I am sitting in a packed auditorium. It’s my daughter’s annual day at school and she is performing with her friends, all aged between three and four. I am having difficulty looking at the performance as I can see the teacher standing right in front of them and directing every move of the dance. Besides, the parents of all the kids have head to the front of the stage, cheering the kids, and some are waving at the kids to let them know they are watching.
The expression on the kids’ faces are priceless. They have been coached for a couple of days for this, both at home and in school. We ourselves have spent at least half an hour every day despite our busy schedules coaching her in the house, encouraging and patting on her back and telling her “You the best!”
Back in the auditorium the performance is over and my heart just wished if only I could be there on the stage as a kid, enjoying all the support and coaching of the parents, the teachers, and the world alike. Don’t all of us wish so?
As kids, we have been constantly coached, not threatened, to give our best and assured that nothing can go wrong even if we fail because we have a safety net to fall into. Isn’t that why we were open to do our best although it was something that we hadn’t done earlier? Painting, dancing, singing, cycling, no matter what we would line up first. No fear, no remorse. All we do, even if we are running a relay race, is turn back occasionally to see whether our coaches — parents and teachers — are there behind us to support or not.
Today when I look back several times and see that I have left my parents far behind. They are always there but they aren’t as involved maybe because they feel it’s become too complicated for them to coach me any futher. No teachers any longer, who can selflessly dedicate themselves to see me win. I don’t see the crowd cheer for me even if I don’t belong to anyone, just like the parents in auditorium who cheer for the other kids too.
“I can do it alone” — that’s what I have been saying to myself and others as well. Isn’t that what’s expected of me in today’s world?
We are grown up and that means we can shoulder our weights. In my heart I think “yes I will carry my weight” — but it wouldn’t hurt if someone helps me and lets me know what the best way to do it. Akin to the coach for a professional weight lifter.
Anyone can lift weights, but what makes it look easy is when someone tells us what’s the best way to do it without breaking our backs.
I am awakened by yet another thunderous applause for the next performance. As I walk closer to my daughter, she comes running to me seeking my approval of her dance. I hug and tell her she was the best on stage. When I looked into her eyes, I knew that with those little words of encouragement, she is now ready to take on the whole world.
As I walk out of the auditorium, I have one resolve. No matter what, it’s never too late to be a child again and also to have someone who can fill me with the same confidence which enables me to take on the world.
I need that support.
I need that pat.
I need the cheers.
I need a coach.
This article was originally published on Coatom Blog. This guest post was written by Revathi Rangappa, a working mother of a 4 year old Shreya. She works as a business analyst in a large MNC based in Atlanta, United States. You can connect with her on Facebook.
