”… and she is scared of monsters , snakes and spiders…
Both kids are imperfect and flawed in their own ways , much like DD and I are, but it is surreal the fact that there is some kind of harmony in those imperfections that makes the whole greater than the sum of it’s parts!
Both the kids are extremely attached to the family, the grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins…and both of them miss their “Koka”….I am so glad they were able to spend as much time as they did , with him, when he was around!
The kiddos also continue to make their way into our bedroom in the wee hours of the morning, cuddle with their mama and baba and then in their sleep push us to the edges of the bed while they take over the entire king sized bed...
A part of what the kids have grown up to become are their inherent personalities…a part of it is 'D' and I iterating through a process of good and 'not so good' parenting choices, as we are constantly learning, ourselves. But a gynormous and very important part of both kids’ development has to be attributed to the 'village' that has helped us through this process...our extended families...and the absolutely wonderful, loving, caring group of caregivers and teachers at the AOL/ Oath/ Verizon child development center. Yes, the center has gone through multiple name changes in the 10 years we have been connected with it, between both the kiddos. But what hasn’t changed, is the love, affection and care the caretakers and teachers at the center have showered on our kids. I can't agree more with the fact that "it takes a village" to bring up a child. Today I want to pause and celebrate the 'village' that first nurtured Raya and then Rayan and helped them blossom over the years …for much like I said 5 years back, I would not have been able to stay sane, 'hungry' and 'foolish'(in a profession that requires me to stay 'hungry' and 'foolish') without this support system ...It would not have been possible for the whole to be greater than the sum of the parts without the support …
Who knows what the future holds for the kids …like everything else in life, it will probably be full of ifs, buts, whys and whats...good and 'not so good' choices that will be made and will shape their life and destiny ...but in this moment there is a lot to be grateful for ! So thank you!
P.S.Hoping the Delta variant stays at bay and the kids are able to get back to a normal school year!
