About three decades ago, I was a full time working woman with two growing up children. I would ensure that they got ready on time, had a sumptuous breakfast and left for school on time. Often the breakfast would be eaten on way to school as they went by cycle rickshaws. It was only much later that I came to know that the full breakfast wasn't eaten but some of it was thrown away on the side of the road. At breakfast time I would also religiously hand them over a calcium sandoz tablet each to build their growing bones and be fortified with the much needed calcium. I would look at them happily and then go off to work. This satisfaction and happiness was one day shattered, as I went to my garden at the back of the house. I happen to be an avid gardener and love to see my plants and shrubs thrive. We used to live in Chandigarh then and had a lovely 1 kanal house(500 sq. yards), with a lawn in front and also a kitchen garden at the back.
So that particular day as I tried to do some digging in my back yard, to my consternation I found what looked like calcium sandoz tablets planted in the soil. Looking back I only remember my surprise and fury, I do not remember what followed next. Like a fond and indulgent mother in hind sight I would love to think that my two children must have given me those long beautiful puppy like expressions and said with all innocence,"Mummy we wanted to grow a Calcium tree", but the practical woman with a no non sense attitude that I have, I am quite sure I would have given them a little bit of spanking. In those days parents could raise their hand on those innocent munchkins. Here I must confess that I was the wild one who raised her hand, my husband was the gentle person who never raised his hand.
Now, after I have nicely retired and am a full time at home lady, I find myself in similar circumstances. I have two recalcitrant kids at home. One does take his medicines regularly, often getting up mid way between meals to go and gulp down a pill that was supposed to be eaten before meals. The other one quietly throws away one or two pills in the dustbin in her room. Once this was caught, she started flushing them away surreptitiously. The help who looks after her, says that she gets a telling off every day when she puts the tablets for this child to eat. I have complained to the Doctor about this selective medication, but he too gives me an indulgent smile and changes the medication very kindly.
When my kids were small, I used to push them out of the house, so that they would get some fresh air, exercise and Vitamin D. Now I have to push these two children also with instructions to please leave the air conditioned room and walk in the open to get some much needed exercise and fresh air. To get them going, one person has to be told to go for a long drive, because the walk upto the car is the only exercise that she gets This way the eyes which are normally glued to the TV also get some much needed rest. The other child says, "Stop telling me, don't I do things on my own, without your telling me?"
In the good old days,my children would have loved to throw tantrums at the food that they had to eat. Sadly for them, I was a rather strict mother and they had to eat whatever was cooked, although I did try to get the stuff that they liked cooked. In the "Now" scenario, there is a repeat performance. The change in this scenario is that one kid has a few restrictions which he never agrees to, yet I want to impose my less oil, more healthy regime on the diet. What follows is a constant complaint by one that there is too much oil and the other says, where is the oil and where is the salt?
I really wonder does anything change? The more things change, the more they remain the same!
One simply learns to deal with the issues de novo everyday.
It's a new day, and a new way and life moves on merrily...
