Being be-littled.

You don't get an off on Valentine's day. There's no point asking for an off, since it's busy season for hubby anyway. So you come to office, and like all moms working outside their homes, your mind wanders off (yet again) to the strongest link between you and your partner. When they are with you, you have an abnormal craving for some "lone" time. When they are not with you, the cherubic photo on your desk takes your mommy mind back to them.

So as a part of the lunchtime blogging for today, here are ten rules to being "be-littled" ( in similar sense as be-witched maybe??).

1. Bow : You must get down to the size of the "towering" three foot personality in front of you, if you want to reason with them. Being high headed is not acceptable in negotiations.

2. Mind your ears: Train your ears to hear 'What's this?' as a song. In fact, it will most often be uttered twice at the same time, and in a rhythm.

3. Mind your memory: Send your grown up memory for a brisk walk, to return after 3-4 minutes. You must forget where they were hidden a moment before and look desperately for them, at the same time saying "Oh, where's my little girl gone? Mommy cannot find her..........." Repeat this four times, ending with finding them at the same place all five times.

4. Choice: Please note that a "pretty dress" can be requested to be tried at any time, including bed time. Pyjamas don't fit the definition of "pretty dress".

5. Still life?: All objects listen. They must be waved goodbye to.

6.Language: All "Oops!" must be replaced with "Upsy Daisy!".

7. Break? What Break?: Settling down too obviously with a book is prohibited. If you do so, you deserve a summons like "Let's have a picnic." or "Lets play the ABCD."

8. Higher authority: Any raising of voice is likely to be immediately appealed to a higher court. "Daddy's comin" will be the standard wordings of the notice.

9. Never say no: Please remember that any direct refusals to comply are likely to be met with 'bawling'. Bawling is not crying. Crying is shedding tears when you are sad. Bawling is designed to make mommy and daddy feel like crying. Please do not refuse. Re-direct instead.

10. Pardon: Any requests for pardon must be accompanied with the fees of a hug. Incomplete requests are likely to be ignored.

Mommies, more rules in your rule books? Please bring them out. :)

Kuchh Khaas hai, ham sabhi mein......

Preeti's last writing prompt on the final Wishlist Wednesday on her blog justamotheroftwo.blogspot.com immediately took me back to this superb Cadbury's ad of some time ago:

Kuchh khaas hai, ham sabhi mein,
Kuchh baat hai, ham sabhi mein,
Baat hai, khaas hai, kya swaad hai..... kya swaad hai, zindagi mein.

All of us have something which other people would like to have. All of us at some or other time in our lives, become someone other people would like to be - for however short a period of time. So also, everyone around us would have some good quality, which we might like to acquire. And the good thing is, you can acquire these without depriving them of it :)

So to answer the prompt,

I wish I could be like my Mom, when it comes to not wasting even a little bit of food by efficiently using it in some or other way before it spoils. She can conjure up incredibly tasty dishes by using left over bits, before it is spoiled.

I wish I could be like my Dad, when it comes to business acumen. To bring a business from a small home office to the level it is now, he must be knowing the inside out of it.

I wish I could be like my Husband, when it comes to patience and stability in dealing with circumstances. He is a perfect example of 'If you can keep your head when all about you, are losing theirs and blaming it on you'. (Please see the poem 'If' by Rudyard Kipling)

I wish I could be like my Mother in Law, when it comes to undivided, absolute dedication towards bringing up children. The manner in which she has brought up her children, despite the family circumstances, is nothing short of exemplary.

I wish I could be like my Daughter, when it comes to curiosity. As I mentioned in a previous post, every alternate sentence of hers is 'What's that'? Wonder why we loose this childlike curiosity when we grow up?

I wish I could be like my Boss, (yes, he too has something good) when it comes to using the perfect language in a negotiation. He can make a point of what he wants, and yet not make the opposite party feel like they have lost something.

And last but not the least, I wish I could continue to be like Me, when it comes to noticing the good qualities in people who surround me :)