My mom called up last evening to say she had something important to tell that she had forgotten the earlier evening. I was on my way to the park with LG and told her to go on fully expecting it must be something related to her grand-son. She went on to say, "There is this Bru ad airing on TV. The wife returns home tired and serves her husband a hot cup of coffee. Energised by the cuppa he rubs her leg and you know what she actually puts the other foot forward just like mottai."
I was like ,"Umm." She was obviously disappointed by my nonchalance; as an explanation I offered that this has been on air for a while now totally forgetting the lady was quite engrossed with her grandson the past few months to watch TV :) and joined her in her excitement.
So yea, when LG visits mom, she has this habit of massaging his leg every now and then which is like many times a day. She used to tell me that kids' legs must be tired with all the crawling and the running around they do. Grannies and their stories! This has obviously been going on since LG was a few weeks old (his legs were apparently tired with all the air push-ups he did then). So on this visit when she started gently rubbing his leg, he offered the other one before she could be done with one each and every time. Now you know the reason of the excited call!
This leg too
We're back!
The LG family is back after two-month long (short!) vacation. It would be cliched to say that time just flew; there is just one simple word to describe the 20-day break at Trichy with my parents and brother and another 45-day stay at Bahrain with my parents : GREAT. It felt odd for a few days to be back at one's own home, but we are getting there; getting used to the routine of school, walks in the evening, trips to the park knocking at neighbour's and goodnight calls to papa.
It's been tough for my parents to see off LG this time. Naturally he is a grown-up child now who understands emotions, separation, that bye-byes are not always easy, that holidays don't last forever. He has had his own share of a good deal of bye-byes in the past few months ever since The Seniol started the trend last August. So I don't have to prepare him a great deal if someone is about to leave. I just have to let him know a few hours earlier about the impending departure that either papa has to go to school or thatha has to go to office or that mama has to go to work or to a wedding or that patti is going for a injection session (when she goes for yoga classes, but yoga doesn't work yet because he doesn't understand what it is). Though he doesn't create a huge scene of tantrum-throwing then, it makes him sad which is quite evident in his quiet behavior the following day or his fussiness in eating. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to this August when The Seniol will be back home.
Bonding With the Nephew
(This is a picture of my brother and Li'l General taken about a fortnight ago, at my hometown.)
Let's start at the beginning. I have one sibling: a brother, who lives in the US; we meet once every year in January. January, in particular, because two years ago, in 2006, my brother came down in December to be a support for mom during my delivery. Thanks to Li'l General, the January time-line for vacation has stuck with the family ever since. We have a reunion of sorts at my hometown with mom coming in first, followed by me, then my brother, and finally dad/The Seniol.
The picture above was taken a day before we left for our respective destinations this year; it brings back a lot of memories of the twenty-odd days LG spent with my brother. Last January, when my brother saw LG for the first time after his new-born days, he was a little crawling cutie who was all over the place. Old enough to have fun with others, but still too young to forge bonds, understand separation, and crave to hang around with someone. In that respect, this vacation was quite a contrast. From the minute, my brother landed, LG enjoyed his company every second. It was strange in way because LG is familiar with all members of the family through pictures that I show him on the laptop everyday. However, pictures of LG and my brother taken together are all online and I've always been lazy to show them to LG, so my brother's face must have been as good as a stranger's.
LG literally idolized his uncle this time. Every thing he said or asked LG to do, was etched in stone; every instruction to be followed; every word to be repeated, it's just endless. LG is an early-riser. My brother, on the other hand, has had a screwed up sleep schedule for years now. He goes to sleep for a couple of hours at 5:00 a.m. (which ever part f the world he is in), and is the most irritated if someones tries to wake him around 8ish. LG would go around announcing to everyone in the house that his uncle is sleeping and that he is not to be disturbed, full with sound effects and actions (titled head to indicate sleeping, shushing, and a finger in the mouth). And then, when he can't bear it no more, he will go in say, "mama gepuck" (read: get up). After two or three attempts, he will be like "Pein, pein, wapuck."(read: wake up). LG doesn't get my brother's name right, so says "Pein, pein". If his uncle is to take a shower, LG will ask us to switch on the exhaust fan, and ensure "Pein" has taken a towel etc. One day, it was quite funny, when he said, "Pein, tchoap, tchoap) (read: bathe with soap). LG raised hell when my brother had to go for two days to attend his friend's wedding at a neighboring town. He misses him a lot now. Puts on this sad face every time we refer to my brother in conversations.
The maturity with which my brother handled LG, took extra care of him every time we went shopping or for a stroll in the evenings touched me. He went that extra mile to carry him on his shoulders while we navigated our way through the busy roads. His sensitivity for a toddler's timings was much appreciated. He went to extra lengths that was uncalled for which I did make clear (read: buying gifts everyday for his dear nephew from a battery-operated flying helicopter to a remote-controlled car). Who would go at 10 in the night to get batteries just so that the helicopters would fly the next morning when his nephew wakes up? That was stretching it too far, right?
Most importantly, he would LG for me so that I could go out of home for a while, if only to get some fresh air. I've never felt so privileged. It's awesome to have family. Seriously. And the bonding between my brother and LG was delightfully overwhelming.
Day 7: Bahrain City Center is Magnificent
One thought that kept crossing my mind the time we spent at Bahrain City Center - home to global brands such as Saks Fifth Avenue, H&M, Forever 21, Bata, Mango, Zara, Diesel, Guess, next, Carrefour, Debenhams, and Virgin Mega Store among others - was how similar it was to strolling down the Magnificent Mile. The recently opened mall doesn't boast of all the usual superlatives in town - the biggest, largest, tallest, finest etc but clearly is the best I've seen till date around here.
A three level car parking with a magnificent view of the city skyline, the waterfront, and the zig-zag roadways complements with what the mall has in store for one inside. The infrastructure is a replica of what one is used to in the West. What makes the Bahrain City Center stand out from the rest in town is its brilliant layout, thoughtful grouping of stores, a very neatly lined up outlets in the food court, easy directions for one to find their way in and out, less hustle-bustle and there is a general air of sophistication one gets to see, which in turn means one finds more serious shoppers, fashion aficionados and less of the first-time-visitor who is there to get a feel of the place! For once, the decibels were way less for a place this huge, less of jostling, no hustle-bustle and absolutely no queues in the food court. In all, a great place to hang out. Most stores as expected are upscale in nature catering to the elite, so it might be tough if not impossible to find something within one's humble budget.
LG had a good time at Mothercare, the toy store, and the rides at Magic Planet. The kid came back home happy. This is proving to be one true vacation.
Day 6: Sea Water Doesn't Taste Sweet
Li'l General learned a important lesson of life today: never ever to taste sea water. In the two years of his existence, he has never seen so much water together as a tub filled with water (in real life, ofcourse!) About a month ago, enroute Trichy we passed by Kallanai which is about as big a water body he has seen for the first time. But he was grumpy from lack of sleep in that journey for the magnificence of the dam to register in. The reaction I recollect is LG repeatedly saying "su", "su" and opening his mouth in awe before falling asleep tired on my lap.
Today's trip to the Juffair beach was his first brush with a sea. Saying he enjoyed every bit of it is an understatement. A discarded boat, a huge fountain far off, wet grey sand (yes, that's the color of beach mud here) was all the boy needed to go about jumping. For a while, he couldn't gather himself. He was all over the place trying to get a good view of the sea while attempting to go near it, and then sat down on the dirty mud; before I could react he had put a handful of water in his mouth, the expression thereafter was worth seeing.
The weather isn't totally normal yet. With the cold breeze blowing, we decided to head back home before briefly stopping for a closer view of the sea and the fountain. There's a nice lawn-laid park adjoining the barricades, and he had a whale of time running around the grass and hugging date trees.
In the evening, it was mall time again. Off we went to Dana Mall with my father and the grandson bonding over liberal display of electronics at Lulu Hypermarket, while Mom and I splurged on cosmetics, dresses and shoes.
Fussy-eating phase is back in full swing. He loves eating chocolates and puddings but shudders at the sight of rice or rotis. I've absolutely no idea how to deal with it. With just two full time meals today and a glass of milk, he has gone to bed. I don't know if it's the weather, the bread from two days ago, or just another phase that will pass on its own.
