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August 22, 2007

Terror Thatha.

I have seen my share of grand parents. But no one can come close to my father in the annoyance scale. Oh.My.God. I cant even begin to tell you what I have to put up with, day in and day out. I'm either going to leave Ashu here and escape. Or take Ashu and run away and never ever come back. He always, always keeps an eye on her so I cant even talk to him two sentences straight. He either interrupts to tell something to Ashu or gets up and runs to rescue her from I don't know may be a piece of paper which might fall on her head and hurt her badly. He sleeps when she sleeps. So no time to talk then. He always has her in his mind. Did she drink milk, did she eat, is she sick, is she better,... You begin to tell him some incident and he ll interrupt with a dozen Q's that you will scream your head off and leave the room.

"So dad, today Ashu climbed the stairs and..."

"Did nt u go with her? Why did you let her climb the stairs on her own?"

"Listen dad. when she went up, she saw the rain and..."

"Did she get wet? Why would you let her get drenched in the rain?"

"No dad. Listen please."

"Was the terrace door locked? Did she go out? Did she slip and fall? What was your mother doing?"

*screaming my head off and leaving the room*

If Ashu hits me, he checks her hand for injury.

When she throws a tantrum, he does whatever she wants.

He ALWAYS picks her up when she wants him to and always carries her everywhere. I have never seen them walk together even two steps.

He sits if she orders him to and stands when she asks him to.

He expects all of us to do the same.

This one time he was holding a piece of plastic paper between his lips for I don't know how long because she asked him to and screamed whenever he removed it.

When I am channel surfing and Ashu turns her head to the voice of some kid talking in a commercial and I do the grave mistake of changing the channel, I get a lecture from him about how Ashu will never be the same again because of this negligence.

He calls me a sadist if I give her time out.

He walks out of the room and sometimes even the house when I am scolding her.

According to him, we should nt let her do anything she does nt want to.

He clears all the toys that Ashu has scattered as soon as she leaves the scene because he does nt like me making her clean up.

He complaints that she eats little but also wants me to stop feeding her when she says enough.


Ashu has been drinking milk straight out of a cup instead of a sippy cup since coming here. But he gives her the sippy cup whenever my mom and I are nt looking.

Hes disappointed in me as a mother.

He wants me to be patience incarnated even when shes at her atrocious worst.


I should never complain about her.

If she is good, its because she is born that way. If she is bad (according to me) then its because of me.

When I think enough is enough and call him a hypocrite, he says "
I did stupid things. But you don't have to do the same". Its hard to control myself from strangling him after such statements.

He always sees only the good side of her. Even if she throws a dagger at his heart, I guess he ll compliment her on her perfect aim before taking his last breath. (I would nt be the first to rush him to the hospital anyway!)

30 comments:

Dee said...

to me that sounds like a perfect thatha...are'nt parents enuf to discipline the kid...Ashu is lucky..what are you complaining about ? :)

B o o said...

Dee - What about me?? Where is the loving and caring dad gone? The grandpa has eaten him alive and hes driving me crazy! Seriously! Would you believe if I tell you that I did nt talk to Ashu all day today because I wanted to hurt him. Yes, Im stooping that low to get attention! :(

mnamma said...

Aaha - I don't know who is the baby here - Ashu or you :)

Anonymous said...

LOL!
i know that's not the reaction you're looking for - but LOL ROFL

timepass said...

Thats one more grandpa added to the ever increasing list of pampering grandparents..My sympathies are with u Boo

Tharini said...

LOL!!!!! Sounds like the perfect Tattha. Have fun!

DC said...

Couldn't help laughing :-)) but that dagger thing had me 'ouch!'

But c'mon, by what you have described - it makes him such an adorable thatha.. you souldn't complain :-)

Btw, very nice posts Boo.. just catching up with the archives!

Unknown said...

boo, dont you dare. I wish brat had either of his grandfathers around to be like that. The grandmothers are like that anyway...we mothers can never do enough for them. And we get forgotten. The last time I went over to my moms, she had only cooked stuff brat likes...I was forgotten...Sob Sob....

Maggie said...

Hey, that's what grandparents do! They've suffered through hardening their hearts and playing police for their children, it's only fair that they be allowed to indulge their grandchildren! :-)

the mad momma said...

in case you havent got the picture - let me repeat what the others said. that is what thathas do.

Unknown said...

let me guess. Your dad suddenly developed a selective amnesia when you remind him of the beatings you got when you were a kid ?

at least mine did!

:)

Nandita said...

I think the rule for dads is discipline your daughter, completely spoil her daughter. Apparently its the parents job to discipline the kid and ensure she comes out fine...everybody elses role is to get in the way...

Gauri said...

I know everyone's said it - but hear it from me once again - that's what grandparents do :-)

My mom was an absolute terror when I was a kid - and you should see her around my kids. I cannot believe it is the same person.

Collection Of Stars said...

For Ashu, it's thatha. For KT, it is ammamma - Ashu's thatha and KT's ammamma are ditto :)

Just Like That said...

Sonny boy was born a year after Daddy died. I miss him so much as I read this post. For all the love that Sonny boy will not know.
Ashu has a treasure of a granddad! Long may the pampering last.

B o o said...

Hey all - I wrote this post so that my dad who reads my blog on and off learns a lesson or two. Now after all your comments supporting him, I hope he never sets his eyes on this post!

Mnamma - Me, me, me! Always! ;)

broom - Laugh all you want. My turn will come one day!

timepass - my moms not so bad. Its these grandpas I tell ya!

Tharini - I want the perfect dad back too! We are fighting so much that I have forgotten he is the reason I made this trip!

dc - Thanks. Ashu has no complaints, of course! :)

Kiran - So true. Till now, at least she wanted me as much as her Thatha. Now she does nt need me at all. She closes the door on me and plays with her thatha. I did want her to be less clingy, but this is just RUDE! :(

B o o said...

Moppets Mom - Whatever! You take his side too! Hmpf!

MM - Et tu?

Sundar - Atta boy! You are my man! My dad developed total amnesia.

Nandita - So true! This time Ashu is going to have a tough time adjusting once we are back in Zurich.

Gauri - Thats exactly the same with my dad. Humans are sure weird! ;)

COS - I thought woman had more sense. But grand parents have a special super power, I suppose!

JLT - Im sorry dear. I know what you mean. Want mine?

Anusha said...

everyone's looking at it from the grandpa point of you. I did too, till I read your older post..and I feel for you. Hugs! the daughter came before the granddaughter, dammit! hope you find a creative way to chat with your dad...and no, not talking to Ashu isn't the answer :)

Anusha said...

err...'grandpa point of you' was supposed to be 'grandpa point of view'.
(another cup of coffee here, please!)

Anonymous said...

HaHa Is Boo feeling a bit jealous?

Unknown said...

Awww paavam boo..but what a great thatha to have!

Anonymous said...

Hey that was a very well written post. But I take your side.

Something to Say said...

OOoo you better stay out of the way boo - these kids have a great connections with their grand parents.... and no parent ever measures up....

B o o said...

Kodis mom - Thank you, thank you. Will talk to him when he takes his eyes off Ashu for a second! ;)

WA - Not a bit but quite a lot! :)

RV - Im happy for Ashu and sad for me! :(

utbt - And thats why I love ya! :)

s2s - Dont I know that? I used to run to my grandpa as soon as my dad raised his voice to me when I was little! Sigh!

amoiya said...

sweet thatha

The Visitor said...

LOL - some respite reading this post. Vintage Boo stuff.

The Visitor said...

இப்படியும் அப்பாக்கள் இருக்கிறார்கள் - ஹும்..
“தப்பு உன்பேர்லதான். பாவம் குழந்தை. ‘ஈயச் சொம்புல செய்’னு எழுதினயே, ‘அன்னன்னிக்கு தேவையான அளவு மட்டும் செய்!’ அப்படீன்னு தெளிவா எழுதினியா?”
- அப்பா

Boo you should read Jayashree's தாளிக்கும் ஓசை

noon said...

When I read this post I just felt like saying you are SO BLESSED! Because you have a father who will dote on your daughter so much...and you have a father who you can write about so openly and know that he will take it in the right spirit (or you wouldn't be writing about it openly). My sentiments are like that of "Just like that".
BUT - I do understand your annoyance - a tiny bit! :)
And where do I get hold of this tamizh book, Visitor - sounds so interesting!

Anonymous said...

She is so lucky to be mollycoddled by her grandparents. We indeed have had fortunate childhoods to have had our grandparents close by. We cant say the same for our children growing up in America and elsewhere, as they are so removed from their real folks. You gain in one thing and you lose in other things - the laws of balance

Anonymous said...

wow! such a nice post....inspite of being far away from my parents I have realised all this already. I don't know what is going to happen when I am going to relocate to India..and that too quite close to them. I for sure will go crazy... I can very well understand how you feel :)

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