Each year, on or about Super Mar10 (Skanda's birthday), I write (in Facebook) an yearly update to stork about Skanda's progress through his age. I will be blogging as well, going forward.
Friday, March 10, 2023, Stouffville, ON, Canada
Dear Stork -
If
as thalaivar said, we are to stage our life into multiples of 8, Skanda
has completed the first stage - the playful age (ref: video below). He
has turned 8. The last year had been great. His love for books continues
to grow, but he's not liking Sherlock for some reason - avoids it like
the plague. Outside the books, he's into gaming - I purchased a copy of
Minecraft, and he's been in love with that ever since (more
Books/LEGO/Toys). So much that he has polluted my YouTube account
history with just Minecraft videos. BTW, thanks for the delivery of his
little cousin - Adhiyan Nash - he's so awesome! When Adhiyan turned one,
we all drove down south in a modified Subaru Outback which Skanda
really enjoyed!
During
our anniversary, we rented a cabin in the woods, and there Skanda
enjoyed the Canoe, and now wants one. We took that in a positive way and
suggested that the day he becomes a proficient swimmer, we'll consider
buying one. He took that in good spirits and has completed Swimmer 1+
with good feedback from his instructor Kira.
In
other news, we received a cargo cycle (an alternative for a second car)
that Skanda and I assembled together. It gives a feeling of a "rickshaw
vandi" for him, and a "kaipulla" feeling to me.
Our
harvest was unlike last year, our bitter melons yielded a bumper and
our tomatoes were a letdown. From the school: his report card is
stellar, except for arts and dance. While he's into music, he's not into
the moves - body or vocal. I hope that improves. Socially, he's OK.
Just hangs around with one friend and does not seem to have a larger
group. On his attitude and temper: There are moments where he does not
listen, but then I don't know if it is OK or not to give him "budhdhi
madhi". He'll learn - one way or another. Overall, I have no complaints
about his behaviour! He even does his own dishes without whining.
He no longer falls for "getting replacement parts/whole from Home Depot".
Finally,
how are you doing? When do we get to see a fall in house prices,
inflation and food prices? Can you now foretell the future? Will we
survive this? Oh! I just heard via the radio that there is a possibility
of an "Olympic swimming pool-sized asteroid" hitting Earth in 2046 (Feb
14)! Can you make it a spectacular event? Not that I will be around to
see it, but just wondering.
Take care. Until next time!
Thursday, March 10, 2022, Stouffville, ON, Canada
Dear Stork –
Year se7en - Not the tragic movie. Skanda S Praneetha turned 7 today.
The last year hasn't been any different than the previous year. Same tragedy, and more personal. The son lost his mama thatha, and I lost someone with whom I was very attached. You must have read about the braveheart here: Facebook/Blogpost.
As
the pandemic became endemic and people started to believe normal life
is just around the corner, a war started. We do not know yet if it will
be a WW III or not. What is for sure is that the heat is already felt:
Prices have skyrocketed. Places are being destroyed. People are being
killed. Politicians are still playing dirty games.
Anyway,
coming back to the product you delivered 7 years ago: Skanda. He is
hale and healthy. Had his shots against COVID. Even before that, what I
noticed was masking may have helped him as he never caught a cold during
the winter - that he usually does. The reason I use "may" is because of
the sampling size and his age. He learnt gardening. We had a great time
gardening last summer. We had a bumper harvest of peas, tomatoes,
Jalapenos, Habaneros, Capsicum, and Watermelons. He is still into books -
there are books everywhere! And ... I have introduced him to Linux
operating system. 🙂 He had his first grand adult "snow tubing" (thanks
to his height - ~44 inches) experience this winter, and he was super
kicked about it! He got a promotion to big brother when his cousin
Adhiyan NaSh was born. He's all excited to meet him for the first time
this week! And ... the impending urge to travel - by road and air to
meet the close families south of the border and across the oceans. His
progress report from school was full of glory!
As
parents, we are trying our best to inculcate the notion of "privilege"
and how he's riding the wave while many don't - and how he shouldn't
take things for granted. We are also slowly making him understand race,
caste and religion. He's growing up and we feel obligated to show him
the realities of the world. Speaking of which, have you read the book
"The Skin We're In" by Desmond Cole? It shows how Canada is as racist as
any other white-skinned country. I haven't read a book in a while, and I
was lucky that I participated in Skanda's school's book study group to
read this book. The book reminded me how we, back in India, treat others
based on skin and caste. Anyway, we are slowly exposing him to the
harsh realities of life so that when he's confronted with a situation,
he would know how to deal with it. As parents, we are still learning how
to bring up our son. I guess you'll learn all the way until the last
breath. 🙂
That's
a long winding letter to you. How have you been? How is your family
doing? What do you think about the last two years? Were there a lot of
babies to deliver since people were too close to action in their houses?
😉
Keep writing, will you?
Wednesday, March 10, 2021, Stouffville, ON, Canada
Dear Stork –
What
a year it has been since my last update! To date since a year, you may
have seen more mortalities (since world war?) than delivering babies. A
lot of people lost lives, lost dear ones, lost livelihoods, pushed to
extremes and lost hope. While many still believe that this is all a big
hoax and still many don’t even believe in vaccines. Yes, it has been
that kind of a year. The world has changed a lot. For worse, maybe. 🙁
Well,
Skanda turned 6 or 72 months (of no #achchedin). He has shown that kind
of resiliency like every other child out there, who have shared their
private spaces with their at-home mom and dad working from home.
Wondering, "why am I not allowed to jump, shout, play in my own home?
This is my home." At the same time allowing their parents to snatch
their shared space. An attitude better than many of the grown-ups. Thank
you for that!
He
has done really well. Coped with online classes, virtual meeting of his
buddies, and distant meetings. So cosy that he doesn’t want to go to
school anymore. I don’t want him to think this is normal. We have been
telling him that this is temporary and things will go back to normal by
September. He's becoming human, I guess - not a child anymore. He can
wash his own ass! 😉
His
reading skills have exponentially increased. Back in the middle of the
pandemic, I had introduced him to comics - Dog Man (appropriate to his
age?), and he's now into reading Geronimo. He has completed (re)reading
several books/series (Dog Man, Geronimo, Peanuts, Captain Underpants,
Calvin, and Asterix), we lost count - the list is endless. All I can say
is that he's on a roll. He has a book by the bedside, by the cloth's
shelf, by the sofa, and by his laptop (so that he can sneak in while the
teacher teaches!). Insane! Right? He's doing what we did when we were
in middle or high school and not in kindergarten! Praneetha Thota is so
(secretly) proud of him for sneaking books to class. 😉 Like amma, like
son.
That said, how have you been? All OK, I presume? Keep up the good work and take good care of your folks.
Tuesday, March 10, 2020, Markham, ON, Canada
Dear Stork –
TL; DR; Skanda turns 5 yrs or 60 months.
And not 5 - Number of fingers missing on Congress symbol.
And not 60 - Number of months the BJP Central govt have been plundering India.
But...
This is not a political post. This is the yearly thank you letter to
you. Events since last update, though you have been watching from above
as you fly by for your next delivery -
- Started school - Junior Kindergarten - Has a healthy set of friends, whom he's going to lose from next school year - may be for one last time.
- He's still made to believe that he can get replacements of parts or as whole in Home Depot.
- He is making us learn to think differently - thus making us re-learn what we had long forgotten.
- Well, sometimes his action make us blow our top off. Vayasaachu illa!
- His inclination to music is still growing. He likes to hear songs from different languages. Also, after debating with himself, he has taken up Piano classes instead of Violin. We are going to start jammin at home. 😉
- Responsible. Comes home after school, finishes his lunch box - thanks to his Amma, Praneetha Thota - who has inculcated this habit.
- Still scared of injections.
- Space maniac!
- Can read books - for his age.
- Loves to draw/sketch/paint and narrate stories. Thus, I believe he is not a IIT/JEE candidate?
- Understands his screen time limit.
- As usual, asks a lot questions. "Why?"
PS:
How are your deliveries going? Are you paid well? Are your unions any
better? How is healthcare? Free? Do you have a class structure there
too?
Monday, March 11, 2019, Markham, ON, Canada
Dear, Stork –
Four
1s make 4. Been a tumultuous year. We have moved to a new place. A new
country. A fear was around that Skanda may not adjust, but the product
has handled it well. Speaking of the move to a new country, how is your
warranty, service and replacements here? I had a router that was
purchased in the “orange muttai’s” place, which went bad few weeks ago –
you wouldn’t believe my luck – there is just one service center in the
whole of this country and it is just a few kilometres away from our home
here. Hope you got my context. 😛 Skanda has been made to believe that
he can get replacements for him at Home Depot – I am not so sure. I did
not see your stall there. He’s into 3rd daycare in 4 years. He had to go
through the pain of making new friends every year, just to lose them.
Hopefully, things would settle now. Well, he’s going to join the
“school” in September! We are in a community that is predominantly
south-east Asians, and the school rankings here are way at the top. Huge
competition – I don’t think IIT-JEE coaching is going to help – maybe
Kumon? 😉
Outside
school, he has made a best friend for himself. A super hyper kid – his
best bud! Their conversations are fun to hear too. They cry when they
separate at the end of the day.
I
don’t know how you have programmed him, but he’s not addicted to small
screens or the big screen – we had bought after 15 years. He sort of
knows how much time he has to devote to them. Thanks to you for that!
Thanks to you for many things. 😊
Tuesday, March 13, 2018, Cary, NC, United States
Dear Stork –
3.
That's the number of years gone by since your delivery. I want to
inform you that the product has been as obedient as it was delivered. We
did not have any worse episodes of "Terrible twos" as the others used
to complain. Should I be worried? Perhaps, a "Terrible some_number"
later? Do send us a warning when that is about to descend upon. Please? A
roadmap is all I have been asking.
Since my update from last year, the product has adapted well; converses efficiently;
shows disgust; can throw things accurately; seems to enjoy destroying
things; got used to staying without "Amma" for a good duration; able to
care for self; can go without pooping for several days; started to
write/trace to an extent; he shares his items with other products
delivered by you, but becomes sad once shared.
He
has started to recognize patterns on Android lock screen. A sign? Is it
a good time to put him in IIT-JEE coaching? That question still seems
elusive. What is the right age? Or, behold, put him through Arts?
Blasphemy?!
So long, then!
PS: Please read this letter and reply. It is not funny, OK? To not read and throw them back at me.
PPS:
He's got an air/attitude wherein, whenever someone tries to
bully/intimidates him, he just walks away as though the other person did
not exist, to begin with. When we observed that, we were astonished!
How about that for an attitude?!
Friday, March 10, 2017, Miamisburg, OH, United States
Dear Stork –
An update.
Two years have gone by, and this "sapiens" is running great. I mean literally. This "sapiens" is hale and healthy most of the times, except when there is a change in the weather cycle. Is there a way to weather proof this item? How long before this "sapiens" will be all grown-up and clean up his mess himself? Psst... My wife, like all women, believe that boys/men do not grow up. Is that true?
BTW, I hope the return
policy on the item still holds good. When I got it, there was a stamp
on it that said "Need guidance for the first 18yrs. In some cases, may
require for few more years." 2 down.
Overall, I am satisfied with the
product for now (waiting for the time to evaluate his grades, and will
post an update then) and its functioning. Not many hassles. A few
hiccups here and there, which I believe all humans have to endure.
Some fun from Fry and Laurie:
Thursday, March 10, 2016, Bellary, India
Dear Stork –
Year: One - product review -
- His parts are still intact in spite of his increasing shenanigans. Very sturdy!
- He is not like before: doesn't keep still while bathing? Is that by design?
- He seems to mutter some gibberish. Will he speak OK by next year? I am planning to put him in IIT-JEE by the time he turns 2.
- He still crawls - which is good. At this age with a big paunch, it would be impossible to run behind him if he had learnt to walk.
- Every girl/woman adores his curly hairs. Thanks! I am planning to buy a curly wig.
- He is a quick learner, but he still has not learnt by himself to poop in a toilet!
Friday, March 13, 2015, Miamisburg, OH, United States
Dear Stork –
Thank you for the on time delivery of the product. Though roughed up while delivery, he was "like new" when delivered with his head coned up a little. Like promised he came fully assembled, fully charged and absolutely no missing parts. While this is great, I found something incomplete - instruction manual is totally blank and the last pages were in Mandarin. Is there an online English version somewhere? Right now none of his cries makes sense to us.
Also, I believe his ROM is still incomplete. There are lots instructions left incomplete in his registers, and buggy too. For instance: After every sleep cycle he looks at me as though I am a stranger - and not to forget that it happens every 2hrs. I believe this should be fixed in the next patch as high priority rather than waiting for a next release.
Awaiting your road map for patches and instruction manual.
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