If anyone ever asks me if I have seen gods, I would definitely say yes! The two people that have created my universe are the very definition of gods and goddesses. It may sound very strange to hear such things about one's parents at an age interval that I am in. However, I've noticed that sometimes people take too long to express their affection and love for another. This may lead to some misunderstandings but more importantly, there is NO reason to hesitate. Because if we don't live in the present, we can never be grateful enough for what we have and never be in a state to be eager for the tomorrow that is to approach.
Since 1993, my parents have been looking after my brown behind and today I get to thank them for a lot of what they've done through the means of this post. It's obvious that no matter how much I thank them, it'll never be enough. It's like lighting a lamp in front of the Sun! It may sound like an ideal parent to child relationship, and when I sit back and watch the stills of life flip through in my mind.. it IS! When you remember the details, there are arguments, disagreements and some difference of opinions. It's like watching an artist start to paint, when you see the strokes, it may be strange and foreign but when you watch it in the end, its all one piece of beauty.
My parents have come from very interesting backgrounds and have lived a phenomenal life till date. My mother comes from a very rich family and her great grandfather lived beside my father's house when he was a child. They knew each other since they were children but never really talked or interacted. My father came from a family of farmers and a very economically unstable background. His father (my grandfather) had started the revolution in the family by becoming a teacher and his wife joined him as well in the same profession. My father continued the revolution and left for university at an age of 14 years. He lived in a hostel in Bombay and lived off of a couple of bread slices and a cup of tea for food during the weekends when the hostel didn't serve food.
He lived through by tutoring students younger than him and studying for his own exams at the same time. His life wasn't as smooth as mine and he never took any money from his parents after he had moved out. He says, 'it was all a big learning experience'. He got married, finished his education and then got a job to start off the family. My mother is also an amazing personality, I've never met such a tremendous women who can fit the roles of a wife, mother and many more for the society that we live in. She was from a family of rich people in western India but never complained about the economic conditions she faced in the earlier years of their marriage. She always ensured that she respected every elder, every guest and basically every person that came to our house and greeted them with whatever we had to offer.
After living these years in India, the states and Canada, I've learned a lot about different people and their relationships. If there is one thing that my parents do an excellent job in, its complimenting each other. I don't mean the praises and empty 'love you's but its what they demonstrate. If my mother sits back, my father would lead and then my mother would back him up by helping him make the decision. Along with the other morals like respect and humility, they show that a relationship is supposed to be complimentary and so the man and the woman aren't equal in the same respects at all because they are completely different. So, they aren't supposed to compete but instead overlap their strengths and weaknesses in a way where if one is weak, the other will step up and protect both of them and so when they are together, they are one powerful character!
And I've been a witness of this for the seventeen years that I've lived and who wouldn't want to have a god and goddess as their parents, their mentors, their role models?!
-Jr.Pandya
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