'WE' Time

Vaibhav has stopped taking the school bus! With our impending move and wanting to give him an extra 15 minutes of precious sleep, we decided to walk him to school and back.

Frankly, I had dreaded this arrangement. This way, I cant just give him a sleepy goodbye kiss and plonk right back in bed. What will we do if it rains just during drop-off time? And in Singapore that's very likely to happen!! Will I be able to arrange my meetings and work commitments to be at school at exactly the same time everyday?

Its been a month. And I'm glad, so glad that we decided to do it this way.Somedays the Dad drops him off but on most days its my duty as the Dad is busy fighting jetlag the days he's here in Singapore! I never thought I'd say this, but I actually look forward to the early morning brisk walks.I even enjoy the sweaty trips back home after school. I love the look on his face when our eyes meet after I've spotted him amongst the sea of similar looking boys in uniforms spilling out of their classrooms. During the morning drop, Vaibhav and I sometimes talk and other times just walk hand in hand in companiable silence,watching the day unfurl. On the way back home, he will tell me random bits from his schoolday or just thoughts hanging in his little head. Somedays it could be something as heavy as " Do you think, we'll ever come back to Singapore" and on others it would be on the lines of " Isaac got caught talking during class".

Now, we 've taken it one level further. We've blocked Tuesday afternoons after school just for ourselves. Its a date! I quickly finish up work and buy a take away lunch(usually one of our favourite local foods) that Vaibhav and I will share sitting in his school canteen. After an icecream, we'll head to the school's fantastic library and spend an uninterrupted hour of reading to each other.

Well, I dont get my extra 15 mins of lounging in bed anymore. And yes, it has rained many a time during pick-up hour. I'd quite forgotten the thrill of sharing one umbrella and getting completely drenched by speeding cars over puddles. As for managing my schedule, everything now revolves around drop off and pick up times :-)

Thanks, sonny boy! You are great company and I'm enjoying every bit of our WE time!