9-May-09 (Created: 9-May-09) | More in 'Shells: My Writes'

Brilliant

No, No, No. No, I don't describe me that way. I am as straight an arrow as there is one in its shape and in its path. Brilliance needs a scheme, and legerdemain that I am not just born with.

But I do admit that I am an easy target as a tested parent. Very suscepting to whining especially when paired with tears that don't seem to stop.

I pick up Narayan and Kavitha between 5 and 6 in the evenings and occasionally there is an errand or two to attend to. That hour of the evening seem to be set aside for unexpected events. Over years I have seen it all. Soiled underwares, pants and even shirts. At times my son seem to be a walking frgrance. When all else seemed normal he would just throw up in the car just in case If I am not paying attention as a parent but wondering how pretty the evening was. And he would be fine as soon as we get home. So I thought the answer is keep a towel in the car. So by that logic half my house is in the car. There is the pillow. there is the blanket. There is a hair brush. A combination of edibles both new and discarded. A fridz in the trunk ....All I need is a self generating nuclear reactor so that I am prepared for all emergencies that seem so routine

JCA is like a guarded and elongated fortress that is built for people with a chip on their forehead so that they can be checked as they move every feet. After going through this maze and emerging with my two kids I must have counted 30 times because Narayan had this incredible urge to pass water. And 5 minutes prior to that while we were in the presence of such a facility he was absolutely certain he was dry as a desert. I surrendered to this argument everytime albeit with clenched teeth.

And we would be visiting publix and in the middle of the aisle he HAD to use the restroom, this time as he describes it with twisting legs that the need is a longer one but he could make it a shorter one. So there isn't a bathroom that we haven't visited in the course of a few years.

Yesterday, we were in Micahels. It is a store no man should enter. We were there for display boards for a project for Kavitha. This is one bathroom that we had never vistited. After many inquiries we found it cornered. No getting away from Narayan. We walk in and there is the sink. Everything in order and clean. We pull the door to the toilet. It is locked. I told him he would need to wait his turn. Well he was not about to. He bent down and saw there was no one in there. We pulled the door again and it was locked. There is no key hole to lock it. As I was wondering to the mystery how on earth it got locked from inside, the 6 year old was already half way through the opening half of him inside and half outside saying he could open it.

I was thinking "ok he had to go, so he is going to head for the toilet". Instead he opens the door from inside and says "oh that is simple to open this door!!". It all happened in a split second.

I was scratching my head "who is brilliant!" who locked the door from inside and gone or Narayan that this seemed routine to walk under and open the door. It just didn't occur to me that was a solution. Well this kid should teach a course on out-of-the-box (or toilet) thinking.

But again if I weren't gullible or not overly impressive father with his son, I suspect the sneaky guy had done this before.