Time to thank God ...

... for the innumerable blessings He is so kind to shower us with!

I think back about the times I was so keen to get back to teaching, a profession I pursued for about a year and was and still is extremely close to my heart. We had looked at a couple of daycares for Vansh who would have been 6 months had I started then. I was very bitter and heart broken when I couldn't because of visa issues in the US. Now I can not thank God enough for putting those obstacles in front of me. I wouldn't even have known what all I would have missed. I now know I am not going back to work at least till Jiya starts school. The irresistible physical milestones in the first year, the facinating mental leaps in the second, adding emotional dimensions in the third and there's no looking back after that - the words as they come out of your little one's mouth, the thought process that goes on behind that, God I could think about it the whole day and marvel at the little wonders you so lovingly create!

I think about the times when I was pregnant with Jiya and Vansh was becoming increasingly close to us and we too were getting very attached to him with his increasing displays of love and affection, the hugs, the random kisses; there was a time I worried about not being fair to the second child, not loving him/her enough. Ashwini made me look at it in a very beautiful way and said that there would now be 4 people instead of 3 to love and care for each other. So true indeed!

As I find Vansh and Jiya just looking at each other for minutes on end, I wonder what goes in each's mind - love ? bonding ? affection? awe? Having not had any siblings myself, what I know about the relationshiop they share is from my dad always being extremely caring for all his younger brothers and sisters, even if he is stern on the outside; my mom being very thoughtful towards hers and Ashwini being amazingly affectionate, in a fatherly way towards his younger brother. And one of my foremost dreams for my kids is for them to share a very loving relationship with each other. Even though the first couple of months with Jiya were very tough for all of us , especially for Vansh to adjust to the huge change in his life (and inspite of everyone telling us that everything gets okay with time, it made me very very nervous, probably because I was home with the kids 24 x 7); I now am filled with gratitude for God that the siblings have made a lovely beginning.

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