The infinite joy of parenting

I recall a small conversation between an ex-boss of mine (He's departed now, may his soul rest in peace) and myself when my wife was carrying. He, a father of two, was teasing me. Quoting his words, "You have no idea what's gonna hit you for the first 3 years of being a parent.". And he followed it up with a jocular laugh. And the customary rejoinder was not far behind, "I was just kidding yaar", he said. And as my daughter approaches her second birthday with boundless packets of energy, I can't get enough of telling myself how true my ex-boss' words were. I have no idea what hits me every moment I spend with the lil 'un, but there's no doubt its what our scriptures describe as Satchidananda - Eternal Joy.

For starters, the girl shows an above average intelligence. She's hardly 22 months old but is already showing signs of being a linguist. She's at ease understanding 4 languages (English, Hindi, Konkani and Telugu) and can converse quite a bit in telugu and konkani. Living in a multilingual environment definitely helps - my wife being a telugu speaker, my mother tongue being konkani and our medium of communication shuffling between english and hindi. And it doesn't stop at languages. She can count till ten. No...not just recite numbers from one to ten...but actually count objects. She can distinguish between vehicles (buses, cars, bikes, scooters, cycles) quite accurately. And yes...how can one forget identifying a smattering of animals, fruits and veggies (not just from her picture books, but also in real). She knows where different things are kept in the fridge and reaches out accurately for butter, chocolates and juice whenever she wants any. She's extremely inquisitive too and is already asking questions way beyond her age.

Another quality in her that adds to my joy is her compassion. She truly cares. She cares for her mother and father, her aunt and grandmother, her friends, the pet mongrel downstairs and anyone else within the spectrum of her radar. Never has she eaten anything without sharing it with whoever else is around. The slightest of inconvenient feelings around her affect her disposition. And if she sees happiness around her, her energy and excitement increase multifold.

And her last, but not the least endearing quality is her expressiveness. Her face can be used for a body language video. Her eyes give out her feelings so clearly. And she knows how to shade her lovely smile the right way - mischievous, affectionate, happy, imploring. By the Almighty's grace, she doesn't have a sarcastic smile yet. As I mentioned above, she's on her way to be a linguist. She also uses her verbal skills to the best of her abilities. And her kisses and hugs are magical touches that give you a high no narcotic can ever give.

Well...I wish that this joy remains throughout my stint at parenthood. Some people may call it wishful thinking, but I've enjoyed being an optimist and a romantic. And as a firm believer in Karma, I know we can shape destinies. So why not this?