The Little Master's Home

                                     
                                     

Cocospeak:

Hello. I am Coco. I am a little boy. You would ask 'what is so special about that?' I would say, well it is not easy being a little boy. It was easier being a baby. But since I started speaking little sentences and expressing my ideas, the expectations skyrocketed. Though I only know the words and hardly understand their meaning, I am supposed to do what I say. For example, using the bathroom for peeing. I do not get it what the fuss is all about. Though I promise mommy and papa every time that I will tell them, I somehow forget, and while they mostly smile at my forgetfulness, sometimes they give me those looks, especially mommy who has some words too, and I feel very, very bad!

Other than that, I am mostly doing fine. Of course, I do not sleep early at night and as a  result do not get up early too. But, now that I have started going to school, I get up at whatever time mommy wakes me, and readily go to school. I love my mommy, and she is with me most of the time. But I love papa a lot more, though he is not around usually, and I have to make do with mommy. I especially miss papa when mommy makes me eat food that I do not like and does not give me cold drinks. She also does not take me out for 'boom boom bike' riding, though she takes me out in the car when I ask her. 

Taking a bath is so much fun with papa. He lets me splash all the water and play for as long as I wish. But mommy seems to be in a hurry and cuts corners all the time. She seems so strict at times and does not let me play with gas (deodorents and room sprays), creams (cosmetics etc.) and kitchen toys(knives, scissors, of course!), and I am pretty sure she has told papa to do the same. The other day I saw her stashing away a lot of medicines on the top shelf and I know even she cannot reach it without climbing a stool. Oh, how dearly I wanted those! Though she is fine with me playing with all the stuff in her purse which I love, she hides them as soon as I am not looking. That is of no use of course, since I rarely forget and ask for it again whenever I feel like it.

If I overlook all these things, she is mostly a good mommy. She laughs when I talk to her, she listens to my songs and poems and she also lets me wear what I want to wear. I love it when she combs my hair and puts cream on my face, so I look smart and feel proud when I see myself in a mirror. She eats with pleasure whatever I cook in my little toys and praises me a lot. Oh, I think I am good at cooking. The other day, I made cold drink in a little saucer and she happily drank it, and kissed me too. I also make pizzas, pasta and cakes, and she loves all of them.

She helps me build 'London Bridge' and sings rhymes for me. She sings whatever I ask her to, like 'Chandamama' or 'Twinkle twinkle'. Though she can tell me stories too, but I love papa's stories because he can go on till I want while mommy usually tells short stories and then tells me to sleep. Bedtime stories are so much fun with papa. Though I fall asleep only if mommy is holding me and my hands and feet are tucked safely in her arms. Holding papa is somehow not so cozy. So you see, I can neither do without papa nor without mommy. I think they love me, and I love them too.

Mommyspeak:

It is a pleasure to find Coco following me in and out of rooms and kitchen and wherever else I go in the course of my day, and a little bugging too at times. That could be the sentiment of any parent, whether they absolutely adore children in general or are just on a survivable truce with them (yeah, that's me!). I am not a 'Buddy Parent'. I aspire to be one, but I find myself far from it, a 'learn-as-you-go' kind of mother, who is happy as long as her child is laughing and playing, gets overwhelmed with mixed emotions as soon as the first signs of trouble show up, throwing bigger tantrums than the kid. Thankfully, Coco has his father to turn to in such cases, who seems to be his best friend, especially in times of need.

Coco's father has quite the way around him, so much so that he looks like a 'baby whisperer' to me. For sure, he is going to be the 'buddy parent' around here, as Coco is gradually growing out of his babyhood and moving on to 'boyhood', a stage where the close-quarters mothering of little years often becomes obsolete to children and they want to have more of their own ways. However, Coco's father's profession keeps him very busy or even away from home for months at a stretch and those are the excruciatingly testing times for both Coco and me, as I frantically search for the remaining morsels of patience at the bottom of my very existence and he is utterly confused by my 'two toned' behaviour, struggling to figure things out, especially 'Where is papa?'. 

Normally, I find myself an observant mommy and know by observation that Coco is an intelligent and sensitive child. When something goes wrong, he knows that it has gone wrong, but he hates to be told so. The catch to handle this situation amicably is that as I see this guilty look on his face, I paraphrase the situation for  him, he nods, I smile reassuringly, hug him, plant a kiss or two and we are good. I guess, sometimes, guilt is punishment enough. And it works very well with Coco. So, this is my little secret that helps us stay peacefully with each other during long periods of his father's absence.

Coco loves little outings, but they cannot be too short. When we come back, he immediately takes the house key and loves to open the lock (with my assistance of course!) and his face glows with pride at this achievement. When I ask him to do something like picking up a fallen object, or bringing the remote, or putting a glass on the table, he does it with such a sense of responsibility that his nose flares at being such a good boy.

He sometimes asks for knick-knacks kept on shelves which are given to him if they are not fragile. He understands his limits too as if and leaves such stuff alone. When parents of small kids visit our home, they are surprised to find crystal out on low shelves, unlike their stripped living room shelves. Though he usually accepts his food and drinks in steel utensils, he likes it served in style in front of guests, and seldom breaks anything. I reckon my husband and his guests have broken more glasses than anyone else, and Coco's contribution to them is negligible. Moreover, a glass object is destined to break someday, and it may be expensive but not as valuable as little moments lost in crying over spilled milk or broken glass for that matter. 

From 'Eidgaah', a heart touching story by Munshi Premchand

Sometimes Coco comes to me just like that and pats me with his tiny palms and warm words 'Bas mamma, bas!', blinking profusely to show that he knows things and can look after me, so I need not worry. The combination of his little self and his grandparent-like antics makes me laugh even during the most stressful of times, as I melt internally. However,there are occasions when I find myself at the end of my tether. Discounting those moments, I get great comfort in Coco's company, in the light of the fact that we have only each other in this 'forest resort' as nowadays his father is out on some assignment, and often we have a sense of soothing camaraderie and understanding that makes our lives run smoothly like a well oiled gear and the time flies effortlessly.
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