Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Tween in the house!!!


 Miss V, My wonderful 8 year old, here is wishing you a Very Happy Birthday. To continue our 
tradition, here is my annual letter to you:

Miss V, Miss Chatterbox, Miss Know-It-All, My adorable munchkin

You are an amazing and smart kid. I know you know it. Keep up the amazing work and continue being as humble as you are. I get thoroughly impressed at how easily to navigate challenges, be it physical, academic or even personal ones. I love your inquisitiveness and how with a book in your hand you are the happiest. 
You will try all cuisines and attempt the spicy sauces. Your favorite foods this year have been Kutiyonam and White Pullav. Sadly, my daal-baati has fallen off the list.

Babes (I know you hate me calling you that!!!) stay simple. Please, no matter how old you are, how smart you are, your attitude is your true character. And right now, you are awesome: friendly, frank, caring to the point of forgetting about yourself and completely selfless.  Above all you are honest!

I see you with your little sister; you are her fierce advocate, her protector and her role model. I love of how you put her needs ahead of yours. You scold her but if I scold her, you come in the middle and tell me: 'I Got this'.

At time, It's been a tricky relationship we have shared this past year. You are testing your limits and seeing how far you can go and I am adjusting to this newfound 'eye rolls' and 'over-enthusiasm' in you. Luckily for us, these limits have been for simple things like screen time, commanding the menu, giving me 'comments' on my dressing etc. Very simple and manageable stuff. You are adorable when you start your sentences with “I don’t want to sound mean, but this….”

To be honest, It's been tricky mainly for me, since I am not sure of how to react to the eye rolls. I know there have been more times that I have yelled at you for simple things, I guess it's a learning process for me and I know I better learn quickly to continue having this amazing relationship we have.

I love spending time with you, be it crafts, board games, walking on Michigan Avenue (Oh you hate shopping right now!!!) or even just observing you as you sulk over your Kumon or attempt at writing stories. You are getting to be older and wiser now, but you are still so innocent.

A few highlights of this year:
1. You joined the soccer league, your true calling and though the Saturday mornings are crazy, soccer is something you can’t skip no matter what!

2. You cried inconsolably when your Mama (my brother) left after his vacation (It was no longer, see you soon, why cry when someone leaves; that's just silly!)

3. You are teaching me Chess, or rather you keeping asking me to learn and I keep saying no. Glad your papa is playing with you.

4. You danced at three weddings/ engagement parties, Diwali parties and just on the deck with the music on. We love your enthusiasm and self- confidence on stage. Standing in India, with over 800 guests staring at you and being the first to kick off the dance night is not an easy feat! You did it with such elegance and grace.

5. You had your first summer camp and you hated every minute of it. This year you had asked me if you could stay in Chicago and see what all the fuss is about, you didn’t enjoy it at all.

6. Piano: You started the class very enthusiastically, however are not practicing or enjoying it, sadly, just like Kumon I am going to ask you to stick with it!

7. Travel: You loved Dells, visited Door County, toured the Packers stadium, Camped, visited Portland and of course the India trip with the forced stay in Istanbul! You do have wheels on your legs, as soon as we got back, your question was, where next?

I love you, even in those moments when I yell at you. I love your agility, your kid and honest heart, your enthusiasm to know everything, your affection towards science, your caring nature, your not-so-clean room, your looking up to your dad as the strongest and mom as the coolest, your passionate heart!

Honey, grow up, stay the same and remember, like I told you, no matter where you go in life, you know you can count on me and your dad. 

We got you.

Happy 8th birthday love.
XOXO




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