ThigThi

 

A very mysterious and anomalous word, but, if Richa is in charge of the naming ceremony..the names would end up sounding like this. A year ago it was “Baaka”. That was the name she gave to her finger who just about managed to make every mess, that SHE didn’t intent to make.  She had created this fanciful character to conveniently blame all her slipups on.

Wow! I was more surprised and proud at this intelligent feat of hers, than I was mad at her gaffe,  that, she could invent some character to blame her BIG faux pas on.  It had all looked very cute and instantly made me forget that I had indeed been mad at her a second ago.

If it was the need to find a fast scapegoat to blame her bloopers on, a while ago…it’s the need for a friend that will listen to her instructions, right now, who she can boss around a little bit, mother and take care of too. Reminds me of the bomb she had let on me one fine day when I tried growling at her for some goof up she had done.

“Treat people like you want them to treat you”.

She has found that chump in ThigThi now! This fictitious character that she has following around her seems like a cute one. There is not an moment when she wouldn’t mention her..Thigthi goes to school  with Richa and helps her shop too. She even comes along with her when she goes swimming. Richa wouldn’t fail to mention that we need to be careful with Thigthi because she is scared of water. 

This phantasmic friend of Richa’s has a lot of pluses. I don’t need to make preparations that one makes when expecting a play date. And the fact that the friend is always available when needed, makes it all the more convenient too! In spite of this, I realize that its so much better dealing with real toys and real friends of hers, because for one, I know where to look and who to talk to. I am not at the mercy of Richa for instructions of what her friend’s response is, or where she is located!

For a long time, we weren’t sure what this thing was. Sometimes, I was sure it was a little girl, other times, I wasn’t even sure if its an animal or human. Sometimes, you can almost see the invisible leash in her hand.  She will fix this imaginary leash to the door, bend over and give instructions, as if she was talking to Hobbes on the leash. Like I needed some explanation, she would turn to me and say..

“Thigthi is this tall” , showing as high as her waist.

She is as loyal to Thigthi as Thigthi is supposed to be loyal to her in providing much needed support.  They talk, they have conversations. Only, I always hear it one sided.

“Mama, this ladder is por tall people.  Tiny people cannot climb it.”, she will say..offhand.

“Richa, since you are not tall, you cannot climb it.”, trying to play smart, I say.

“No Mama, Thigthi is tiny..I can climb it.”, she says shutting me up.

She has had this imaginary friend for a long time now. She even takes my permission as we are getting out to go shopping..if Thigthi can come along, like that would increases my liability a tad more!

As soon as she gets my consent..she is already giving directions to TIgthi how she should be behaving as she rides with her in the van.

“Seat belt please.”, she will announce to this unfailing companion.  

Another time, she will pretend to eat spicy food, and as she munches on her Bagel, she will let me know

“Mama, I am eating spicy food, Tigthi cannot eat spicy yet!”.

Thigthi is almost as real to her as it is unreal to me.  Sometimes, it does give me the shivers if there is indeed something ghostly, out there that she is able to see and communicate to, while I’m unable to see it.  I’ve only seen these things happen in movies.

Why?! Aren’t TV serials promoting such thought too! Like the Dino Dan serial that comes on Nogin

Here, this little boy..proficient with the knowledge of the dinosaurs, is able to talks to dinosaurs around him. He can visualize dinosaurs in any animal or bird around him. His knowledge of these creatures is so overwhelmingly accurate and extensive that nobody, not his teachers at school nor his mom at home even consider talking to him out of such . 

This is one of the favorite serials that Richa watches. Along with the knowledge of the Dinosaurs that she has assimilated from this program, she has also considered creating Tigthi.

Its sad that I can’t even take a picture of Thigthi, to let Richa know of this best friend that she will soon forget as she grows up. I’m sure she will find these notes on her fascinating, when she will be able to read and comprehend it.

She has another unswerving friend in another pet she holds very dear to her heart. Her Reindeer friend that was gifted to her on her birthday, by her teacher Ms.J.  During the times that she is not in her world of imagination, she carries him around using strong words like

“He is close to my heart”

The other night when we returned home from a visit to a friends home..she was put to bed and fell asleep. Suddenly, within a few minutes, she wakes up terrorized with the thought that she didn’t bring her friend Reindeer back home. As she starts to feel sad and cry, I remind her that we had brought him back and its lying downstairs. She didn’t believe me until she walked down to the kitchen and found her friend there.  She brought him to bed with her and fell asleep again. 

This attachment for the toy almost reminded me of Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes.  To the kid, the toy was a real tiger. Looks like Richa has found her Hobbes in the Reindeer. Only, I shudder to think if she would start behaving like the precocious child that Calvin was supposed to be.  A kid who was so smart to explain gravity to his mom and let her know, that’s what caused the mess that she had to clean up. The kid who chose to ignore the abundance of common sense he has, on the pretext of appearing cool!

As I watch Richa take her imaginations to the next level,   I remember that the triplets at this age were not as vocal. They were being bombarded with 5 languages at the time. Not having any elder sibling to look up to, to boost their confidence, they chose to show all their creativity by drawing out what they had in mind. And, not just some average drawings they were! (Drawing of her sister on the potty)

(Drawing of a girl reading the book)

(Drawing of a Parade!!!)

They had made some masterpieces for the age they were at.  I’m so happy I took pictures of their doodles. Its such a wonderful age. Their creativity was focused to drawing and expressing their mind in various ways. They didn’t know the concept of copying yet. 

One of them elaborates their potty scene, other one, elaborates a Parade. This for me was complication made so simple, I can’t fathom how a child could visualize a group of people in a few lines.  As a grown up..I give up before I even start to try.

Could you imagine if you were given the task of drawing a parade..a group of people at a celebration..if you would consider this a feasible task..considering you have had no training in drawing? 

To me! this is impossible but, these kids could do it just like that, on the spur..when they were around 4+ years old. I also remember of a drawing that N had made during that time. My mom was shocked.

She had made the drawing of a cloths line.  she had drawn quite a few different types of clothes on the line..without even lifting her pencil point from the paper.  They were all simple lines. I had thought that I am going to save that paper for ages to come as a proof of how creative they had been as toddlers.  To help motivate them as they grow up...  If the mind could do so well..surely, they hold the potential to do more. In the process of growing up and cleaning the mess of a growing family…I’m not sure where I placed that treasured piece of art.

As they grow, and their focus widens, their ability to show their creativity is being scattered in so many directions. With new knowledge, they find themselves being overwhelmed with new paths to explore.  Would it be their academic skills, or their flare for art..or music and dance or their leadership qualities, or researching or inventions (which could be as silly as inventing a game!). The other day, one of the triplet invented a board game for a school project. She created a whole new board game which I, the MOM was obviously very impressed (So easy for us moms to get carried away, right!!!) . Another time, I found a triplet researching and writing an article on Indian Classical Music. They’ve already been exposed to the power internet as a data warehouse.

They are being bogged with so many avenues that they will eventually have to chose their field as they grow up and decide to concentrate on the one they most love to do. I feel very lucky as a parent that I’ve been blessed with kids who are so creative and hopefully will be able to play a role of a parent who will be able to provide them with enough fodder to help increase this fire inside them.

Richa on the other hand is trying her hand at drawing very hard. I find her engrossed in her drawings at the table with a paper and a pen. Her drawings have 3 main components without which they would be incomplete.  It needs to have Mama, Richa, Hobbes (on leash), and a CAKE!

and continues to explore her prowess on the art of speaking…

Here’s what she had to tell me a few nights ago during bedtime

“Mama, I’m so glad you are my mom”!!

I just hope she holds on to this thought, this feeling very tightly as she grows up to be a big kid, a teen, an adult, through all my chiding…at their blunders (compounded with my parenting bungles) as they are bound to make as part of growing up.