Conversations with Moina

One day when she is lying in her bed and just waking up from her nap… I cuddle up to her and ask, “You are smiling Little Lady. What’s the matter?” She said, “Mumma, I just saw my NICE place, my happy place.” So I asked her to describe me her happy place and here is what she said, “Mumma, in my happy place there is you, Baba, Thamma (Grandmother), Dadu (My dad), Puchun (She lovingly calls my mother that), Mamu (My brother), Mamai (my sister in law), Chikki (my niece and her bestest friend in the whole world) and Mumma my Golden Shoeeeeessssss. The Golden shoes with the golden bow, that one.”

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Another day when we are going through the albums of when we visited Coorg before she was born. She sees the pictures asking every detail and suddenly realised she isn’t there in any of them.

Moina: “Mumma, where am I?”

Me: “You weren’t here then baby.”

Moina: “Where was I?”

Me: “Well, you were still in my heart then (thinking wow what a wise answer)

Moina: “So Mumma, I haven’t been to Coorg yet. Let’s tell Baba that we have to visit Coorg. I haven’t been there yet.”

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So I had started a Hobby class for sometime with my friends and she was a student in it too. It was fun, art, craft, science etc. and she loved every bit if it. We had to wrap it up some months back due to various family commitments in all our families. So one day when we walk past the place where we held the classes, the Little Lady stops short and tugs at my hand.

Moina: “Mumma, you remember we used to do scissors and colours and ooking and fun fun in Rock Pepper Scissors (the name of our hobby class)”.

Me: “yes Shona, I remember.”

Moina: Mumma, we will do again fun fun. Will you be teacher again. Then I can bring my scissors and we can have fun again. Will you teach me Mumma to read, and write, song and poems?”

Me: “Sure I will dear.”

Moina: After another pause, “Mumma, will you be doctor also? Can you be Doctor?”

Me: “No dear, I can’t. I haven’t studied Medicals so I can’t be a Doctor.”

Moina: Now seemingly agitated, ” Why didn’t you study Medicals? You could have become a Doctor Mumma.”

Now I really wish I had.

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She has taken to appreciating the little things in life and I so wish it continues. We make it a point to identify the things around us and say something nice about them and I am glad she is picking that up. So very often this is what she says…

Moina: “Mumma, see the green trees. So beautiful na?!”

Moina: “Mumma, the cow sitting there is so sweet na.”

Moina: “Mumma, the plant there is so small…just like a sweet baby na.”

Moina: “Mumma, the stars are so tiny and cute na.”

Moina: “Mumma, the food is so tasty na…. Mumma, you stitch so well Mumma. …. Papa works so hard na, Mumma…. Mumma, the sky is so beautiful na…. “

So very often her conversations though in Bengali will be interspersed with very positive English words. They are all usually adjectives… Beautiful, Pretty, Cute, Sweet, Tasty, Delicious, Yummy, Sweet etc. She is beginning to understand all things in all their natural beauty and I hope it stays like that. There are many such sweet conversations that go on throughout the day and I can’t believe she is growing up so fast with such a huge comprehension of all things around us. I wish we could go back in time and hold on to her childhood a tad longer. These are memorable moments but they are going too fast too soon.

I just can;t imagine how amazing all these Little people are. They are all so above the worldly things and thoughts that at most times I am left wanting to hear more toddler talk. Absolutely adorable Little People all around us.