Happy Kids make Happy Homes!

When two people get married, a family is born.

When a child is born, a family is complete.

The child is that one last brick in the wall that constitutes home.. family.. relations. A mother is born, so is  a father. Her tears, sorrows, rashes, sleepless nights, hunger pangs, fevers, injections, first Barbie, calling teddy bears with different names—her experiences become ours!

She is that one bout of happiness that bursts into our mundane existence and we then realise, what we were missing. When my little sister (well, she isn’t that little anymore, but she will always be my little one for me!) was born, God forbid..I hated her!

I had seen my mother go through so much pain for her..the swollen feet, her intense mood swings and nausea, the insulin injections my mother had to inject into her stomach directly for three times every day for months! But then there was that one moment when she was carefully put into my arms, as my grandmother feared I’d drop her for my vengeance!

Well, I do not blame her. I almost felt like doing it. And just then, my sister feebly settled herself into my hands and yawned like she was in the most comfortable and warm bed ever. Perhaps it was that moment that I fell in love with my sister.

When a child entrusts his/her well-being in your hands, it can boost your confidence and happiness to a new zing-level! From that moment on, I did all of what I could have for her. I did try my best to do so. And it has been almost 13 years of doing just that and a little more..

Last week, I got to know that a friend of mine died of a brain haemorrhage. He was in the hospital for quite some time now. However, it left a crappy feeling within me..That guy was my childhood friend. What I felt was not grief entirely, it was the realisation that he was of my age..just 23!

Then I got to know how he was into drugs and alcohol.

I have no qualms against alcohol consumption though I desist drugs of any kind. Occasional drinks are fine, but when a child enters college, he tends to overdo such habits what his peers may call “cool” or the “in” thing. This is where parents, friends-his support system comes to the picture. I’ll always wonder whether Sanjay would have been alive today if I’d kept in touch with him and perhaps stopped him from the over-indulgence. We’ll never know if Aunty’s ignorance regarding his drinking habits had cost them this loss! Or Uncle's indulgence by giving him money, car, etc dug the grave deeper..!

The “what if’s” and the “maybe’s”  always haunt us. Regardless, we must with hope and concern be there for our family and even though the young ones need to flock out of home towards new horizons, it is imperative for the family to be the air beneath their wings.

I came back home with a bottle of olive oil, Dabur Chyawanprash and her favorite pack of kitkat; and saw  my sister gurgling with laughter watching some cartoon programme. She saw me, and ran to me and gave me a big hug. And then, as if to calm me down, she petted me as if I were a kid. Understanding the turmoil that I had been seething with. And in that moment, I found my calm.

The kids are much more aware of things than we were. We've got to move step in step with them.

It is important to be friends with the youth than to question their faith. It is a process towards the natural evolution of humankind.

This post has been written for the Indiblogger write-up on :

"A healthy child makes a happy home"

By Dabur Chyawanprash