Today is the eighth day of January. It somehow seems fitting that I write my first post of 2015 on this blog on this day, because Gy is eight-and-a-half now. It is equally necessary that I put down my promises for the year together with the exceptions that each of them will carry. A mother’s word is powerful and holds immense value, so I’m hoping these will serve as good reminders as the years go by.

My readers must already know by now that I wrote a Wish List for my daughter at the end of 2014.

As parents, most of you will acknowledge that this whole idea of bringing up a person is no cakewalk. It comes with its share of belly laughs and exhausting nights. You are simultaneously exuberant and depleted at the end of  a day in an amusement park. Watching a child sleep is at once immensely satisfying and fear-inducing that the slightest noise will wake them up!

This is all fine when they are those tiny beings that you can easily shape, the ones who nod along sagely when you suggest something and believe that you are the absolute truth. Hey, I enjoyed that phase! Honest!

But, time has a nasty way of catching up with you. One day that innocent ball of cuteness will stare at you, hand on her hip and say, ‘I don’t like it when you scold me;’ OR ‘I wish I was always staying with my grandparents’ AND the kicker, ‘I wish you were not my mom.’

Yes, that hurts. More than the moment when you rip the band-aid from a fully healed wound. In fact, that pain subsides after a few minutes. This one doesn’t. Regret and guilt start gnawing away at you in tiny, bite-sized doses and you wonder what on earth you did to merit those soul-crushing moments.

Okay, I exaggerate. Not soul-crushing! But, it is saddening, nonetheless.

However, there is something I must share with Gy as well as other kids who may be reading this post. (Ha, I kid you!) These are things I can unequivocally promise you which will each come with their points of exception.

So, Gy, in case you didn’t know these already, here they are:


Promise 1: 
I will always be here to stand up for you, fight for you and protect you
 like a tigress whose cubs have been threatened.
EXCEPTION:
If you are in the wrong, I will unabashedly tell you so, without flinching.
Promise 2: 
I will always encourage you to learn, explore and go beyond the written word.
EXCEPTION:
 I will expect you to respect other people’s points of view,
even if they are diametrically opposite to yours.
 
Promise 3: 
I expect you to listen to your parents, your grandparents, your teachers,
your peers and your subordinates.
EXCEPTION:
If you choose not to listen because you do not agree with something,
do it kindly and not out of defiance.
Promise 4: 
I will always hug you when you are sad, upset, hurt and in the need for comfort.
EXCEPTION:
The only time I will not hug you is when I am angry, because I believe that touch is powerful
and I would hate for the hug to be meaningless or worse, transfer that anger to you.
Promise 5:
I will never love anyone else as much as I love you with all your quirks of hearty laughter,
dimpled smiles, ridiculous frowns, snarky defiance, muddy pants, carpet spills,
bone-crushing hugs and breathless kisses.
EXCEPTION:
For this rule, THERE IS NO EXCEPTION.
~~~

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Mom giving daughter flower against Nature's background

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