The innumerable new possibilities ahead...

Dear Ira,

You have completed 5 weeks of school. It is a milestone, a milestone for you and a milestone for us. The last few weeks have been a revelation in seeing you in a new environment, adapting, learning, finding your foothold, taking those baby steps. From day one when you walked in without a drop of tear, all smiling and excited to day two, when you wailed your guts out. And on being asked why you crying, you said, " everybody crying". One of the first experiences of yours in collective behaviour this is and there will be many many more. In five weeks now, you go in smiling and you come out happy and for us, that seems like a moment of celebration every single day.

Parenting is complex, and your joining Montessori has made us realise this even more. Day one when you walked in smiling and my eyes swelled up with tears and my racing heart was what parenting is about. That moment when you walked out smiling after an hour of being inside and your Papa fisted his hand in the air and said, yes emphatically is what parenting is about. Parenting is selfish, parenting is about feel good moments, parenting is about hoping there will be less mishaps, parenting is about reading tons of parenting articles in a hope to master the 'parenting', parenting is about letting your heart fight your mind. Parenting is also about discovering the multitude of OCDs. When Papa checks if you have finished your snack and drank water and when mamma checks if you managed to understand 'washroom' instructions and use the facility. Parenting is about making every moment a moment of celebration. Schools today give us the perfect opportunity to do that in style. You had a red day and we proudly sent you in a red attire with a red Frisbee.

These nano achievements give your parents more happiness than they ever imagined. Every Friday is ethnic day and we are stocking up on the kurtis and the crushed skirts and drooling over the fusion themes. You also celebrated Eid and brought home your first greeting card. Awwie!!

We, every moment analyse our choice of the school, we find things that substantiate our choice for you. We as parents do what seems best at that moment for you and we are happy about this choice that we have made.

Ira, you have been a total rockstar these last few weeks. What you have done is big- waking up to an alarm ( yes yes... Papa is getting her used to a frog croaking sound alarm on the ipod), staying away from mamma and papa for few hours, making new friends in a whole new place, listening and following to instructions from teachers and aunties, learning to share your snack box on the way back home when we carpool with a friend, telling us about your day and bringing back small snippets of notices wrapped in your little hands carefully. You have begun to make choices, like choosing a dino school bag over an owl one or a sophie (Giraffe) one. These small steps in decision making will make you an individual by your own right. Even choosing which happy socks to wear! Small decisions but real big deal:)

You have also bravely dealt with a bad bout of infection and the eagerness to go back to school after three days of sick leave just was so awesome. We have learnt that you play hide and seek every other day and also ringa ringa roses. You have told us that you color, aunty sings songs, you have been told " no stamping on the mat" and ofcourse, " swim..swim...oh no!". We are so very glad that your school had the rhyme day for parents and we were finally able to decipher the swim swim poem and have learnt it with the eagerness of a two year old and taken the videos.

There never was a dull moment with you around and in the last five weeks, the entertainment is on a record and repeat mode and we are loving it. There are also challenging moments, but shall leave that for another post.

This is just the beginning of a long journey, a journey where we hope you learn the essence of education, the importance of treating people with love and respect; you discover yourself and you let us discover ourselves as parents. You learn to love yourself and love the world.

While you begin school, we rewind and re-begin a fascinating journey with you.
Looking forward to the play dates, the craft works, the story times and the rhyme sessions, the photos capturing the precious....and the innumerable new possibilities ahead...

Love you to the moon and back,
Your Mamma