Happy Birthday My Dear Son

I wish you many returns of the day Animator Rayyan.. 

Sometimes it takes just a simple comment from a stranger to make you realize the truth that has been staring at you all through, but still escaped your attention. One such incident happened around 15 years ago.

I used to regularly visit a shop with my children, especially Rayyan to buy toys and snacks. It was run by a very friendly couple, who with passing time became good friends with us. I learned from them that due to some medical condition, the wife could not conceive, but they had resigned happily to their life without children and hence did not consider adoption. I could see the unconditional love they had for each other and being childless did not much bother them. One day as we were chatting, they said something which made a huge difference to my attitude towards Rayyan. What the couple said was, “Many people visit our shop with their children for shopping. Usually the children are so inconsiderate and demanding that we feel glad as we do not have to deal with such children in our lives. It is only when you bring Rayyan here that we regret not having a son like him in our lives, or else being childless doesn't seem that bad at all. You are very lucky to have a son like him”. It was a simple sentence, uttered casually, but it touched my heart and brought tears to my eyes.

It was as though the curtain was lifted and I could see what a blessing my child was. He was so calm and peaceful, never troubling me, not demanding anything, in fact refusing to buy something if he found it was priced high. I grew up assuming I was a perfect child, who every parent would love to have, because I worked very hard to be successful. But all of a sudden I realized that, what parents want is not high achieving child, but a child who loves, cares and makes life bearable for them. That is what Rayyan is. Even at the tender age of 5, he was a silent support for me during my cancer days. He was always ready to help me with house work, taking care of Farheena, running errands and many more. I am not sure that I did all that for parents in my childhood. All I did was to work harder to get more marks or win some competition, therefore I feel, though my parents felt proud with my achievements, they may never have experienced the pleasantness that I feel around Rayyan.

Every year I ask Rayyan what he would want for his birthday, and he always says, “Nothing Maa, I have everything I want in my life”, though, he lovingly buys me wonderful presents for my birthdays.

I have learned to know the goodness in my son and love him unconditionally, which is what he well deserves. Today I sincerely pray to God to give him health, wealth, love, happiness and success in his life.  He is the best son anyone can have.