The funny connection between parenting and karma

It takes becoming a parent to appreciate your parents.

As for Karma, it is that wicked vicious cycle, that rude awakening that you know has caught up fair and square when you realize that your kids have taken after you.

It is not in my nature to boast, but I have to say that I was a good kid – the boring first-born who ate, slept, studied and played at the same time every day, lent a helping hand and shared every chocolate with my little brother, but like all humans I had my share of foibles, that for some unfathomable reason appeared absolutely fine to me then and horribly irritating to my parents, but today appears horribly irritating to me and fine to the child in question.

While we are at the topic of the child, I have two, Sid is a Gen Z teen and Little Princess, who made a screaming entry into our fully-digitalized world a couple of years after Apple launched its first iPad. The only difference between the both of them is that the new teen lately has got to think that he knows it all but the latter has always been sure she knows it all.

Recently the teen in the house - who lately despises advise given sweetly or naggingly, was explained the importance of eating his meals on time, sweetly the first time and naggingly after he was seen to be consistently returning full boxes home from school irritated, hungry but with creative excuses, all I got was a cool and defiant look in response. A response that said or explained nothing other than silence, however, this was not the silence of acceptance but that of silent defiance. It pushed my nagging into irritation but I didn’t have anything to say because I knew that look, I understood that silence best as that had been the typical response of the younger me to something that I wasn’t in agreement to but was not exactly willing to waste time arguing over. Karma at its best!

Then there are the other everyday nuisances with the drama queen of the house who can make every simple event happening around her into a terribly huge, cataclysmic event. Now, that is genetic and not from me, but from the side of the other parent in this house. It is indeed ironic that the very person who is known to do this is seen irritated watching the drama that ensues in the journey between one of us accidently breaking a few bricks of her LEGO creation to sticking it back into place. And I must confess that my better’s half’s irritation gives me a sense of warmth and the wicked reassurance that Karma can be fair-ly good too!

When she was told by her father to put her device away for the day and pick up a book instead, she managed to pull about twenty expressions of disagreement and disappointment in about five minutes and then was sound asleep two minutes after she opened the book that she had pretended to read. The husband could do nothing but stare in shocking wonder at witnessing an event that he is often known to do.

And then one day as my brother and I were trying to explain over a video call to our parents the need to put their phone away before bed time, I did not notice two pairs of ears picking on our every word. On the other side of the phone call, my children teamed up and Little Princess explained, “You too must stop using the phone before bed time, you will not get bad dreams or hurt your brain or eyes.” Sid stood silent wearing his cheekiest smile. It hit me that the speed of cosmic justice had acquired 5G speed. This was adorable, funny and absolutely Karma!

— Pranitha Menon is a freelance writer based in Dubai. Twitter: @MenonPranitha