Almost!

Of late, Abhay’s favorite word has been “almost”. "Abhay, have you finished your food? -‘Almost’; "Are you done with your coloring?-Almost"; "Did you get dressed yet?-Almost", "Are you done with your potty?-Almost" ( as embarrassing as it sounds , this is really true!)

Of course, he is not the only one to use that deceptive term! For me, it’s a convenient way to let him know that he’s not there yet. For instance, as many kids in his class celebrate their fifth birthday, Abhay wonders when his turn is. "September is almost here" I say(Seriously, is it?)

How long do I have to wait before I rip open the packet of biscuits we just put on our cart? – Im almost done shopping, we'll get to the check out counter soon" I say (When I have the whole list of things to buy)

Have we reached the children’s museum?- "We’re almost there" I say (even though there’s half an hour more to go)

How long do we have to stay here at the Doctor’s clinic?- We’re almost done", I say (When there is still one more shot left!). No wonder he feels ‘almost’ cheated to spring the same on me!:-)

So today I tried to unravel the real meaning by reading “Almost” by Richard Torrey. This is a story of Jack who’s almost six and almost a grown up! Jack almost fits into his big brother’s football jersey and almost rides a big bike; Almost but not quite the best player in his baseball team; We see Jack shivering in his pants spotting his dog’s shadow when he says he’s almost never scared at night; Jack claims to almost never cry as he is seen wailing like a baby after a skateboarding accident. So as his mommy nurses his injured knee, Jack is thankful about being ‘almost’ and not yet a grown-up! Abhay smiles at the picture on the last page – as he is almost always ready for a hug from mommy!