Mum146;s the word

It is many years since I left school. I still try to keep pace with the new words and phrases. Even though I know I8217;m lagging behind, I...

It is many years since I left school. I still try to keep pace with the new words and phrases. Even though I know I8217;m lagging behind, I try. But one particular phrase, 8216;8216;Mum8217;s the word8217;8217;, has bothered me.

The meaning seems so simple but it is more complex than it seems. I8217;m sure many mothers will vouch for it. It was interpreted with much ease when my children were toddlers. Mum8217;s the word was the ultimate for my children. And it continued to be so for many years. When my little ones uttered that magic word 8216;8216;mama8217;8217; for the very first time, there was no hiding the joy mum felt within her heart. But with time mum ceased to be the ultimate word. It was invoked less frequently and as the years rolled by, this phrase took on a new meaning.

When I chided my seventeen year old for his very funny haircut, loose pants almost falling off the hips, unshaven face and the so-called cool walk or my teenaged daughter for her vague sense of dressing, the atrocious collection of music and the slang language, it didn8217;t make a difference. They were just being cool and it was the 8216;8216;in thing8217;8217; to dress like jokers and speak like them. I had to keep quiet. 8216;8216;Mum8217;s the word8217;8217;. We are no babies. Leave us alone. My status took a tumble.

I have been asked to do the unthinkable many a times, keep mum, the most difficult thing to ask of a mother of teenage kids. When the music is over loud, when the taste buds change from good nutritious food to junk food, when precious hours are wasted in front of the television set and on computer games, when the grades are not too good at times, when the room looks like a thief has just broken into it, these are times mummy8217;s blood pressure must be on the rise, you want to scream out loud. Patience, darling mum. You know the answer 8212; 8216;8216;mum8217;s the word8217;8217;.

At times I wonder if I have erred in any way or is something wrong with the system, or am I paying for some past sins in my life. Don8217;t worry, they say, it is just a passing phase. But how many more years do I have to wait for this phase to end? I hope not for long. Or else I might turn bald, pulling my hair in sheer frustration.

I sometimes wish kids grew two years at a time in their teens. How much easier it would be for us mothers. So many less years to fret about. But as the saying goes, there is light at the end of every tunnel. I8217;m sure I8217;ll see my light very soon.

They are not so bad, after all. There was a time when I used to call my son 8216;8216;my first born miracle8217;8217; and my daughter 8216;8216;my kohinoor diamond8217;8217;. I hope they give me a chance to do so again soon. Else, I have reserved a place for myself somewhere near the Himalayas. Far from the teenaged crowd!