Flying High in the Superman Socks

 

 

Looking at the sobbing eyes of her child Mother’s heart melted. Which mother can bear the tears of her child? It is time to take charge…. So Mother put on her cape to set off and straighten some things. After all, isn’t it the job of every concerned, loving mom?

Even before those times of Johnson & Johnson ads moms who invariably vowed to get the best for their child, mothers everywhere shared a similar concept. It is their primary, if not sole, duty and responsibility -  safeguard their brood.

Mother had been a staunch believer of this concept. She had taken it her life mission to protect and preserve, to make sure that no harm will come to her child. So she never let her child play in the sun or in the rain lest it might give a heatstroke or pneumonia. A single cough could give her a panic attack as it might be whooping cough, common cold could turn into meningitis and a soft stool could be cholera. For an ordinary flu she consulted half a dozen of doctors so that they could arrive at her diagnosis. She never left the child out of her sight and if she had to be away she had hired a full time maid to be the daughter’s shadow.

Mother decided to ring up the teacher who had unjustly accused her daughter of copying and lying and give her a piece of her mind. Eighties were the times when landline phones were still in vogue and mobile phones were unheard of to average Indians.

The call was answered by the warden in charge and the teacher was promptly sent for. Because of the changing times the school had many day scholars and the daughter was one. However a vast majority of its students as well as many teachers stayed in the boarding. The teacher was among them.

While keeping the phone on hold Mother thought how she should confront the teacher who had falsely accused the child of cheating and lying. She believed otherwise. She had solid proof that her daughter was innocent. Mother had great opinion about her daughter’s character on the particular issue concerned.

Minutes passed and finally the teacher was on the other end of the phone. Mother directly came to the point. She told how the child had come back from school the other day jubilant about her creative writing and how she will be applauded by the teacher and the class the next day for her efforts. Mother had offered her help to polish the work; but the child promptly refused, she added.

The teacher’s version of things were slightly different. She had been teaching the daughter for almost a year now and knew her capabilities pretty well. She was good with words but being an average student she might be having a personal tutor (in this case Mother) teaching her the lessons in advance. Or else how can she come up with original sentences in class? It was beyond the poor teacher’s intellect to comprehend. So she refused to believe anything the Mother said and the two ladies went on making the P & T Department richer by seconds.

Finally Mother made a killing argument which destroyed the teacher once and for all. A teacher herself Mother had always taken pride in her linguistic abilities. She told that anyone who read the write up can easily figure out that it’s a kid’s writing. The language, usages and not to mention the numerous spelling errors… it was crude lacking refinement. ‘Do you think my writing will be that amateur?’ she asked. Teacher had to put her guard down. She had no more counters to offer but to come up with a faint argument, ‘The child could have told me that she wrote it. Why did she keep quiet?’ May be all the protests of a nine year old against the accusations charged on her were indistinct for the adults to notice. Presently the teacher had nothing else to say but apologize and that’s what she did. Mother was satisfied.

TAKE A BOW SUPERMOM! TAKE A BOW! There were many times in the past years when the daughter had sincerely wished that Mother had not meddled but this was not one such instance. Words were not enough to thank her mother for the grit she showed in standing up for her child. This was one of the times when a child really needed a grown up to stand by her or him.

As parents one tend to forget that their little bundles of joy are also living, growing beings with their own uniqueness. They need to fall, fail and fight for their place in the Sun. But there are times when they need the scaffold which should be offered at the right time. Confusing! Isn’t it? But then no one told us it will be easy, being a parent…..Then again things don’t come easy to most of us and there lies the beauty!

But for now the supermom rocks! Flying high in her superman socks!