Shilpa Roy Kota
Parenting Stories (and more) from the desk of an imperfect parent
Category: Toyna
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Most of us, urban middle class, educated, self made parents of today, were born to parents who struggled hard to make ends meet. Because our parents had limited means, they were constantly prioritizing resources. As children, we had limited reused toys, clothes and almost no fancy holidays. The paradox is that while our parents struggled financially, they made it…
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After a long summer break, school started yesterday again for three year old Yog. I was trying to mentally prepare him to go to school since the last few days. His response, so far, had been mixed. Some days he seemed excited to go back to school and some days he used to out rightly…
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Yogs first class of Playgroup drew to an end today with photographs, report card and parent teacher meeting. As I entered Yogs classroom, I was surprised to see the class teacher. Was she the class teacher Yog was having all this while? I had thought it was someone else. Did they change the teacher in…
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End of final exams and I am seriously feeling so light. No more negotiations, time management programs, threats or down on the knees begging. With one more year behind us, I have been thinking of what to do differently this year to make the whole process easier for Toyna and me. While I am still…
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After putting Yog to sleep yesterday night, I stepped out for a while to run an important errand. When I returned 10 minutes later, I was greeted with loud, inconsolable cries of Yog. As I rushed to his room, I almost ran into Toyna, carrying Yog in her arms and trying to calm him down…
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Story from when Toyna started learning chess about 3 years ago – Toyna and me started playing Chess. I explained to her how each character moves and we were off killing each other left right and centre. My Minister moves forward bravely towards her Queen and was all set to kill her in the next move.…
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I had been suspecting something wrong with my mind since a long time. I just didn’t know it was more physical than I had actually thought. The doctor confirmed my suspicion. I had a tumor in my brain and had probably two more years to go. I laughed and told Pavan, “See, I always told…
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We all know the importance of “First Love” in life. We swear by it. We live by it and we can even die by it! While the term is often used in a romantic context, remembering those from the other sex (or same sex as one would prefer), in my opinion, first love extends beyond…
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I come home wanting to share a happy news with my daughter. I ask her to guess what the surprise is. She makes some random guesses, then looks at my face closely and remarks, “You’re happy! That’s the surprise!” There can be no better form of a mirror to look at life than your children’s…
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Yogs favorite person in the whole wide world is his elder sister Toyna, whom he fondly calls Akka. For everything that you ask Yog to do, he will immediately ask if his Akka is going to be joining him. This is how our conversations go: Me: Yog you want to go Broom Broom? (meaning scooter ride)…
Shilpa Roy Kota 