And just like that - She is 10!

I wonder if there ever will be a birthday of N's when I won't be beyond exhausted and feel hungover for almost 2 days in a row!!

J has stopped wondering!!!! LOL He just knows.. 😜

This year when I brought up the idea to combat lockdown blues on her birthday, he was instantly on board and i could see relief on his face.. Bas now it will get done and I don't have to do lift my finger from my keyboard was perhaps going on in his mind..  🙄

May began with another lockdown in the city thanks to ever rising covid cases and N started loosing hope that she will be able to have friends over.. but after all she is a child and she stored some hope in the back of her heart..hidden. But later she realized that we are struggling to get appointments for vaccines and till we don't get - we just need to keep behaving like Rapunzel locked up in our homes - being safe! Few days before her birthday I heard her telling her BFF - R - "I don't think I can call u or S (another BFF) for my birthday this year. You see, my grandparents have got their vaccines but my parents haven't been able to. I don't think its safe.!" And like, wise old 80 year old grannies- both girls agreed, consoled each other with few rounds of Roblox and accepted. I was crying in the kitchen. Angry, Sad yet extremely Proud!😢😢😘😍

My mom was witnessing all this frustration and wanted to be a part of doing something special for her milestone birthday. So unlike every year, they hopped on to Amazon.. learnt how to access it....and called N. Asked her what she wanted for her special 2 digit birthday. Her replies made my heart water and eyes like ever flowing rivers. First she said "nani, aapke haath ka khana." then when my parents insisted, she said "boondi laddu when i come there" but they are her nana nani.. won't give up so easily & encouraged her more to open up about what she desires.. finally she said "books" and still they didn't budge. they had already given up on me - long back and even now... so they knew they can't count on my replies. (mine are worse than her) and then N sheepishly came to me to check if its ok to let them know she wanted a Barbie since they were insisting. (she knows how i feel about those dolls) but I said "yes. they are ur grandparents and its ur birthday. u can tell what u want." she reluctantly but joyously selected few on amazon with patient nani and was very happy with her choice. I couldn't hold back my tears 1 min. I wasn't sure I should be more proud or more sad...As Just at 10 she has grown up sooooo much that she is behaving like i used to and still sometimes do. but she is a child and she should be able to tell her nana nani what she would like!!! I just hope for sometime in the near future I can hold on to her innocent childhood a little bit longer... there's a long long life ahead of us to be more matured and understanding!!! 

So, for this special girl it was my ultimate mission in the last 2 weeks to make her birthday so very special that she can reminisce the joys of the day for a long time. So my plan was to get her favorite cake from the local bakery, beautiful dress which makes her look prettier.. and make the whole day exciting and full of adventure for her! Instead of 1 big gift - I thought of giving her 10 hampers! Each hamper would contain 10 of her favorite things! 1 morning I sat and jotted down the things that she would love.. Snacks, Sweets, Drinks, (everything that are rationed in our house cos of extreme salt/sugar) Ice-creams, Stationery, Flowers, Toys, Books, Makeup/Grooming and Heartfelt wishes. Now considering the lockdown, the inventory collection was a big huge task. With multiple edits, many calls, frequent trips on amazon and local open stores, I finally managed to collect all.. With her over observant personality, every trip to collect an amazon parcel from the entry gate - i felt like a smuggler. hehehe.. Used to take the boxes to the car and empty them while ticking off my lists. Couldn't risk bringing them up and she even getting a clue! Yes - you must have guessed by now she loves her surprises as much as she likes giving them to others! But after all she is a spy..(like mother like daughter :-P) so the smuggling continued. Till it was D-Day - 2. Gifts were only brought up in the home to be carefully hidden in a cupboard she doesn't open ever. 

While I did the planning, sneakily doing stuff at home, I delegated tasks to my sisters who are doting maasis and loved to take out time n energy out of their schedules to make something special for her. SO the 10 hampers were to be hidden all over the house for her to play her favorite game of the year - Treasure Hunt. And there had to place clues..as well as riddles for guessing the right present. E Maasi made the whole treasure hunt map and wrote the riddles for her so she can play the game with us on her D-Day. 

V maasi on the other hand had very less time to come out with grooming pointers for a pre-teen. And she did a splendid job. So instead of a story, I put them together like a presentation for N to keep handy whenever she feels she is ready to use them! 

Apart from this, I wanted to make a video for her special day but it was impossible to capture so much in 1 so I ended up making 3 videos! That too with her trying to peak into my laptop every now n then!!! By the end of third I was a pro in Windows Video Editor software and super excited to learn something new :-D Its so humbling how these children just keep teaching us soo many things just by being around us encouraging us to be better versions of ourselves!

D-day -1 was the execution of all planning. All gifts had to be kept in respective hampers and then hidden in their respective places neatly so N wouldn't spot them way before we started playing! When the over excited N finally dozed off to dreamland - J started writing his share of letter and I sneaked out to blow the balloons for decoration, climb the ladder like an excited toddler to fix everything in place.. And then hide the hampers, clues, and coverups. It was super thrilling! And so damn worth every effort. 

On birthday eve - thanks to technology, I n N were online with my mom and sisters while we filled in some blue coloured cheer in the house..

Midnight brought in more energy, squeals of laughter, excitement, calls from BFF and family along with gorging of home made 1 minute cake-in-cup for her. 

Come her birthday morning and she woke up with a startle - super duper excited for her special day to be finally here. The decor made her very happy as it was her favorite shade of blue! And so did the gifts she received from grandparents, maasis and friends. The 10 year old - going on 15 went younger than being 8 and loved the excitement of opening all the wrappers and boxes! 🥰

While J started preparing for the meal of the day & I ironed out some glitches of the beginning of Treasure Hunt, she enjoyed talking to extended family and friends who kept her busy and not letting her peak in the cupboards to keep the game intact. Finally when we finished our traditional bday brunch of poori-aaloo-aamras while watching the videos we got to playing the big game! It was a shocker for her that I had planned it and placed the printed clues in places without she noticing them! LOL But with every hamper opened her excitement grew further and smile grew broader!! After opening allllll hampers  checking out everything and being super happy on getting forbidden things all she wanted to do was share it with her BFF followed by few more rounds of Roblox! 🤣 

When she started reading out the hand-written letters sent with love and affection from all over the world - needless to say I was more emotional than her! But then we had the zoom call for cake cutting right after her virtual music class(which she had a blast in too)... and our home was filled with voices from our loved ones who took time out of their busy schedules and joined us to celebrate our princess' special milestone birthday!! From waking up early to learn to use gadgets for a zoom call, to be 10 year old like her but still being on call with her family - they did it all - for her! 🤩

She felt at the top of the world when everyone wished and said sweet things to her.. She felt like the princess that she is! And for that I am eternally grateful 🙏 I feel so blessed that she is loved by all those who love us and beyond! 

After so many specials - the 1 more highlight was the daddy-special biryani without which birthdays cease to exist for the daddy-daughter duo! 😂After a scrumptious meal, getting 1 more gift of game-money and more rounds of talk n roblox with R, we tried winding up the day by reading the last 2 letters for her.. With emotions flowing freely - and lovingly - we kissed her face full of content, happiness and joy - good night.. Just like every birthday just before she dozed off, she said "this was the best birthday ever!" And I believed her. 😊 Even though we both felt a pinch of sadness that its over - I wanted to close my eyes with happiness & content just like she did. At that time every limb that was crying in pain was satisfied - that it was all worth it. The sleepless nights, multi tasking, sneaking out, double mask for a grocery store visit - Every single thing! 

As parents we want to do so much for our children...say so much to them... teach and learn so much from them... that 1 day is certainly not enough to mark or check off.. But for me and J, this 1 day is almost-enough to celebrate the special person that N has become and it was amazing to share all that with her knowing that she would understand the emotions! I still hate the lockdown, I still hate the situation. But in spite of all that - we are healthy, safe and were able to celebrate a huge milestone with lots of cheer, love and happiness - I don't think I can ask for more! 

Thank You all my lovely friends for all the wishes for N. She is 1 blessed 10 year old!! 🤗