Under the green and leafy tree

The last two years have been very different years of my life. Being a mom has taught me a lot of things and I wouldn't say has transformed me or made me a better person. I look at it as a new feature that I have added to myself - truly a statement by a software engineer!

Adhrit, and I have had a lot of memories and I have to be honest and say, they have been good, and not so good memories. He and I recently took a trip together to India - a 15 hour non stop flight from Newark, NJ to Bombay - yea, just the 2 of us. When we got to Bombay, I realized how good a team we were. We had our moments - he was too tall to fit on my lap (he was not yet 2 when we travelled) and the flight was completely booked, and was sick with a bad chest cold. But we endured the journey, and had a great time with families back home (my home) and got back in one piece (one team). We went there to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday, and he understood the concept of birthday, and cake and so when we got back (a week before his birthday), he told me that he wanted "Dino cake", and "Buzz Light year" cake - he knew exactly what he wanted.

The evening before his birthday, we got the cake, Buzz Light Year balloon, Pichiba (Mickey Mouse) balloon, and a "2" candle and got home. I couldn't wait for tomorrow. All's well that ends well - of course not to be. Middle of the night, he threw up and we thought he might have caught the stomach bug! He was definitely not himself the next morning, no throwing up, but just not himself. I still tried to decorate the table with his cake, cup-cakes, the balloons, all his birthday presents (including the caterpillar truck!), and Dino cake, and his "2" candle. We did sing "Happy Birthday" for him, but he was not into it.

He and I stayed home, and took a nice nap, and he felt better. We talked to his cousin on skype, and she sang "Happy Birthday" to him, and slowly I could see life back into him. He said to me "Mama, let's go for a walk and play". How can I ignore something like that? So, we took a ball to kick, and went for a walk. In a field very close to our house, he saw boys playing football - so he asked for the ball and he and I played kick ball (just kicked the ball around) for 45 minutes or so. He was so happy to just kick the ball around. After some time, I had a blanket with me, so I lay it under a tree - and he wanted to lie down. And we lay there together, and we saw the blue skies, white fluffy clouds, and green tree. And he said to me "Sing it Mama - Under the green song", and it was just perfect we sang "Under the green and leafy tree, Ready for a Jamboree, We are happy as can be, Under the green and leafy tree". I thought to myself - this was the best moment of the day. And how apt was the song that he picked to sing. This was picture perfect way to celebrate his birthday. We played a little longer, and then he asked me to go running, so we ran to the park together, and had more fun there.

Happy Birthday my li'l boy Adhrit! I love you, and love you, and love you!