Tuesday, September 8, 2009

The Age of Innocence


She was the Barbie in pink princess outfit. Tiara on her head and glittering pink stiletto. I was worried she would start wearing make up at Grade 2. Now, she refused to wear a skirt, anything pink or purple, anything with glitters or ribbons or flowers. Anything that associates her with being girlish.

This morning, she lost her headband. The only one she likes after 2 hours of shopping. It was blue and no ribbons, no glitters, just plain blue. I decided to tie her hair with the simplest purple hairband I could find, one step better than the rubber elastic you found from fish market. As I was walking her to school, I saw the hairband was no longer on her hair. She said it fell. Yeah right! Well, at least she likes to wear undies to school now. I just have to focus on the positives.

The photo was taken 6 years ago when she insisted on wearing a fairy outfit to a mall. The boy was her 1st boyfriend, an Iranian-Pakistani descent. She collects boys now like she collected Barbie outfits 6 years ago. This semester, her collection is blonde long-haired boy named Griffin. She likes him because he has long hair and his name reminds her of a griffin in her fantasy book.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Irrespective of how many times I have sent my two kids to school, I still feel melancholic on my way back to a quiet home. I should feel relieved but not. It is funny and sad at the same time. It is funny because I longed for a quiet time to myself but I don’t really enjoy it when I have it. It is sad because I am worried that I have set my life to be dependent on my children. A new friend I met yesterday told me that we should feel grateful of the noise the children make at home. It shows that they are healthy, living their childhood and are using their brain creatively to annoy each other. I love positive energy with a dash of wisdom.

Any schoolboy can do experiments in the physic laboratory to test various scientific hypotheses. But man, because he has only one life to live, cannot conduct experiments to test whether to follow his passion or not.

“The Unbearable Lightness of Being”

Milan Kundera