My moments

I went to pick up Aaru from school the other day. I usually don't go, his nanny mostly picks and drops him.

Each time I go, I wait to see him like a lover waiting for a message from a beloved.

And the moment I see him!! If I say he is the dollop of light which falls in my world each time I see him, it wont be an over-the-top statement

Each time, that moment stands out. His gaze falls on me, and his whole face and body lights up. His body language changes to that of a loved, brat-ish little boy, who knows he is my hero. We both rush to each other.

Its so strange that in that moment, I don't see who brought him to me, I don't acknowledge if anyone is smiling at me, or trying to talk to me. Its just me and him, gleeful in each others presence(just like they show in movies that the whole world is a haze and you only see the one you want to see)

And this happens e.v.e.ry.t.i.m.e I go to his school. My Aha moment.

Isn't this what love is all about or supposed to be? Love means each time you see that person, even if if you stay with him/her, just a brief 2 hours of separation and you are again new to each other. The novelty of seeing each other never fading.

I have found that love in my child.

On another note: I was telling his teachers that he has been extremely cranky off late cos of introducing a new protocol of medicines. Been crying a lot for no reason, so in case this happened with them then they need not be alarmed.

Both his teachers looked at each other and said "Araadhya crying? We have never seen him cry even once! He even fell down and hurt his nose, he just made a sound but no tears! He gets angry and sometimes throws things but never cries."

And I said to myself "after all he is my son" and many men in my life had this issue with me that I never cried, that I was hard-hearted or something? I only cried alone, if I had to. And Aaru cries only when I am around, the one person he is safest with. (Though now after Aaru, I cry easily, as if something broke inside me which I held onto for years)

The first time someone said that to me (that he would like to see me cry just once) , I was reminded of this song by Enrique Iglesias "I dont know why , I dont know why, I love to see you cry"

So what?

My earlier version was so full of "So what?"

Well, I could garner happiness with that 2 words sentence

I was alone for the longest time in my life, and to my loneliness I could say "So what?"
There were happy couples around...but that dint deter me into marriage well past the age

I dint have all the money, I had what kept me happy and content
And to those who said "You can earn much more" I would say "So what?"

It dint matter to me..as I had the deepest sense of my being..
As long as I felt hope, as long as I felt dreams floating around me..I was OK
As long as I felt beautiful..as long as I felt desirable..that's all that mattered

Other things could wait..there was still time for all of it

But now..

I am unable to say "So what?" to anything related to Aaru

When he could not walk till 2..I could not say "So what!" I burnt my ends doing exercises and running to therapies to make him walk
He is 3 and does not speak much..I cant say "So what!" I am scrambling and spending all that I have to get him to talk

That flamboyance of "So what" is gone..that intoxicating carelessness of infinite time is a story of the past

Now I feel I am in a race against time!

On nights like these

On nights like these
When sleep eludes me

Cos Aaru has woken up..with his breathing issues
And after trying to fight his and my sleep

I give in and try to make use of it
I go to the hall and put on TV

And I hear a small squeak from the bedroom, which I hoped so much not to hear
I can not sit in the bedroom and stare vacantly at walls while he sleeps

So all I can do now is take him in my lap, pour out a glass of wine..and watch TV with him sleeping in my lap..as I cant take chances with him..or with myself

Such an odd pair we are..Aaru and I

All alone, yet strong and bellowing

And at this stage all I wish..I wish earnestly as I got to know God would not listen if you just  make a wish mechanically
You got to really ask for it, and mean it

So with all in me, I try to mean what I want

That I meet someone who loves Aaru (not me or my face)..as much or maybe even half of how much I love him and how much love he deserves

That there is someone who is capable enough to help us(not monetarily but in heart and actions, not in words!!!), who would take up some doc appointments while I lie in bed without a worry as I know there is someone else there who worries for him half of as much as I do (that would be enough I tell  you)

That there is someone who would learn how much of each supplements to give him, while I can spend an extra half an hour in bed, after spending sleepless night

Oh God! What I would do to get a person like that in my life....

To be or not to be

Is it possible not to exist for some days, as in choose a day in the week when you dont want to exist

Non-existence- Don't confuse it with being at home and lying around and not doing anything

Its like being wrapped in a vacuum bubble, where nothing changes, nothing in the world, the world thats mine

Aaru and I both, no therapies, no physical tasks, no supplements to worry about
And that day should not count at all in history, its not a day wasted

When the whole day I tire myself with thoughts of what next to do, what next to accomplish and I hit on a spot where I feel numb by the end of the day and just vaguely wonder..if only tomorrow did not come

But tomorow I want to exist, as tomorrow is the day I began my existence :)

Moments of God

Every morning I like to grab all things auspicious

I sit down with my lemon tea and smell it deep...trying to breathe in bits of pleasure

I savor my son's half baked smile..when he is half awake and smiles like a dream
Sleepy yet trying to return my false exuberance

And I sing for him "Say hello to the Sun..shining down on me"

I pay my attention to Ma's chit chat..Ma who has been with me..my only solace and punching box in the last 2 years..

I try to do my part of the work in the morning, trying to keep my heart light
Pumping in energy by trying to steal it from Aaru..No No..not steal, but multiply

Then we all sit down. Aaru eats, Ma feeds and I sit on the side having tea and whatever is left of the morning's beauty

I call these moments of my life now..moments of God..
When s/he is holding me upright to combat the rest of the day

Who knows what the day would bring in?

Start light..star bright

This feeling to be close to nature is coming so strong these days
Don't know, if it has to do with my Aaru?

Its the fact that I want him to witness all things beautiful and grand in this life and universe
....and nature is the grandest of it all..
..the waterfalls, the butterfly-filled garden and most of it...STAR LIT SKY

I keep downloading nursery rhymes for him(I learnt so many cos of him and he is so addicted to me singing it to him) and there is this one which goes
"Star light, star bright,
The first star I see tonight
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Have the wish I wish tonight"

There is this panda opening a window, all big eyed and running out into the field, looking at start, climbing a ladder sky high to touch the stars, meeting birds on the way

I just found it so close to my heart, yet so out of reach..mysterious and shrouded in some memory from another life

I have seen the moon and stars lying on my back on my terrace and sleeping through the night on the terrace
Watching stars, tracing the question mark(constellation) and each time being overwhelmed by a sense of victory on finding it and also marveling at it

I wonder if I could give the same childhood to Aaru..I show him pictures of moon but struggle to show him real moon from the apartment

The nature in its richness and beauty is an answer to so many things, if only I could go close to it and experience the bliss

Rain, stars, sea, the roar..ocean ...beauty beauty beauty in abundance
Every single part of nature, has the capacity to take you away from mundane and the pain

I wish some day..some day soon...I could show the real stars to Aaru..which he so sweetly shows me with his hand movements

The gynae appointment and next few days

After hearing about possibility of 1 in 10 of a child with DS from anamoly scan, I visited my gynae at the fag end of the day

Dont know what I expected, maybe some miraculous wordsm but what she said went in haze for me

She started preaching me on what a child with DS can have a life, and asked if I wished to confirm it

I said what if I wish to have the child any which way?

She said - Then dont get this expensive test done, if your decision is made, go ahead

I came back so quiet, my mother was also quiet. It was just the 2 of us(its mostly just the 2 of us)

When there is too much happening inside you, and noone to actually blame for it, you go in a shell

When we reached home, it was late, and by then I had a plan...I wanted to get a 2nd opinion as anamoly scnas are not a 100% diagnosis. With that in mind, I felt lighter and thought of telling it to the husband

I called him on face time pretty late and told him whatever happened in the scan and that I wanted to get a 2nd opinion.

His exact words said with a very sheepish, guilty face " meri maano to test kara lo, you should learn and read about DS more and understand what a life with such a child can be. You should take an informed decision"

INFORMED DECISION!

When people say such amalagm of words which sound politically right yet dont make any sense, I shut down completely.

What does that mean, that I either abort, or continu pregnancy in distrubed state of mind?? Cos nothing can be done about DS in the womb!

Basically these words were just a disguise to tell me to end it

But I ended the call, telling him that it was a mistake to call him

After that I knew that thic child and my destiny are together. I am the sole person to decide on pregnancy, and also whatever follows after delivery(if the baby has DS). But in none of it, ending the pregnancy was a choice

After that days went in a haze

There is a much proclaimed scan center in bangalore where getting an apoointment is a pain

My borther in law stood in line at 6 Am the next day to get it, I got the appointment on the same day at 1 PM, I took half a day from office and reached the center on my own while my sister and mother came there to join me

I waited in a zoned state and held on to my gut when the doc started it, my husband is in healthcare and somehow got contact of this doctor and the doc already knew me and my trepiditions when I went to him

He vehemently rubbished all the soft markers(be it the nose, or the feet ) which actually came true(yet DS)

I heaved a sigh of relief and went about pregnancy happier.

When Aaru, Araadhya was born and 9.34 AM on a wednesday morning on 30th July 2014, I heard my gynae shout "Its a boy", my husband cut the umbilical chord and brought him to me and one look at his gorgeous face and the all my remaining fears were gone

I kissed his forehead and happiness spread like a drug in my blood

I felt so so so proud

During my 6 hours of recovery, I was dying to go out and see my people. To feel the shared happiness. To live this pride with them

I was restless and called upon nurse so many times to ask when can I be released

One in a million

In my 3 months scan(which is the major milestone scan) I had a chance of 1 in some 1515 to have a child with downs..as they say it

I had no idea what downs meant..in my vague mind I thought it has to do with low placenta and I dint pay much attention to it

In my next 20 weeks anomaly scan, which I took as routine, the lady doctor who was scanning looked concerned..it took her an hour to evaluate and calculate many things and finally she called me in and told me..there are 4 soft markers which have raised your chance of having a child with down syndrome to 1 in 10 ..she looked vicious to me

I stared at her...cos by then I read up on down syndrome and even my then gynae had told me that I needed to get a few tests done(cos of my age) to rule that out..she had warned me about what a life for a child with DS could be so that I could take a smarter decision (and whats that? to end a life which could have brought me so much joy?)

To have conceived was a miracle to me..in all the conditions that this happened so not for a second could I ever think of thinking twice about having this child

I dint know what to tell her..she sensed that and since she and my gynae belonged to the same hospital, she said you should go and talk to her immediately and even spoke to my gynae and asked her to take my appointment immediately inspite of the end of the day

I rushed to the gynae, not knowing what she would tell me..but knowing surely that whatever happens, this child is coming in this world