Trying too hard

 

Mishel Agrawal, AIS Vasundhara 6, X A

I didn’t want to post this, but if it seems like the only way I can get my child to listen to me, sobeit. I could have also made a dancing reel on a trending song, but I was afraid my body wouldn’t allow that. Why? Well, it is too tired by bearing the burden of being the ‘cool’ mom.
I know there are two kinds of moms in the world – cool and uncool, and as much as I have tried to be the former, there is only so much I can take. When I first became a mother, I thought my toughest responsibility would be to ensure that my child grows up healthy, and by the time they turn into a teenager, I could easily relax. Little did my naïve self know!
The struggle has been real. I couldn’t just end up being ‘any’ mom; I had to be a cool one. That is, of course, if I still wanted my child to think I am worthy of being talked to. If you are not cool, how else will you manage to be added to your child’s Facebook friend list or to their Instagram account? Don’t even dream about the Close Friends list if you aren’t extreme-ultra-cool.
All of this is so tiring and I wish I could make my child realise how difficult it has been for me. I deserve an award or at least an appreciation post on your main account (even the private one will do!) for not letting my inner overprotective mother unleash every single time my teenager decides to do something ‘teenagery’. I have tried hard to not yell “yeh sab tumhare phone ki galti hai”, but with you wasting away your youth on it, the pitcher of my patience is bound to overflow. Afterall, I am a cool mom, not a stupid one. But if I say one word, you are onto me with “why can’t you be a cool mom like Rohan’s mother?” “Don’t be such a spoilsport!” Of course, I am the bad guy if I point out Rohan’s qualities over my own child; then I am being ‘unfair’ and ‘uncool’. Trust me, it is so hard to level the playing field that is already tilted against you.
My question is – if you notice the times I am being ‘uncool’, why can’t you appreciate my cool moments? What about when I control my tongue even when dhumtananana is playing in my head because you did something wrong? What about when I see you preferring fashion over common sense in two degree Celsius and fight the urge to talk some sense into you? What about when you demand to have fun two nights in a row? As much as I try to walk the tightrope between being a friend and a parent, I always end up struggling with my balance. For you, I frantically google ‘how to be the coolest mom ever’, but when the answer is ‘let them do whatever they want’, there is only so much I can digest. I mean, haven’t I already given you all the freedom you  need? I can manage with you being free, but it is you testing my limits that I cannot stand.
Honestly, seeing the struggles I have to go through to be a cool mom, I wonder if being an angrezo-ke-zamaane-ka-jailor is better. You might hate me, but I will at least be able to protect you from all your stupidity. #feltangrymightdeletelater

100 words for PJO

Vrinda Rastogi, AIS Noida, Alumna

With gods, monsters, satyrs, nymphs
Percy Jackson’s great journey begins
With Grover and Annabeth’s chase
Returns the bolt that Zeus misplaced

Beware! Kronos has already returned
From the dark pits of the underworld
They set sail to the Sea of Monsters
Bringing the Golden Fleece that caters

Breaking Annabeth and Artemis’ curse
From the weight of the sky altogether
Into the Labyrinth maze, a year later
Only to find Daedalus, the real creator

The final episode of Battle of Manhattan
Against Titans, giants and the Drakons
Son of Poseidon killed the evil Kronos
Allowing peace to prevail once more.