K~ and 'tiny'

K~ with her little sister 'tiny', 2013

K~ has a little sister who is nearly a decade younger, a 'tiny' one indeed. Unluckily for 'tiny', she shall stay tiny for the rest of her life. Luckily for K~, she will always get to play the wiser one.

K~ is the perfect role model for 'tiny' who is in complete awe of everything, both good and bad about her elder sister - the style of walking, the talking, the sleeping posture, badminton, poetry, bathroom singing, miniature modeling, leaving behind an untidy room every morning...so yes, basically everything! This is not to cover up those occasional big fights though.

Recently, we asked K~ about what she really thinks about 'tiny'. And this is how she described her -

'Tiny' - the sleeping angel
K~ finds 'tiny' quite tempting when she is asleep. It is hard for her to resist squeezing those plump cheeks and tidying that ruffled hair and pulling away the thumb being sucked in her mouth and tickle her soft toes and open her eyelids forcibly and...

'Tiny' - the walking devil 
Well. It's a different matter when 'tiny' is awake. K~ runs mad after her missing homework copies ravaged with senseless scribbles done by 'tiny' and hides in the bathroom while talking to her friends over the phone. Not to mention the unrewarding task of tutoring and babysitting the thankless little brute. 'Tiny' stalks K~'s friends during the play dates who often have to retreat into one corner of the house, lest they get inevitably sucked into playing with the devil.

And then, K~ has to accompany 'tiny' on tea cup rides at the amusement parks that amuse her no more.

The toughest part is acting 'correct' for the little one 24X7 since K~ is being watched all the time. So, no more cheat meals or lying in front of parents and always leaving behind a licked dinner plate. 

But as the mother, I am not complaining!

Words fail to describe the fulfillment I feel every night during that customary late night visit to their bedroom. Both are fast asleep, often wrapped tightly around each other. The lamp is left on with half-open bedtime stories thrown about carelessly. The eye glasses stick out precariously from their faces. The mosquito net (an unfailing sign of the bengali household) is left hanging on one side with the quilt weighing down on other sides.

As I switch off the lights, remove their glasses and tuck them in their bed, all I can feel is -

Thank God! This'Tiny' is indeed a 'huge' blessing.