Parents Wala Love

February is a funny month. Smallest of all and spoilt with love.

This is the month of the year when we fill bunch of balloons with much warmth, tie them with love, let the string of relationship hanging beneath and release the balloon high in the sky.

We bring everyone to our backyard, pointing the balloon waving high and tell them.. see “love is in the air” !

A month before, that same love was hanging in the lampshade in our living room. A month later it may again finds it way decorating the dining table. But, February is the month when love between each other, takes a narrow lane and ran in the field to participate in collaborative love display to be visible to the outer world.

There is this lady who was excited enough to participate in the world love marathon few years back. She used to love it when bunch of red roses used to arrive at her doorstep on that specified day of February… but then, she loved it even more when the same bunch appeared for no reasons on May. Then on June and July. February since that year seems an obligatory month to her. She knew him well by December to know that obligation.

She married that guy few Februaries later, in month of November. They had a baby in September two years later.

The following 14th February was very important to them; it was the vaccination date for their kid.

The whole day they played the parent-parent game perfectly well. Hugging and kissing the kid now and then. In between that, the kid often slipped out and they stood facing each other with about to kiss lips.

Later that night she asked him “You didn’t wish me today?”. He was unsure of the emotion to portray. No, he didn’t forget. To him it didn’t matter. He was afraid though; what-if the lady is anticipating some celebrations? What if it matters to her?

The lady (with a sarcastic smile) knew what is going on in his head. That was her intention when she started this game. That was the reason why she asked that question. She wanted to see that glimpse of confusion.

That confusion was love. Not an obligatory one, though. Love out of fear. Love surviving in folds of parenthood.

Love that had two to start and three to sustain.

Love that had survived the stinking phase of dirty diapers. Love that has taken turns to put the baby in sleep. Love that smelled like baby powder. Love that always looked like cartoon faces.

February there after never popped out of the calendar. It stayed where it belonged to, with several other months.

Having kid helped them to release the obligation. They found it quite okay not to let the balloons free in the air. Rather tie it close to their baby’s cot. Being uncool was perfectly okay for them while basking in the glory of parenthood.

.. and February, it continued to be a funny month.

Amrita Thavrani is a mother to a two year old daughter. She writes children stories at thestoryhook.blogspot.com. Say hello to her while strolling at the tweet street @TheSeeSawMother.