Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Ammamma gooooooooooone............

My Mom went back to Kerala today.

She was with me for nearly 3 weeks- the longest she's ever been away from her home after Dad passed away. She came with my nephew and my son has been having a rollicking time these 2-3 weeks. My sis and bil also landed up on Fri and we went to Tirupati on the weekend, by car.

So you see, Sonny boy has been having at least 2 people fussing around him the whole of the last 10 days, if not all of us, as he really is at that very cute stage when everything he says /does is cause for comment and merriment.

And then today morn when he woke up, all of them had vanished.

They left by 6.30; one reason was that since they were driving down they had to leave early, another was that Sonny boy would be sleeping then, and so he could be spared some early morning heartbreak.

But heartbreak is heartbreak and silence is deeper than words, truly.

Sonny boy woke up, found the house unnaturally quiet and bereft of all the people that had filled it the last few days. And he said nothing. No queries, no seeking, nothing. Not a single question about where the 4 people who had surrounded him with love and laughter had disappeared to. He just stuck close by me while I fiddled about in the kitchen. He came quietly to brush his teeth. And went to do potty even before drinking his milk. Finally while doing potty, he called me to the door of the bathroom and asked me to stay there and said- I love Amma, I love Achcha, I love Muniyamma (she's our new maid). Still, significantly, absolutely no mention of his beloved Ammamma, his cousin, his aunt, his uncle..

My heart went out to Sonny boy as I could see that he was so clearly distraught by the fact that all of them had just vanished. But I had to get him to talk about it, for Hubs and I would also have to leave in another hour for work...

So I cautiously started after I had given him his bath-
"Sweetie, Ammamma had to go home..."
Two big eyes looked up at me and slowly started filling up- "where gone Ammamma?"
"Ammamma went to her house because Trinity (our dog at Kerala) is not feeling well, and so Moothamm and Moothach took her with them.."
At that the dam broke,

The tears rolled down his cheeks. Evvybuddy gone... Ammamma gone, Chaith gone, Mooth gone, Car gone, onny Agashya not gone.

And I engulfed my son in my arms as the tears poured copiously down his little face. I was not far from tears myself....

10 comments:

WhatsInAName said...

hmmm. Its tough, isnt it? I have never been in such a situation since I always had my inlaws around. But yes, whenever someone came by and left, they leave a void which takes days to fill. Its like back to routine which is most hurting!
Agastya's loneliness is understandable. Sigh!
There is a way out. You can plan a second one soon :)

Just Like That said...

Hmmm could, but did I mention- 3 year olds can also act as the best, most effective contraceptives ever ;-)
Mine doesn't let my Hubs even put his arms around me now! So your solution to the problem is a little difficult right now, tho' not insurmountable.Lol

Swati said...

Hey ..Good to see your post after so many days. I frequently read your blog and saw no new post recently.
Yes , our kids have to go thru a lot. They do not understand why people come and go. And why they can no longer with the people who love them.
Faced similiar situation recently and have written about the same , some time back.
http://recollectthescattered.blogspot.com/2007/05/how-do-they-know-love.html

Itchingtowrite said...

so sad! kids hate it when guests go back. i remmeber my brother used to howl when he used to come back from school and find that his uncle has gone back home

Swati said...

Hey ..I love reading about Sonny boy and added your link to my blog. Hope you dont mind.

Artnavy said...

the way kids seek loved ones when they leave or when u visist and leave them behind- it tears the heart

Anush says "XYZ illai? gone?" in great disbelief

Sunita Venkatachalam said...

Came here via MadMomma. Another blogger from bangalore. Hey we're thinking of a Bangalore Bloggers meet. Care to join in? Come check my blog !

Just Like That said...

Swati- what do you mean- do I mind??!! I'm delighted that somebody likes jottingsmine enough to read it on a regular basis.

ITW, Art- Truly truly heartbreaking, esp when they are left all alone again with the care giver after all that extra love and affection...

Poppins- hey, I haven't read you, lemme make amends for that first. Would like to to come for the bloggers meet as well, but am relatively new to all this...

Sunita Venkatachalam said...

You're new to me too.. We have a kerala connection ! And plus, I tagged you !! :-)

Sunita said...

ooooh **HUGS** to Agashya. Its heart-breaking to see them break down like that.