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ONE

Remember when some old relative pinched your cheeks at a wedding and said, "How small you were. Look how big you've gotten!" I always wanted to say, " Well. I can't remain 5 forever! And... You used to be so thin.. look how fat you've gotten." And somehow I look at my almost-a-year-old daughter and seem to want to say just that! "Remember how tiny she was. Look at her now!" Just that it ain't moist eyes that accompany that line but "O my god, please don't put that shoe in your mouth..again..grrrr"

ONE year seems like a long time but time has slipped by so quickly that I can hardly believe I'm a year old in the parenting business (Daddy J: You agree, don't you?!). Life and everything around me has changed such a big deal, that it sometimes feels like some parallel universe...

And here I go again with my "10 Things that have changed...."
1. I have new-found respect for cows... Need I say more.
2. "Serves you right!" takes on new meaning- It's almost always your own mother saying it followed by "Now you know how I felt when you were little.." (there might as well have been some 'evil laughter' background score)
3. Alarm clocks have been locked up or donated or have ended up in the Toy basket or have been engineered into 2 toys...
5. I'm thinking of cooking nutritious food! Ok Wait- First I'm thinking of 'Cooking'. Next I've taken it to a whole different level with the 'nutrition'. Didn't think that day would ever come..Kali yugam pah!
6. Days are groggier than nights- without any partying! And I seem to have missed No.4.
7. Engaging discussions have flipped from politics/Bollywood/economies/gossip to diaper brands/weaning/potty training/birthday parties/Gerber vs. Cerelac...
8. She's beat me at what I thought no one could: her tailoring bills are larger than mine!
9. Curfew time is back (and I thought my parents were strict!).
10. The most consistent I've been on a fitness program ;) Month 6 to Month 12 and counting (Personal trainers could take a lesson or two from her).

In all the craziness, there's a new world that I've been in for these last 12 months that I've enjoyed like nothing else. I only now truly know what 'missing someone' means. I now really believe that a smile can erase a bag full of worries. I now know what I mean to my parents. I now know what 'selfless love' is. I now know that all those soppy movies with the "Amma sentiment' are not complete nonsense. There's a sense of belonging that sweeps within and all over me when she holds on to my T-shirt to fall asleep. She's created bonds between me and the rest of my family in a way that I never imagined I could. When she babbles I hope that she never grows up. When she walks like a little duckling, I wish that she remains a little baby. And then I tell myself- she will always be my 'little' baby!

Congratulations Daddy J. We are turning a year old!

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