5 sentences my toddler says that makes me rethink…

He’s begun to talk more and I have begun to listen more.

My little boy dint talk in sentences till he was 2.5. And why is that a big deal? Because, I, his mom, would fire stories in 3 languages at the age of 1. So, yes we wondered what caught his tongue, but as new-age parents, we went with the flow and gave him his time. Like everything else he took to talking a bit late, but when I hear him speak now I wonder if he was perfecting his sentences, grammar & pronunciation for those extra months! 🙌🏻

And yes, we are now in the phase of non-stop conversations, a large portion of it being questioned, and the rest imaginative answers to those questions. The little talker also comes up with some unique concepts and I just love how he puts his thought into a situation so well. Here’s my memory log of these fun conversations:

So with time, he’s begun to talk more and I have begun to listen more. And here are 5 sentences (sometimes repeated often) that have made me rethink life, relationships, time, and everything. 👇

Amma can you hug me, please?

Ok before you think of the worst, I do hug my baby. A lot. His context in asking me this is usually just before we go to sleep. Sometimes I turn around and stretch and he quickly taps me and asks me to hug him. At face value, this just seems adorable, and the fact that he wants his mom close; but when I start reading into it, I wonder if he feels insecure. I wonder if he thinks I would leave him and go while he is asleep. But I’m glad my boy asks for what he wants and there are no assumptions or room for negotiation here! 🤗

Keep your phone away!

This sentence has been making a comeback more often than I like. Owing to an overlapped work-life situation, I am either answering an email or checking the millionth Slack notification while still finishing a puzzle, building a tower, or painting a picture with Yajur, and I feel I am being efficient, productive, and a good (enough) mom. But no, rightly he doesn’t appreciate my divided attention. And he’s almost telling me to get my act right. Hope my ‘sub-conscious mind that makes me lift my phone on every ding’ also gets the message loud & clear soon. 😌

Can you smile now?

Again, please read the context before you judge me as a grumpy lady. When I am upset I wear a frown and keep it on. And sometimes, I get upset with other people and things too. So Yajur waits for the situation to cool and then walks up to me and cooly asks — Now, can you smile? It’s his way to ensure things are back to normal and I love how he looks forward to that one emotion (a smile) that gives him proof that life is back on track. He has conveyed his message so beautifully right? 🥰

Please play with me.

Not a call for attention (which many a time I also mistake), but this is his way of reminding me that we are all social beings. It’s fun to do our own thing (like me writing this blog), but it’s more fun to do things together! Kids want to play with someone, not because they don’t know how to play alone, its because they have this inherent need to learn & grow (which we don’t do much as adults) and they can do this with others and new perspectives. I can’t deny him that! Every time he asks me this, especially with his ‘Please’ sprinkled with extra love, I stop my work mid-sentence, mid-call, mid-ideation, and jump at my opportunity to learn too. 🤩

Amma, is it night again?

A constant question, that surfaces every evening when the sun goes down. This is Yajur asking me if the day has ended. But when I think more about it, I realize that he has turned one day older and so have I, and makes me go back and check if we lived our day to the fullest. Time goes by really quickly, and even though I show him how the sun is still up in America where many of his family members live, I know that we won’t get back a day that has gone by. So now we make sure that we have smiled and danced our way to the night ritual hoping for a new day and new hope for more beautiful things in store. 😇

Tell me in your comments, if these sentences made you re-think too!

Originally published at https://yajurchronicles.com.