How “Olds” are you?

 

“Mama your too old’s”,

Richa said as we walked from the Christmas Party(s) of her elder sisters, in their class, towards our Van in the parking lot. I had not gotten a spot close to the entrance of the school, since, I was one of the last mom’s to reach school for whatever Party’s were in progress. It had been one of the coldest day of the week. The wind was not helping either. We both were trying to save our ears, lest it froze and snapped off, while we raced to the Van.

She had enjoyed this Christmas party so much. Even though she had one in her class just the day before, I’m sure it was all erased from her mind after, what she experienced today.

                               (Richa’s class party)

Parties in 8 year olds’ classes are really cool.  They don’t always need to stay at their chair. They are even allowed to make Pancakes in their class!!

 

Almost all her sister’s classmates had followed her in the classroom and she had bonded with them in a way she had never known before.  She had always felt great to be friends with her elder siblings and copy them but, it had not been this much fun.  All the kids had joined in and started this “Tag ME”, “Tag Him” game and she was so obliging to do it..for them.

“Baby, can you talk?” they had asked her when she had entered.

“Richa, Talk to them!”, N had coaxed her .

 

Then after a while she had opened up after they posed with her for lots of pictures, hugging them, and they read stories for her. They had taken a while searching for books that they could read for her.  One of the Moms had made a puzzled face when she saw her son calling Richa, a baby.

“Then what are you?”, she had asked him.

 

The teacher hadn’t been able to stop the “Tag” game that got out of hand with the class. After a while she announced that it was the end of the party since the parents were not moving out :-)

 

I has hoped to stick around for some more time as I had to attend K’s Christmas Party in her class after this. But, when I was almost kicked out of N’s class, I thought, it was Ok, if I would go about 10 minutes early to K’s class. I went to K’s class which was just next door,  only to find that the play that was on their agenda, had already started. And, K’s part was done!!!

I know, she wouldn’t have looked for me in the sea of these huge people, which were the parents’ in front of them.  The kids looked so tiny and over shadowed with so many parents and other teachers in the class. I was all armed with my camera that even clicked video’s! But, I didn’t need to use it because, the part I was to tape was over!

When all the play was over, one of K’s teacher spotted me and said, she did great! “Maybe this is her calling!”, she said.

I was too embarrassed to confess that I had missed her part. I don’t think K  likes to ask me..

“Mama, did you see my part? How was I?”

She hasn’t asked me that still and I hope she never asks me because, I may have to lie ( I hope I will be forgiven for it, if I ever have too!).  I don’t want to disappoint her by telling her that I had actually missed her part. This is what happens when Mommy’s have so many things to take care of on their “to do list”.  I had marked her class party time as 11.30am instead of 11.00am in spite of being reminded so many times of the time.

“N, you remember it and send me to her class, when I need to be there”, I had told, unable to remember. N didn’t remember to push me out of her class. Blame it all on her?!!! The kids are so sweet that..if I had to tell this to N, she would reply saying…

“Yes Mama, this is all my fault. I’m so sorry”. 

(A grown up lady had once told me during my triplets pre-school days..”when they will be around 6-10 years of age…that will be your honeymoon period of motherhood, especially with girls”).

As for Richa, she had felt so bored during this part where the play was being enacted. So, she lay down on the floor of the class,  with her back up and resting on her elbows, she was trying to write/draw something on her paper, her project of course!

Once the play was done, she asked me where K was and ran to her. K felt so proud showing of her little sister. Something about girls and having baby sisters…(well, however old the younger sister, they are always a baby sister to them!).  Even the boys were interested in playing sitters to this baby and she enjoyed this attention.

 

Soon, Richa and K were in a tiff.  Richa wanting to use her crayons and K was saying,  “They are new, I haven’t even used them yet!”

I told Richa that a box of crayons were waiting for her at home, even newer than the ones K claimed hers’ was, and we got out of the class, to go home.

That’s when I thought..

OMG, am I appearing so old, that my toddler is telling me

“Mommy, you are too olds”.

Then she said..

“And, Papa is one olds, and Didis(elder sisters) are 3 olds”.

I took a sigh of relief..Ok, she was talking about our age, as she saw it.

“I was two olds, Papa was one olds and Didis were 3 olds and she was 8 olds!”

If this is how aging was, …I didn’t mind growing a few more years older! :-)

(P.S. K did ask me how she did her part…on Christmas Day. I had to tell her the truth since, I had no control of the words coming out of my mouth. She then read out the whole play again for us and we video taped it.)