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Letter to my daughter

Hello dear,
Its been a long time since the last email! I can assure you, you are doing fantastic! 

As I write this email, its Saturday morning 9 am and you have woken up and gone back to bed and woken up again 😊. Since you started school at Delhi Public School (DPS), all of us have suddenly been jolted into a strict regime in the morning. I and Viju amma wake up at 6:30am. Then Viju amma gets the arguably tougher task of waking you up gently with all possible incentives and conversations that may evoke your response in your half sleep state and get you to brush and take bath and put on the school uniform. While at that time, I am down in the kitchen setting up your lunch box and breakfast with help from Savitri amma. It all works like clock work! You come down dressed by 7:20am, 10 mins before your school bus’s scheduled arrival. While Viju amma feeds you breakfast, which is usually dosa and honey, I get your red socks and black shoes and sit under the dinning table and squeak out a “hi” from underneath the table. You smile and stretch your legs out, which get a quick foot massage and then goes the red socks and the shoes. Next, its time for us to put the school ID card around your neck ... wait there’s a ceremony to that too 😊. The ID card has a neck loop and we make it look like its a medal being given out and announce “and the first prize goes to..” .. there is a bright smile on your face and expectation that it will be you, but just then it seems like Viju amma is going to get it, but it gets stuck on her head and can’t seem to wear it .. from the corner of my eyes I see a growing excitement on your face which turns to a wide radiant smile when I finally put it around your neck. Well now you are all set! 

But wait, the bus! Viju amma checks the DPS app on the phone to precisely tell where the bus is and we bolt out the door saying bye and “hoogi bartheeni” to Savitri amma and appa and sometimes Dadda. It is a small walk to the bus, but you insist on being carried and we oblige as we know you invariably plant a sweet kiss on our cheek while we carry you 😊. While waiting for the bus, you seem to get chattier than usual and seem to have an opinion on a lot of things like how Boost that we mix in your milk has chemicals and so on. The bus is usually on time and I lift you with both hands and place you on the second step as the aaya throws open the bus door. The aaya leads you to your seat in the bus with the bag near your feet and by the time you look out to catch a glimpse of us, we are eagerly looking through the windows from outside as the bus drives along ... all the while wishing we had more time to talk about the chemicals in Boost!

Until next time, have a good one dear,

Appaji/Viju amma

Written on 10th November 2017

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