Thursday, March 15, 2012

Enchanted

I am enchanted by this little angel who, flying by, stopped by my house and graced it. She made me a better person, my house a better home and this world a better place.

She wakes up with a smile on her face. She goes to sleep with a smile on her face. Her laughter fills my house and my heart. Her sweet voice, her non-stop chatter, reverberates in my head even when I am miles away from her.

She has several episodes of severe annoyance during the day, mainly when she sees someone beating her at...err...anything, be it finishing lunch ahead of her or walking faster than her or pressing the lift buttons before her. But nothing annoys her more than seeing anyone else holding her mommy's hand, or hugging her, or getting attention from her. One weekend, she made me say a completely out-of-context sentence to her before every meal (Start with this while I heat the other stuff) because she had heard me say it to Atreya the night before.

She hides in her nani's blanket every night, hot and sweaty, waiting for me to come looking for her. She hides behind pillars and doors, wanting to surprise us. She tip-toes and giggles uncontrollably, eyes twinkling, whenever we decide to hide from each other.

She plans every night to sleep with her nani, but always comes back to my bed. The one night that she did fall asleep in nani's bed, I missed her so much that I carried her back (Magically! as she commented the next morning). But when I tell her I want to go watch a movie or something else by myself, she is surprisingly gracious. Oh did I tell you that she will do anything, literally anything, for an icecream and her iPad!

Her companion is an ugly green-colored witch with a beak nose and warts galore. She adores her. The witch is also her alter ego, sometimes saying naughty thing in her high pitched voice that the polite princess can't say. I asked her if she finds her witch pretty, and she said "Witchy aunty is beautiful"!

She loves her long hair and often thanks me for making them long. Every time I do her hair, she goes to the mirror to inspect the result, and if it is not to her liking, this sucker mother will redo them even at the risk of getting late to work. But the look on the face when she likes what I have done with her hair is worth everything.




She doesn't walk- she skips. She dances without warning or prompting, contorting her body in strange poses. I love this body- her jhadhoo-like feet, her solid hands, her rough skin, her bushy eyebrows, her bunny teeth, her strong legs. My rustic stocky princess- that's who she is. She looks nothing like me. She looks exactly like me.

She likes everything pink. Pink and shiny. She has many plans for when she turns 18, including putting on lipstick and makeup, wearing high-heeled shoes, and cooking near the fire.

She hugs me every now and then, kissing my hand or my belly or any other body part accessible to her. She sees me off to the bus stop on days I leave before her. Seeing her waving me good bye with that sweet smile of her fills me with joy I can't describe. No better way to start my day.

She makes up strange words to describe her ideas. Today it was SNASH (I want to hug you and snash you). I also recall SQUIGGLY (that girl with the squiggly eyes) and SCRUNCHY (this packet is scrunchy). Because she says RENEMBER for remember, the whole family mispronounces the word now.

She always offers to help me when I am toiling away in the kitchen. I let her clean parsley, or whisk eggs, or mash potatoes, or roll things in breadcrumbs. Both of us believe that the food I cook tastes good only when the she has contributed to the cooking process.

Yesterday, overwhelmed by my love for her, I asked her how come she came to me, what had I done to deserve this wonder. She replied "Sunita mama gave me to you because she saw how much you loved me".

Oh my sweet baby, no one could have ever imagined how much I would love you, not even I!

9 comments:

  1. Now I have been asked to buy her a dirty lamp from a chinese shop.
    The Jinny will get her shiny pink shoes and lipstick.
    Little does she know that for us she is our beautiful lamp.

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  2. God bless your lil angel :) That last picture is priceless and probably captures a 100th of her true spirit...

    More love to you and yours...

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  3. What a heartwarming piece Fujia! Glad that you are enjoying all the moments - big and small, with your precious princess. I am sure she will continue to light up all your lives beautifully.

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  4. Mom, she is our lamp indeed, true to her name- the Goddess of light.

    Dharuni, the last picture is indeed apt. She was lecturing me on something.

    Miray, my cup is over flowing that's why I had to write. It is my gift to her for when she is older, capturing this pure joy that she brings to all of us.

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  5. Love this post masi! I hope I get to meet her someday and experience it for myself :) xx Nandita

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  6. Beautiful! Simple but so touching! Loved it!

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  7. this brought tears... of joy to my eyes....

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  8. I commented a whole page. Now I could murder Goole account for wiping it clear.

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