Years ago, back when I was a wee one and my mother worked at an IT firm in Hyderabad, my mother would often have to pick me up from school and take me to her office, where I would spend the remainder of her working hours being endlessly entertained and taught by her many colleagues. One such colleague once discovered a video clip of an animated young girl singing a song. The blue eyed, rosy cheeked girl was dressed is an old-fashioned frock and performed perfect hand actions to match the lyrics,
“You’re my honey bun, sugar plum,
Yum-py yum-py yump!
And you’re my sweetie pie,
You’re my cupcake, gumball, snikoom-spukoom,
You’re the apple of my eye!”
Or something like that. My memory might be a little fuzzy.
Regardless, my mother and I both found the song so adorable, that we soon learnt the lyrics and tune, and would often sing it to each other. It was one of the countless precious gems of my childhood.
Today, as I work in the US and made my daily call to my mother across oceans, continents and time zones, we suddenly remembered this song, and wanted to sing it together once again. But alas! The sheer distance over which we spoke generated a lag in the audio each of us heard, which made it almost impossible to sing together without cutting over each other with jarring timing.
My mother did not instantly realize this, as she broke into song to join me while I sang the song. I flinched on hearing the first out-of-tempo note, but decided to plough through – this was, after all, the best we had!
After we finished, and I reminded my mother of the lag, she said that she did not face any lag at her end at all. Apparently, this only worked one way. The person who joined in on the singing faced no lag at all. Inspired by the thought, she proposed I now join her, so that I could also enjoy the song without any lag.
To an outsider, this may seem like a mundane, or even foolish act. But to us, it was another precious gem. The essence of turning a hindrance into a novel and fun activity is what has defined countless moments in our lives. My mother ensured I never spent a single moment of my childhood unhappy, regardless of what the circumstances around me were. She would always use her ingenuity and endless positivity to make everything a fun activity, or something I could learn from. I couldn’t possibly wish for a happier childhood. I love you Mummy.