We quit the Race

“Get up little sister, the morning is bright. And the birds are all singing, to welcome the light!”

Usually around 7 am on a typical Monday, the first day of school after the weekend, I remember my mother singing this song. It was time to get up and get ready for a long day and week. Good old school days. Fast forward 30 years, I find myself in a similar situation, singing the same song to my daughter, Ira. However, there is a subtle difference in the context. In my time, the birds would chirp in harmony to welcome the dawn, whereas, in Ira's case, the birds sing to brace themselves for the afternoon!

Ira usually gets up at 930 am-10 am. Her morning routine includes breakfast, one session of reading, typing, and maths pre-lunch. During the evening, she engages in outdoor activities, primarily consisting of brisk walking sessions of approximately 4 to 5 kilometers within an hour. This routine has been consistently maintained for several years, barring instances of travel or social engagements. The concept of "brisk walking" has been given importance in our household for a considerable period. It started as a way to help Ira improve her muscle tone, but it turned out to be a total game-changer. Best part? She loves it!

As an individual who has spent the past four decades cultivating a conventional mindset, I believe in the importance of assigning titles and recognition to our interests and talents. If one possesses a talent for drawing, it is only fitting that one should participate in competitions on a global scale. Similarly, if one has a liking for Mathematics and Science, one should strive to enroll in available scholarships, Olympiads, etc. But at my place, this is a recipe with a significant mistake, and one about to cause trouble always! Ira had shown significant improvement in her walking sessions, as a result of her consistent efforts. I immediately sought opportunities to recognize this achievement as per my ingrained instinct. I found myself contemplating, "Why not strive to excel in our leisure activities too?"

Ira participated in 4 marathon running events in 2022, in the 5km category. Completed the races successfully. Lately, as we all know, such events usually start at around 5-6 am, you need to get up by 4-5 am to get ready and reach the venue. The events are characterized by loud music, Zumba warmup dances, super crowded start points, etc. For some, it’s a Sunday adventure, for others picnic with lots of pics and social media updates. There are serious runners too who aim for the podium finish etc, a mixed crowd always. I was of the first two types (adventure and show-off) but also a mother who harbored the desire for my child to peek at the competitive world and get a little more pumped up!

Unfortunately, Ira did not like it. She did not want it. It's hard to convince Ira, a strong-willed child - to do anything she doesn’t like to do. She is always vocal about her likes and dislikes and doesn’t give up when she disagrees with you. Now that I introspect on the 2022 “events’’ Ira’s performance - post event the fatigue crept in, and the sleep and meal cycle were disturbed. Even if her mind and body were trained to walk comfortably and cheerily for 5km in one go (daily in the evenings), she couldn’t do the same during these 5 am extravagant events. Eventually, she put her foot down and refused to “perform” at the running events. Nowhere was she getting any kind of encouragement or enjoyment from the grandiosity! It was a burden for her brain as it needed a full load of processing to perform and compete in the crowded races. We had to take a call on this and stop participating in the events. 

Turns out, not necessarily everybody always will like competing in what they do in their leisure time too! Hobbies are supposed to be something different from routine, they say, ‘’Hobby a day keeps the doldrums away’’! If you are a keen jogger, the next step may not always be to train for a marathon. To date, Ira trains in the evening and her pace is improving every month. Every walk has contributed to improving her balance, posture, flexibility, and coordination. All these benefits are long-term and greater than that one medal from every “forced” race.

While it does pique my curiosity, I wonder if she will continue to find solace in her evening runs as a form of mental and physical therapy in the future, or perhaps she may consider participating in more challenging events such as the Boston-Tokyo marathon! I would want her to read this blog someday as a ‘love note’ from her mother who tried best to understand her(hopefully)!

Prompt of Story #6 – the first day of school, a love note, a recipe with a significant mistake   

Prompt by: Authoropod