Toyna,  Yog

Some Jarlie is better than no Jarlie

Yog and me achieved a new development milestone on a trip to the Supermarket, few days ago. We dedicate this milestone to Jarlie. This is how the story goes.

Toyna, Yog and I love Jarlie. You may ask, “Who doesn’t?” but that is not the message of this story. Till date, whenever we go to a supermarket, we always pick two jars of Jarlie, to share between the three of us.  On this historic day, Toyna caught one jar and Yog another, all the way till the billing counters. The two jars were the first items to be billed to ensure that  we could start eating them while the rest of the packets queued down slowly under the scanner.

Yogs eyes glowed as the velvety chocolate entered his gut. I waited patiently for him to come and offer me a bite. He usually does share (especially with me) the things he loves. I assumed that it is his love for me, that compels him to share his favorite food with me. However, that love did not seem to be waking up that day.

As the top chocolate layer disappeared from the cake, I decided to step in for myself. I walked up to Yog and took a dig into his sinful chocolate cake. Yog went into shock and all hell broke loose on the supermarket floor. How could anyone take a bite from his Jarlie? Didn’t anyone teach manners to his Mom? How unfair could the world get? He started crying loudly, right there on the side of the queue. That did not deter me. I calmly told him that we share things as a family.

I was hoping that my calm attitude would help him come around and return to being my loving son. When that didn’t happen, I forced myself for another bite from his jar. Now, Yog switched from shock to disbelief. He quickly kept the jar back into the shopping cart as if I had made it  impure by my touch. He ran to Toyna, with tears streaming his face and said, “Mama took two bites from MY cake!!!!”. Toyna calmly explained to him that it was OK and there was still enough cake in the jar for both of us. However, Yog had gone beyond the line of reasoning. He sobbed, stomped his feet on the ground but refused to touch the jar again. He kept repeating, “I want a full jar, only for myself. I will not buy Jarlie for Mama.”

I refused to give in to the theatricals. We had finished billing by now and I calmly walked out the store taking another bite of the cake. Yog was now at a complete loss of words or expressions. In his mind, he was trying to decide whether to try his theatrics for some more time or to try and salvage the leftover Jarlie from the clutches of his monstrous Mom. My next bite made the decision easy for him. He rushed to take the jar from me and quickly took a big bite. He then ran ahead so that I could not touch him or his favorite Jarlie.

I couldn’t help but smile at his tear strewn face. I was happy that he took a logical decision and did not let drama stand in the way of reason. After all, some Jarlie is better than no Jarlie at all. While Yog learnt the use of “Reasoning”, that day, I learnt that my once toddler son was on his way to become a big boy. I was no longer his first and only love. There were many more materialistic things in Yogs life that had become more important than me. I just couldn’t decide whether to thank Jarlie or curse Jarlie for that learning!

P.S. Special thanks to the bystanders at the Supermarket, whose names or even faces I don’t recollect. Thank you for being patient with a hysterical child and a stoic mother. I am sure God is watching and in return for this patience, He will save you at least one hysterical theatrics from your own child.

image courtesy: jarlie.in

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.