Lying in bed before sleeping I asked Anjali if she could recollect 10 things that made her happy during the day. She thought for a moment and started off.
1) I was class monitor (was fun)
2) Sat with Brahmani today (it was nice)
3) We made a card for Celesta (who was leaving the school - was her last day at school)
4) Laughed with Mansi (her best friend - they laugh like crazy)
5) Played with Shreya (she is a special child who has a great fondness for Anjali and vice versa)
6) Helped Akhil write his notes (he is a special child to, very introverted but with fantastic language skills - he speaks awesome English she says)
7) Played kabaddi (I don't always play but I joined today)
8) Bought stuff for making rakhi (her own initiative)
9) Decided to make rakhis and made first rakhi (same as above)
10) Did 80 laps while skating (very proud of the fact)
..
..
11) Oh, I forgot, got first prize in spelling bee
I knew about number 11 of course and was wondering when she would think about it. But it came almost as an afterthought - perhaps even as a reaction to my 'anything else'. I found it interesting to see that most things that came to her mind were things that were fun and about her friends. Playing, laughing, helping, making cards, making rakhis etc came easier and with a lot more joy.
If I were to make the list, it would have come with number 11 first - the achievement. My identity comes from such stuff - external validation. For the child, just being, sharing, laughing comes ahead of such stuff. Perhaps it would be nice to slide back into life like that.
1) I was class monitor (was fun)
2) Sat with Brahmani today (it was nice)
3) We made a card for Celesta (who was leaving the school - was her last day at school)
4) Laughed with Mansi (her best friend - they laugh like crazy)
5) Played with Shreya (she is a special child who has a great fondness for Anjali and vice versa)
6) Helped Akhil write his notes (he is a special child to, very introverted but with fantastic language skills - he speaks awesome English she says)
7) Played kabaddi (I don't always play but I joined today)
8) Bought stuff for making rakhi (her own initiative)
9) Decided to make rakhis and made first rakhi (same as above)
10) Did 80 laps while skating (very proud of the fact)
..
..
11) Oh, I forgot, got first prize in spelling bee
I knew about number 11 of course and was wondering when she would think about it. But it came almost as an afterthought - perhaps even as a reaction to my 'anything else'. I found it interesting to see that most things that came to her mind were things that were fun and about her friends. Playing, laughing, helping, making cards, making rakhis etc came easier and with a lot more joy.
If I were to make the list, it would have come with number 11 first - the achievement. My identity comes from such stuff - external validation. For the child, just being, sharing, laughing comes ahead of such stuff. Perhaps it would be nice to slide back into life like that.
2 comments:
Beautiful! Your 'Anjali' posts work like tips to me in bringing up my daughter...thanks Anjali for those little lessons ...
Thanks Jai for sharing. They are all simply wonderful in their expression. I never cease to get surprised.
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