2008 Update

The year 2008 has been memorable for me in many ways. It has been proved to be a breakthrough year in controlling Prem’s asthma. I would like to hope and think that he is cured of it too. For last 3 years, Prem has been having asthma episodes almost once a month. Whenever he has runny nose, we were told to give him steroid (Pulmicort) for three days. We have nebulizer at home. Last time he had an episode was in June this year, when we were unable to control it at home. ER visits did not help much either, as Doctor said that keep doing what you have been doing, and it has been taking longer for him to come out of the episodes.

We have been looking for alternatives to western medicines for some time by now. Finally, it clicked. He had no more episodes, and mainly it is because we just did some simple diet changes and adopted some breathing techniques & natural cures to take care of his triggers. Yes, he has been drug free and I am not that anxious around him anymore. It is showing up in his overall growth.

I always want to be a role model for Prem, and after his birth, whenever I am in a fix or feel lazy, I would think what I would want my son to do in this situation. And I thought I had been keeping up very well in this regard, but alas, I soon realized why it was said that ‘Child is a father of the man.’

At the start of this year, Prem hardly could do the monkey bar. I wanted to encourage him, not by just empty words. So I tried doing it, and failed miserably. I rationalized that there are other areas I could still be role model. Well, one day in November we went to the Murphy Park, and he showed me that he could do all the three bars, continuously, forever. I tried it, and failed again, in spite of his courageous words, ‘Practice papa practice, you will get better. Do your best’. The kid is growing up too fast. After two weeks, I was able to do the monkey bar. And now he is encouraging Promila.

We have been reading to Prem since forever. Now this year, back in February, he could hardly read alphabets or write anything. When we put him in preschool, we were apprehensive and were thinking to keep him at home for another year. However, with Promila’s constant presence in school and help at home, he has been able to catch with rest of the class, and doing really well in Kindergarten. He is doing very well on reading chapter books, writing, dictation and Mathematics. However, given the choice between school and home, Prem is still a mama’s boy.

Promila has been more regular in teaching at Milpitas Adult Ed this year, however, her primary focus is still Prem. She even joined Karate class with Prem, and I can not forget the first time they came back from the class, looking all cute in white dress, he showed me the punch, his hands could only reach below my belly, and I was doubling over on the carpet next moment, not even able to scream. Both found it funny. They were again together in swimming class, but not in Lego, music and dance classes. Promila’s cooking has been great as ever. Apart from adding healthy contents like Flax, she has involved Prem in cooking. I do not think I could ever do that. Prem has been a regular helper in making dough, rolling puris and cooking ginger bread men. He looks forward to cooking. For Christmas they made Ginger Bread tree.

I was able to meet two of my classmates, Jit and Pankaj, during these trips and had a great fun with Deepak, Rajesh, Maria and Baskar’s families. With lot of activities for kids, and camp fire at night, these were memorable trips. Promila’s parents visited again this year and Prem was able to spend some time with them. We had a marathon of theme parks this year in Southern California, and enjoyed Disneyland, California adventure, Universal Studio, Sea World and Animal Safari.

Another new thing I learnt this year, apart from monkey bars, was juggling balls, and I was very proud of it. I also tried finger whistling, I can do it 50 % of time. Besides playing tennis and some times working out at gym, this year, with the help of Paul, I was able to start hiking every week, sometimes more. I never knew, hiking in Bay Area, with lot of trails like, Mission peak, Alum Rock, Almaden Quicksilver Park and Henry W Coe State Park, could be so enjoyable.

For a small video highlighting the year, visit
http://www.motionbox.com/videos/0a9ddfb61b1de3c587

Happy holidays and we wish you a happy, healthy and peaceful New Year 2009, filled with laughter and joy.

with love (Prem)
Promila - Maneesh
"People do not grow old, they become old when they stop growing."