Growing Big!!

My son doesn’t really like growing up!! For him, growing up means having to eat by himself, sleep all alone in his own room, being transferred to the BIG kids’ class with Ms. XXX who is not into hugs or calling him “ Sweetie” or “Honey”!! Of course….growing up also means he’s tall enough for some thrill rides at Disney or he can go swimming with other kids or that the older boys consider him a part of their gang in school. But what trumps it all is that his favorite red T-shirt doesn’t fit him anymore. He fails to understand why……and is honestly sick of my standard answer….you’re too big for it!!! It feels like dejavu for me as I remember holding on to my favorite pink and white frock that an uncle got me from Japan! It’s something more than not fitting into a piece of clothing…. a sudden realization that things may not be the same again….. the end of a chapter and a beginning of another. I feel helpless as I see him wanting the best of both …..toddlerhood and the preschool years!!

To make Abhay feel better and let him know that he’s not alone in his woe, I read “Ernest, the Moose who doesn’t fit” by Cathrine Rayner. This is a story about Ernest, a moose who is so large that he can't fit inside the book. Being a determined one, he tries to squeeze, shift and shuffle himself forward and backward, but remains unsuccessful. Luckily his little friend hits upon a big idea and they together team up to fit him perfectly into the book!

I found another book that addresses the exact same issue titled “Too Big” by Ingri &Edgar Parin d’Aulaire. The boy in the book seems to have the same problem as my son….he is simply too big to do the things he wants to do….too big to get into his little pants, too big for his little shoes, too big to ride on his little dog! He discovers that he cannot ride the horse too not because he’s too big but because the horse was too big. Hardly discouraged, he vows to grow bigger and bigger and when he's all grown up…..he dreams of riding an elephant. All I can say to my son is……you may be too big for some things…..but never too big to dream big!!!