Of Tell-a-Tale And Fairy-Tales

Eid has come and gone. And with it the whole ambiance changed as well. I wholeheartedly welcome this change but wondering how I am going to cope the colder days ahead. Already the festivity mood has vanished into thin air despite the fact that the holidays are still on. My children will get back to school this Saturday. Till then, its hubbub everyday with all four, staggering for the television or the computer. And what more with the arrival of the latest thingy by name of play station 3, the children cannot differentiate day and night and if they had eaten their meals or not. How ever I have come to a decision that once school reopens, this newest gizmo will be veiled for awhile in a probable attempt to divert the children’s attention more toward school activities.

With the four at home, noise and clamor is an everyday thing. They have found ways and means to bring the house upside down. It‘s like we are celebrating Halloween here. Recently they scared the guts out of me with an eerie music they played on and off via their latest gizmo. And mind you, top of all this, there’s the high-pitched blaring that takes place in between regular intervals. Mine vs theirs. The only favourable outcome I have achieved so far from this screeching is my vocals cords have all toned up, though sadly not too good to put into use in a singing competition. Nonetheless this hullabaloo generated by my children on a daily basis has not changed my attitude towards them at all. My heart grows fonder day after day and my love for them deeper.

The children having a break from school has a positive side too. There is plenty of quality time that's being spent with each other and this - bonding, brings us much closer. As much as they create a mayhem, children also bring into our lives lots of fun, laughter and happiness.

    
The other day, extremely astounded, my seven year old came to me and said ‘Mom! I think she’s going to marry a frog.'    

My first reaction was a surprised, 'What! Who?' Although quite amused at this, I kept asking him how sure was he with his announcement. Then he went on ‘I am sure Mom. I heard her telling someone on the phone. Go, ask her.'
'Yes! Yes! Go ask her,' prompted my ten-year-old in an encouraging manner. Even though I found this outlandish, I thought it would be better if I got an explanation from my daughter so as to clear any doubts and alleviate all forms of suspicions from the perplexed two.

I was laughing my wits off when I heard my daughter very coolly say 'Oh that! My friend and I were talking about Walt Disneys’ The Princess and the Frog.'
'Marry a frog? What was he thinking! It happens only in Fairy Tales!'

    
Oh ! Dear Me! Why wasn’t I thinking?

(image source courtesy internet)

                                               

Sound Effects

Since the beginning of last month , we are being drastically traumatized by atypical kind of monster.Oh! No! not what you think.. No!! Neither King Kong nor Godzilla that scared the guts of the people in the reel world. What I’m talking about is an equally monstrous-like, but of a different kind. The type that is laden with adjustable devices here and there ; a heavy equipped machinery that vibrates, and makes thunderous sounds in the real world. Yes. I am talking of those heavy duty machineries and the equally large trucks that move them around and do a great deal of rigorous labor, in breaking and making roads, so much so in the process, conquering the stillness of the morning.

There is some road construction in progress nearby my home and everyday from the crack of dawn ,we have to get prepared to pay heed to the different sounds of this apparatus at work.At the beginning it was kind of annoying to be awakened by this ear piercing sounds and sometimes I wondered if our home , which is housed in a building close to this construction site would get affected by the vibrations.We really could feel the tremor.

Now having said that ,I have to point out that I noticed something good come out of this whole hullaballoo..My two sons who were at all times glued on to the Television, now had something else to focus on .Everyday after school both of them would sit by the window and watch this heavy machinery do the hard labour. They would watch every movement it made and soon were learning new things and explaining to the sisters and me, what these heavy duty tools were used for. Their conversation nowadays is all about, how strong each one is going to be to handle such heavy equipment etc..

Subsequently with this paraphernalia in the spotlight,life is a lot easier for me as well .The children are eating the greens without much of a hassle ,because these days they believe that eating all their vegetables would indeed help them grow strong ,fit and healthy to drive that incredible digger. This is one of the many whims and fancies they presently rave,hence I take it all in my stride as I know this is just one of the phases of childhood.

However, extraordinary little things like this have some long-term effects on children.Sometimes they carry it with them through their adolescence and put into practice with whatever they have experienced in their childhood or forget about the whole episode when they begin to explore outside their immediate surroundings and make new interesting discoveries. All in all I do believe as parents we should support and encourage and help motivate their interests, so as to pave the way to develop their learning skills, as a consequence broaden their knowledge.

Just as much as my children are enthusiastic about the special sound effects of a digger.. I’m all agog to see the new road paved, so that we could journey through, without any hitches and moreover relax in the serenity of the morning hours sans the blaring noise .And when everything is done and returned to normal, I will be in anticipation to embrace again the familiar echoes in my surroundings, the one that I am accustomed to, the one which obviously would soothe my nerves away: The swish of the warm - cool breeze sweeping across, the delightful coos of the pigeons, perched atop the TV antenna and the occasional reverberation of airplanes from an airport distant away.



My Sons' recent leisure pursuit- jigsaw puzzle depicting heavy duty trucks...