ஈன்ற பொழுதின் பெரிதுவக்கும்....

ஈன்ற பொழுதின் பெரிதுவக்கும் தன் மகளைச்  சான்றோன் எனக்கேட்ட தாய் தந்தை 

This blogpost is an attempt at me trying to put my thoughts into words (which might fall awfully short). 

The happiness and the joy that we as parents experienced when Laya was awarded "Badger of the year 2025" for her Kindergarten class could only possibly be summarized by the modified version of Tirukkural in the header.

She has always been a child par excellence, something that Aarthi and I have always been proud of but limit telling her (so that it doesn't get to her head). But that day on May 19th 2025, when Ms. Emily Medina, Assistant Director of Student Affairs reached out to us via "Parent Square" to inform that Laya would be awarded Badger of the year award took us to another level of parental pride which we never imagined. 

The day of the award ceremony was on May 30th and Laya had absolutely no clue about all that was to uncover over the next hour. All four of us reached her school at about 7:25am. It was raining cats and dogs, we dropped off Laya and her friend her drop off location on Lane B and parked our car. Aarthi fed Arjun some breakfast and we were inching to get inside the school auditorium where the event was to be held.

After waiting in the queue for a few minutes, we managed to get in and occupy the front row seats. All students from 90+ category were invited one after the other from every element to get their bands, following which there were a few who received special awards. Then came the moment we all had been waiting for, I was on video call with Aarthi's parents and mine (from India). The Assistant Director spoke about instituting this award for the first time and the called the name of our darling daughter. We were elated beyond words when she stepped on the dias to receive her award. I literally had tears of joy in my eyes (still do as I'm penning this down almost a week later) looking at her walk upright, brisk and in an absolutely calm demeanor as if she knew it was her name that was going to be called to collect the award (if I were to add my own parental bias and say in a typical Laya fashion 😀 ) . Then followed all congratulatory messages from so many parents sitting besides us. As a parent, what else does one need from their kids except for moments like this.

We then had to leave to drop off Arjun at his day care but Aarthi returned to pick up Laya later that morning at around 11:30 (after their movie time was done). That's when she met with her class teacher who explained all that went behind the decision to award her. Here's what she had submitted on Laya's behalf that led her to being awarded the Badger of the year award.