Every woman needs a Daughter!

My daughter is a ‘cat’ in spirit.

She has the most likeable personality I have ever met combined with the ability to treat everyone like a piece of furniture.

In her presence everyone becomes an attention-seeker – trying to win her majesty’s attention and approval.

But once in a way – she does completely unexpected things – something so delightful that an unshockable person like me is compelled to sit down and announce her wonderful acts to the world!

Today is Valentine’s day. It is not really a tradition tradition in our lives – because we are Indians and mine is the first generation that was exposed to this custom. So it is not in my blood and its just something I look at out of the corner of my eye, mostly unaffected by its occurrence.

But my children see it around them growing up every day in the international environment they are in. So it IS a significant event for them and they celebrate it wholeheartedly.

So this morning I woke up after working till 2 am, arrive at my home-office desk and ask for coffee.

And in the mess of note pads and pens and spectacles and wires i spot a pretty pink box with 5 little Hershey’s Kisses placed artistically on top of it. My first thought was  ‘husband sathia gayaa’  – ‘husband is entering his state of dementia’ (which of course he is not – but nothing else could have explained such an act in our context). I rejected that idea because it was too bizarre, and examined other possibilites. My sons were both out of the house that week, so that left only my daughter and my new maid and myself. Me giving myself a Valentine’s day gift would be more bizarre than my husband giving me one, so that didn’t even occur to me.

And then the delicious idea that my royal kitten had done this!!

It filled me up with ssssooo much love and tenderness and happiness to have her in my life!

She had done something like this when she wasabout 10 years old. We all woke up on Valentines day to see the dining table covered with gifts for each one of us, kept inside a large heart made out of tinsel. I have pictures of that moment and seeing that photo with her uncombed wake-up hair and a sleepy face makes my heart burst with gratitude for having such a person in my life!

And today she repeated it!

A student in her final year at IB – she works really hard to earn her 42 score and has hardly any time for anything else. Yet she put in the thought, put in her pocket money AND put in her effort & time  – which is the hardest for all of us to do but harder still for her – and bought each one of us an individually suitable gift!

I don’t know how to begin to show her how much I appreciate it.

These are moments when I know that my life is truly blessed and thank the probability and chance for giving me a daughter!

jm

Feb 14, 2012