Aashvi turns a fabulous four!!

My dear little munchkin, as you complete another trip around the sun becoming the “big girl” you wanted to be, here’s a little note from your Amma reminiscing and cherishing the best moments from the year that has been! And what a wonderful year it has been – a year of many firsts. Since our move to Canada last year, we have experienced so many different facets of life – first time living abroad, witnessing those enchanting fall colours, first snowfall, first Halloween, the magic of a white Christmas, embracing winter for four months, enjoying the outdoors in summer, our first home and your first school and the first friendships you made, the list goes on! And you, my dear embraced each change in a way that only a child can, by being fully and wholeheartedly in the present moment. 

It's been nothing short of magic to watch you grow into a lovely little girl who can make her way through the crowd, stand up for herself and believe that her voice matters, and she matters. This year has mostly been about learning about you since you developed the skills to precisely articulate what you think, how you feel and how much of your needs are being met. Anybody who knows you well can relate to how you bring a smile on someone’s face! It is indeed adorable to see how you notice subtle changes in my hairstyle someday and make it a point to compliment me, the way you say “you look so smart, Appa”, or compliment your grandmas for the color of their sarees – you make each of our lives so beautiful. 

I’m profoundly grateful for the new best friend I have found in you – to share my feelings, fears, joys and sorrows with you. To have someone who has ready hugs for everyone she connects with, who cares so deeply, who constantly keeps inundating her parents with I love you’s and the competition to see who loves whom the most – is undoubtedly one of the greatest blessings life can offer! 

Some of my best memories with you from this year have been about playing in snow, building a snowman, playing hide n seek within our house knowing fully well that you don’t know what it means to actually ‘hide’, playing in the bathtub, our first cherry picking experience, those countless hours of pretend play, not to forget the messy play, making chapatis and idli with you, baking cakes with you, those days of daycare pickup when you came running to the gate.. the wonderful vacations we experienced together, our first-time camping and sleeping under the stars, and our park outings in summer.  Our painting/coloring sessions with each of us focussing on our own art work is a blissful experience for me. While all of these have been rich experiences, I find it amazing that you can recollect something that happened several months ago and sometimes remind me of events that I have forgotten. 

Amidst all the cacophony of life, I’m so glad that you find joy in the little things in nature. Like when we spot a dandelion while walking along the sidewalk, you slow down, pick it up and experience the joy of holding it, or be it jumping in muddy puddles, or we spot a squirrel / a little sparrow and we take a moment to stay still and observe nature for the beauty it is! I love how you appreciate the splendour of fall colors or the colors on my palette. This, I wish, you never lose. For, the ability to seek joy in the little things is a wonderful gift. 

Of course, you are still a child who’s learning the nuances of feeling her emotions, so tantrums and meltdowns are part of our everyday life. But I believe we have reached a stage of sitting down and having conversations about all your emotions, reflect upon what went wrong – it might as well be mistakes on our part, and make amends by apologizing. You help us grow into better versions of ourselves with each passing day, and for that I’m grateful! I hope you know that we will always be your safe haven, come what may. I hope you continue to be the same goofy, cheerful, considerate, lovely little girl that you are. On this birthday, I wish nothing but the best of health, happiness and joy that life has to offer you!