Oh, To Be First...

We’re in the doctor’s waiting room. There are three others ahead of us. The missus is leafing through a magazine, I’m twiddling my thumbs, and my daughter’s sitting on a chair with a bored expression on her face.

“When do we go in?” she pipes.

“Not for a while. There are others ahead of us”, explains the missus, without looking up from her magazine.

A frown envelops my daughter’s face. Tears swell up in her eyes…

“I can’t be first at anything! I don’t stand first in school, and now I can’t be first at the doctor’s clinic. Why?!”

Needless to say, we were allowed in - first!

Skin Care!

This photograph appeared in The Times of India recently. The caption said that this creature was a cross between a horse and a zebra that was a part of some experiment, somewhere. Impressive!

My daughter regarded this photograph with a frown on her face. I was reeling under the amazing progress in genetic engineering, so a frown was not exactly the reaction I had expected.

But then, I had forgotten that a daughter is essentially a female of the species. She explained,

“This is what happens when you don’t take care of your skin. Look at this poor zebra, it’s skin has started peeling off! That’s why I apply cream all the time!”

Bath Time

“Mama, if I take a bath with this soap, will all the kidas wash away?”

This question was posed to my wife while she was giving my baby a bath. The soap alluded to is Lifebuoy, a brand which claims to offer a germ-free living experience (where else, but on television?!!).

“Of course”, replies the wife (oops, I did it again!).

“Good!” exclaims my daughter, as she scrubs herself violently with the bar of soap.

By now, the Missus is curious - why is the li’l one asking this question? Has she been up to something we should know about?

“Darling, why do you ask?”

“Oh, Papa says I’m full of kidas. I’m going to wash them all off!”

My apologies to all those who might not be familiar with Indian terminologies. Just pass up this post - it’s too complex to be translated!

What Women Want...

Children have increasing wants. And adults take it upon themselves to spoil them silly.

There had been a phase in my daughter’s life, when she would rattle off a list if she was ever asked, “Sweetheart, what do you want?”. It’s cute for a while, but it gets rather embarrassing at times when your child makes demands from perfect strangers. It would be rather awkward for the missus and myself.

Fortunately, problems tend to present their own solutions over time. Now that my daughter’s been exposed the to world and how it works (through television, what else!), she’s learnt a thing or two from beauty pageants. Now, if she’s asked the question, she answers with a smile: “World Peace!”