Toyna

Happy 10th

Happy Birthday

Toyna will celebrate her 10th Birthday tomorrow! Like all mothers, I am feeling happy, proud and a little bit bewildered. Where did the time fly? Is it really 10 years, or am I counting it wrong??

Sigh! 10 years it is! All though, I will admit that all of them were not equally glorious. The first 5-6 years after having Toyna, I was just another super paranoid mother constantly worried about providing a perfect childhood to my daughter. I used to constantly worry about her being too weak, too dark, too serious, too naughty, too fussy, too skinny, too small,…. About her watching too much TV, reading too few books, not coloring as much as she should, not playing with friends outdoor, ….. I used to measure how much she ate and how much she slept. I used to carefully observe how she spoke, and how she dressed.

Phew! I wanted to be in control of her life to ensure that she had the perfect life! As all mothers who have been through it, I learnt the hard way that I was ruining her life in the process. I learnt it the hard way, that Toyna was an absolutely beautiful normal child, and I ought to feel extremely proud of this fact. There is nothing extraordinary about her, and that makes her completely perfect.

In the last few years, we have come across so many children in our circle of friends and family who are for some reason or another “Not Normal”. Genetic abnormalities, complications during birth, injuries during early childhood have left them significantly different from our children. Their parents work day and night on them with the hope that, one day, they will be able to lead a normal life. This is the only thing that the parents pray for and live for. They would trade their million dollar fortunes or fancy jobs or even their own health, if any one could guarantee a normal life for their children in the future.

When I see the worries cross the brow of these parents, I can’t help but count my own blessings which include two happy, healthy children. Just the fact that they are both Normal, is such a magnificent gift from God. So what if they are naughty or temperamental or not so studious; all these signs indicate that they are super normal. I would not want to trade their normalcy for any extraordinary powers of the world. For the future, I pray that God blesses them with good health and a power to remain at peace within, no matter the chaos outside. Given these two elements, I am sure they will be able to figure out the rest of elements themselves.

Wishing you a very very Happy 10th Birthday Toyna! I pray that you stay Normal always!!

I am an ex-Management Consultant and a successful entrepreneur having close to twenty years of corporate experience. I am currently focusing full time on being a homeschooling parent while researching on the future of education and alternate methods of education. I am also a Vedic Math Trainer, an Operations Manager at a business run by her children and a philanthropist working with tens of other under privileged children. I bring all my past and current experiences together in the form of writing blogs. Using these blogs I wish to create awareness in parents, caregivers and educators about parenting, education and holistic living.