Letting Down

Every morning I drop Anirud at his school before proceeding to work. On our way, we will normally find other children and parents walking along towards the school. As the school nears, Anirud will watch out for any of his friends walking along and (probably) wave at them. Sometimes, we'll wait near our car for his friends to catch up and then they'll walk towards the school, although it will only be few yards from where he gets down.

This morning, as usual I parked the car closer to his school. While I got down and ready to walk, Anirud was still sitting inside looking backwards. I didn't see any of his friends on the way and also that we were running a bit late, so I asked him to hurry up and get down fast. He looked up at me and said, 'Appa, don't tell me to go faster now. Then I will badly let down my friends'.

'Huh? Letting down your friends? Why?'

With tears welling up his eyes, 'If I don't wait for my friends, I will be letting them down pa'.

I managed to convince him that there wasn't any one on the way and he wouldn't be letting down anyone after which he went into the school, quite happily.

Initially when I heard this 'let down' word from him, I thought he is just making something up with no meaning. But, he was clear in his words and he meant what he said. I was surprised by the kind of emotion he was holding. Do children of this age think of these stuff? Or is it just word play? Honestly speaking, I am taken aback.

At School

Last Friday, Anirud went to the Whipsnade Zoo along with his classmates as part of the 'school trip'. The place is a bit familiar to him as we have been there before couple of years ago. He had the additional satisfaction of seeing the tiger, which we weren't able to see last time. When I dropped him off at school in the morning with a small backpack containing lunch, the excitement was in the air. When he got back as a tired boy in the evening, he promptly narrated us about the animals he saw and even wrote down their names in the order in which he saw.

As England played against Slovenia in a do or die match in the football world cup yesterday, his school had arranged for the match to be watched at school premises, for those who wish. When the final whistle was blown, those of us waiting outside could hear a thunderous 'Wwwwheeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyy' celebrating the English win (1-0). Anirud came out grinning telling me the score and the name of the guy (Defoe) who scored the lone goal. Apparently, he had had a great time watching the game with his friends. No wonder he loves the school so much.

Apart from visiting the zoo and watching footy, I have a rough idea of what he is up to at the school. He probably takes off his shirt, gets that inside out, throws it in the mud and jump over it few times before wearing it again. How else could you explain the white polo that looks anything but? I can understand the dirt and the stains outside, but how does that happen inside? Oh yeah, I am sure he removes his socks and wears it again after filling it with sand, as we see lots of sand good enough to build a house. We only hope that the school doesn't charge us for smuggling the sand home.

Star of the Week

Anirud's excitement about Switzerland continued when the school reopened. Seeing the way he had bragged about the trip, his school asked us for some photographs which I put it up on a Powerpoint presentation. That was then shown to other children with a bit of 'expert comments' from the brat, that fetched him the 'Star of the Week' award. In all fairness, it should have been given to me. hmm.. When do schools start to have 'Star Parent of the Week'?

Look at the way the paper has been handled.

Swiss Trip

Our four day vacation to Switzerland was fabulous to say the least. Anirud enjoyed every bit of the vacation, which was all the more satisfying. More than that, we were very pleased that he was very well behaved all through the trip and was never fussy about the food or the long walks. We got him a fridge magnet of a fluttering Swiss flag - as a souvenir for the trip and we do hope that he'll remember this one for a long time.

Although every day was phenomenal, the highlight of the trip was when we got to sit in the VIP seat (the position where the driver of the train normally sits) of the Golden Pass Panaromic train. Anirud was on his own there and we got to sit few seats behind. That seat gave enviable views from the front and after a while, he started chatting with an old couple from Australia. When the trip was over, the old man said 'your son seems to be a boy of information. Seems to know lot of things'. Not sure if that was a compliment or an euphemism for 'ask him to shut up'.

Well... here is a collage of some photos.