Rahi.. another year and a year older… 15 years and in 6 months you can plan to get your driver’s license…. That is a big event… I think I got mine when I turned 18…  because back in India it was 18 years to get your driver’s license… That too was for a two wheeler… I think I got my four wheeler license when I was 25… I was married even before that… It is funny when you think about it now… Imagine… I was married before I got a driver’s license… but today is not about me.. it is about you… and this year we have started experiencing the old normal inside new normal…. Meaning after one year of not seeing a smile we all will be seeing faces of others for real… For someone like you whose smile is so beautiful… a mask is such a difficult thing.. but we had to for all our safety… even after it is removed I think we will always carry one with us….

I don’t remember if I wrote anything about the pandemic last year.. but this year let us talk of coming out of it… I think it would be a great idea for you to think about what you learned during this time… Maybe even write about it.. even think about the preparations we all will make… as we step out into the future…. 

You have spent this whole academic year with a mask and in school… you also found your place in the theater with ‘A Wrinkle in Time’ and now ‘You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown‘ I am happy that you got to participate in the plays because it made your getting back to school and that too a new one.. more seamless…. And I do hope you find your long term passion on the stage and can pursue that…

I also hope you understand that we live in a privileged ways when so many people from across the world struggle… If there is one thing we have to always be reminded of is about our privilege…. If we do not recognize that… it becomes a form of dishonesty… It can make us very narrow in our thoughts and outlook… Knowing our privilege is the first step to being considerate…. 

You also started your blogging project.. We started daily and now we do weekly… and last Sunday when I saw you sit and write all by yourself I was so happy… writing makes us think with clarity…. There is so much confusion both outside and inside us… writing helps clear that confusion inside us and that clarity we get in turn helps us cope up with the confusion outside in the world….  I am proud of you and I think you do have a way for writing… keep doing it… it is like meditation… or talking to oneself and exploring the various strain of thoughts out loud…. breaking through the fog…. 

Another thing that comes to my mind…. and I think it will start being very relevant for you because as you grow you will also have to deal with a range of people who all will be solidifying their own view of things.. you will also start having your opinions… You will find yourself in that conflict of thoughts… amongst people you know.. with strangers and even with oneself… I think your writing can help you reflect on your viewpoints of the world around…. make changes.. collaborate.. think both alone and together.. and in the process make things happen….

Make Things Happen.. irrespective of what that is… I think it is time to introduce you to Agile Thinking… the process…. which can help you in the way you shape your interests in the future…..

Today is also International Women’s day and I don’t think I have to say much to you about that.. You had told me you were a feminist when you were 10 years old I guess…. So this is also your fifth year being a feminist….  Be good the same way you are now… grow up with the child in you… there is nothing more important than keeping that child bustling inside you… that child in us is our mirror…. without any inhibitions it will speak to us…. As I write this post… I am also having a conversation with the 15 year old inside me…. And he says… Rahi is way better than what you were… 

Happy Birthday Rahi!!!
Papa 😘❤️😍

Categories: Personal

Tags: Birthday, Happy 15th Birthday