Today’s Hom story.
Title:
“I had an out-of-body experience the first time I held my son, ‘Theo.’ It was magical and felt like this tiny human had arrived just to transform me into a better person.
And in all honesty, that’s pretty much what he’s been doing since day one!
Now while parents are only viewed as ‘givers’, I believe there are a whole lot of things, we take away from our kids too! A classic example of this can be the child’s behaviour which is a mirror’s reflection of theirs and usually comes across as a reality check to many- enabling them to introspect on their actions and evolve eventually!
What it requires however, is for us parents, to set aside our adult egos and kneel down to the child’s level, patiently giving them the quality time they deserve. And this is where, the lockdown again, has come as a boon to many people out there. As for Theo and I, some of our best moments have been the times where he’s curiously questioned the world. Now while it might seem frustrating occasionally, I try fuelling his questions with real life stories and examples. Fathers with their worldly exposure are usually brilliant at this!
There is of course, the internet but my wife and I haven’t exposed Theo to it yet! He just views the phone as just a device to communicate and that enables us to teach him life over just playing cartoons and other addictive imagery. It does take effort but the outcome is priceless with real-life golden moments that we get to cherish for a lifetime. What it takes ultimately, is to respect the partner enough and work as a unit infusing their different strengths into the child.
What I want for my son eventually is all the freedom and knowledge to be able to take actions and be responsible for its consequences. He should ultimately be accountable to only himself and view the world with empathy. What’s more important is for him to do things on his own time and not fall prey to the rat race. Be it something as simple as finishing a meal or writing an exam, what matters is his head space over simply finishing first to fit into societal expectations. Of course, I do understand that we live in a world of commerce, where the system is money-driven but here’s where I beleive, it’s important for us to try and define what happiness is to us and slowly navigate through that path.
Now besides these heavy thoughts, another wonderful aspect that I observed is being able to connect with my inner child better ever since Theo was born. I’ve become more creative and started expressing my gratitude to him in the form of letters. I write one almost every day and these letters hold a special place in my heart! I can’t wait for the day my son grows old and looks back at them with nostalgia. Hopefully he gets to see what a big influence he’s had on his father!”