Week 4- A Family Member

52 weeks of Gratitude .. Week 4 Says the title is “A FAMILY MEMBER”

From the previous post it is fairly obvious that I am a family man sort of person , who believes a lot in family as a whole, and to pick one family member is a bit difficult for me , as whatever I am , who I am has all been because of the constant hard work done by a lot of family members.

I can definitely not choose between my Father and Mother , well they are the reason I am here :), had they not been together and done what they needed to do I would not be here writing this post.. So good or bad, HERE I AM 🙂 Which reminds me of a famous saying

“Anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a daddy.”

I wrote an article a few years back on fathers day, When I was growing up I am sure I missed a lot of chances to tell my parents that I love the,, Rather being a typical kid I don’t think I ever said to them.

I am not sure why we, especially the kids from my generation never were so close to their Father, It was always the mother one was close to, although ways are changing fathers are spending more time with kids, getting to know them. We even have a organisation called justice for Father’s, because I feel even the law has been biased towards the mother all these years, during a separation or a divorce it was an obvious choice for the kids to be handed over to a mother. Anyway that is a different topic to talk about.

Coming back to the topic on hand, Gratitude,I am so very thankful to my parents for doing their best always to make sure I am provided for, I have studied in one of the best schools in india in those days, which was not very cheap. The tuition fees , hostel fees amounted to a lot of money, The school sent bills every 3 or 4 months, it was paid right on time every time, I had never seen my parents say anything about it ever, I mean I get bills now sometimes for the house Electricity or gas bills , many a times the thought comes to mind that if only it came next month, I would be better off. But I don’t think I ever saw it on my parents.

There is another thing I want to say here, this might be a SHOW off statement too, But my father was a Govt. official and in a position where a lot of money was involved, I know every child will probably say that about his parents but I am sure my father earned his money the hard way, reminded me the day he got retired, there was a party organised. The amount of people that came and even today when I go to India I meet so many people who remember him .

Mom on other hand was a typical Punjabi woman who got married when she was just 17, I am also sure she did not have a choice who to marry , it was probably the same as is for every other woman, her dad found the man she was to marry and from a village she came to a city. Where she lived her life as a house wife.

When things were hard for the parents after the Step family split and my father left everything to his step family, I was only 7 or 8 , remember clearly those times, starting afresh and just one person doing a job, I bet the lure to earn money would have been so much at that time but I am glad he remained true to his principles, Mom started helping by Knitting, she started this little school where she taught a couple of ladies how to Knit, the little tuition money helped a lot . Slowly things started to work out , we had moved into a one room house, it was the four of us Also in those days My mother’s younger sister was doing her degree in Chandigarh , she use to stay with us, so it was a lot of people in a little place.

Dad started to build an extra rooms in the part of property that we had, and in probably a year or so we had a three bedroom house which was big enough for us all. I am not sure what to write or continue writing there are so many things ..

All I can say is I am proud to have the parents I have, I hope they are proud of me. I just pray to god that he gives me the strength to not do anything that would hurt their sentiments.

Thursday Challenge (49) :-“MANY”

Thursday Challenge : “MANY” (People, Crowds, Lots of anything,…)
Sorry I am one day late..

Mode of Currency

The above picture is of currency used many many years ago in our nation, I found these coins from a very very old trunk that belonged to my GREAT-GREAT Grandmother.. so that is 5th Generation old.. Me – My mother- My Grand Father – His Father – And Great Grand Fathers Mother.. That is a LOT of years tooo .. There were so many coins I have pics of them maybe I should take them to a Auction house and who knows I might be sitting on Millions 🙂

The Next Two pics are of mine as you can see .. but my question is .. Can you guess why I have put them in this post .. Many of ____________ ? 🙂

That use to be me in the good old days.. when I was a young man .. and that was my room 🙂

Child Sexual Abuse Awareness Month

Child Abuse – Signs and Symptoms

Child abuse is any form of physical, emotional or sexual mistreatment or lack of care that leads to injury or harm.

It commonly occurs within a relationship of trust or responsibility and is an abuse of power or a breach of trust. Abuse can happen to a child regardless of their age, gender, race or ability. Abusers can be adults (male or female) and other young people, and are usually known to and trusted by the child and family

Although these signs do not necessarily indicate that a child has been abused, they may help adults recognise that something is wrong. The possibility of abuse should be investigated if a child shows a number of these symptoms, or any of them to a marked degree:

Sexual Abuse

• Being overly affectionate or knowledgeable in a sexual way inappropriate to the child’s age
• Medical problems such as chronic itching, pain in the genitals, venereal diseases
• Other extreme reactions, such as depression, self-mutilation, suicide attempts, running away, overdoses, anorexia
• Personality changes such as becoming insecure or clinging
• Regressing to younger behaviour patterns such as thumb sucking or bringing out discarded cuddly toys
• Sudden loss of appetite or compulsive eating
• Being isolated or withdrawn
• Inability to concentrate
• Lack of trust or fear of someone they know well, such as not wanting to be alone with a babysitter or child minder
• Starting to wet again, day or night/nightmares
• Become worried about clothing being removed
• Suddenly drawing sexually explicit pictures
• Trying to be ‘ultra-good’ or perfect; overreacting to criticism

A child may be subjected to a combination of different kinds of abuse.
It is also possible that a child may show no outward signs and hide what is happening from everyone

Sexual development progresses through a number of different phases:

• infancy
• young school age
• pre-adolescence
• adolescence

Each stage has behaviours which are considered ‘age-appropriate’., although it is also normal to a see a child exhibiting behaviour from the age group immediately above or below them.

If a child has learning difficulties or behavioural difficulties, it is important to consider their developmental stage.

Many adults are uncomfortable when they see children displaying sexual behaviour. Our judgements are affected by age, gender, personal experiences, cultural background, religious beliefs and profession.

It is normal for children of all ages to play and experiment and be curious about their own and each other’s bodies.

Ask yourself the Following questions

1.    Does the child seem ‘normal’ for their age?
2.   Do they seem emotionally or socially withdrawn?
3.   Are they unusually aggressive?
4.   Does the child seem dirty or smelly?
5.   Are they bruised or cut in any way?
6.   Is the child left at home by themselves?
7.   Are they left out late at night?
8.   Is their home clean and tidy?
9.   Does the child spend time with their family?
10. Do they seem to have a good relationship?

And Talk to your Kids… Always

Your child might not be abused but they might have Seen something happen to some other child, Talking is the best and most powerful tool we have.  Understand this that Sometimes children do not realise that certain behaviour is OK in private but not in public. Or they do not realise that their behaviour is upsetting or harming other children.  They may be uncomfortable talking about sexual issues and may also be worried they are in trouble so your tone and manner are very important. Or you might see this happening to other kids in your locality SPEAK UP.