Gifted Kids of the Perfectionist Moms
This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 6; the fifth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.
It was a lovely Sunday afternoon but eleven year old Joel had no time to relax. He was fine with all the examinations he had given so far. Yesterday, it was History but his young mind was very much aware that it was the actual history of each passing day which was going to affect his final grades. As soon as he was back after his History examination yesterday, Mom had handed over the Mathematics text-book to him. She had taken an ample deal of precaution in order to strategically place his study table away from the window so as to prevent loss of his time in unnecessary peeks outside the room. Mathematics was his nightmare and his perfectionist mother took no chance to lose a moment of his time in things that are not absolutely necessary. She was happy about the fact that she was able to use her entire holiday to teach him some useful stuff in order to prepare him for his examination the following day.
"Mom, Can I have a glass of water please?", Joel asked as he took off his head from the solution his Mom was trying to explain him.
She looked back at her son in dismay. She was able to feel his inattentiveness and was feeling really bad about it. He studied his mother's expressions and then recollected the thrash of the wooden scale he had in his back an hour back. Just to avoid annoying her mother again, Joel was unable to stick to his question any further.
"Sorry Mom, I don't need water", Joel said as he immediately hooked up his head down into the book.
"Look Son, it's your Mathematics paper tomorrow - the one in which you are very weak in. You had a glass of water just twenty minutes back when you got up for a pee. Do you feel that I am doing all this for me?", she asked.
"But I am really thirsty this time Mom!", Joel exclaimed.
"This time? What do you mean by this time? Weren't you thirsty last time?", the mother was almost furious now. Little Joel realized the mistake he had committed by uttering the last sentence.
"I am ruining my holiday here just to get you prepared for your examination and you are finding ways to waste your time?", she almost burst out loud.
"It's not that Mom!", Joel said as he tried to calm down her furious mother.
"Shut up Joel! It was just because of your this attitude that you were ranked Second in the last Semester examination. I don't want to give your father a second chance to blame me for the mistakes you commit. Am I making it very clear now?", she asked.
"But I am done with HCF and LCM Mom...", Joel said as he tried to clarify his side.
"Now, Will you please stop arguing and complete the section B of this model question paper until I return from the kitchen?", she seemed adamant. Poor Joel had no other option than to continue with the piece of work his mother had assigned to him.
It was six in the evening when little Joel finished his job. It was just then he could hear the yells of the neighboring kids playing his favorite ball game. Realizing that he was alone in the room, he decided to have a peek off the window curtain. It was Sunil who was playing the goal keeper, he noticed. He wished he could join them but all he lacked was the guts to ask for a permission. Poor Joel kept on watching them, playing the game until he was caught by his Mom.
"You won't mind letting your parents down Joel, would you?", asked his frustrated Mom.
"Mumma, Look Sunil's playing downstairs too. Can I play with them just for an hour please?", Joel pleaded.
"Today, no way Joel. How can you forget that you were ranked Second last examination just due to a couple of marks lesser than Sunil? This time is priceless dear and I am sure that you would never want to loose it", she said as she tried to calm her temper down and handed a glass of warm milk to him.
Joel wasn't happy about it. He emptied the glass till the last drop. He gave the glass back to his Mom as he found his way back to the study table. He continued his study exercises for a few more hours until he was called off by his Dad for dinner.
Minutes later, the trio was fast asleep.
It was a bright sunny evening the next day when the school bus dropped Joel home. His mother was waiting for his arrival impatiently. As the door bell rang, she opened the door hastily and with a crave to read her son's expressions.
Joel entered straight inside the drawing room without taking out a moment of his time to look at her mother.
"How was your paper Joel?", she asked impatiently.
Joel looked back at her in disgust. "Not bad Mom; but it would have been better if we would have followed the examination timetable", Joel shrugged.
"What do you mean by that?", she asked with a puzzled look.
"It was the Computer theory and not Mathematics examination today Mom", he said as he banged his bag on the table and entered the kitchen for a glass of water. She watched him emptying one glass after the other as she stood right there, transfixed and spellbound.
"Mom, Can I have a glass of water please?", Joel asked as he took off his head from the solution his Mom was trying to explain him.
"Sorry Mom, I don't need water", Joel said as he immediately hooked up his head down into the book.
"Look Son, it's your Mathematics paper tomorrow - the one in which you are very weak in. You had a glass of water just twenty minutes back when you got up for a pee. Do you feel that I am doing all this for me?", she asked.
"But I am really thirsty this time Mom!", Joel exclaimed.
"This time? What do you mean by this time? Weren't you thirsty last time?", the mother was almost furious now. Little Joel realized the mistake he had committed by uttering the last sentence.
"I am ruining my holiday here just to get you prepared for your examination and you are finding ways to waste your time?", she almost burst out loud.
"It's not that Mom!", Joel said as he tried to calm down her furious mother.
"Shut up Joel! It was just because of your this attitude that you were ranked Second in the last Semester examination. I don't want to give your father a second chance to blame me for the mistakes you commit. Am I making it very clear now?", she asked.
"But I am done with HCF and LCM Mom...", Joel said as he tried to clarify his side.
"Now, Will you please stop arguing and complete the section B of this model question paper until I return from the kitchen?", she seemed adamant. Poor Joel had no other option than to continue with the piece of work his mother had assigned to him.
It was six in the evening when little Joel finished his job. It was just then he could hear the yells of the neighboring kids playing his favorite ball game. Realizing that he was alone in the room, he decided to have a peek off the window curtain. It was Sunil who was playing the goal keeper, he noticed. He wished he could join them but all he lacked was the guts to ask for a permission. Poor Joel kept on watching them, playing the game until he was caught by his Mom.
"You won't mind letting your parents down Joel, would you?", asked his frustrated Mom.
"Mumma, Look Sunil's playing downstairs too. Can I play with them just for an hour please?", Joel pleaded.
"Today, no way Joel. How can you forget that you were ranked Second last examination just due to a couple of marks lesser than Sunil? This time is priceless dear and I am sure that you would never want to loose it", she said as she tried to calm her temper down and handed a glass of warm milk to him.
Joel wasn't happy about it. He emptied the glass till the last drop. He gave the glass back to his Mom as he found his way back to the study table. He continued his study exercises for a few more hours until he was called off by his Dad for dinner.
Minutes later, the trio was fast asleep.
It was a bright sunny evening the next day when the school bus dropped Joel home. His mother was waiting for his arrival impatiently. As the door bell rang, she opened the door hastily and with a crave to read her son's expressions.
Joel entered straight inside the drawing room without taking out a moment of his time to look at her mother.
"How was your paper Joel?", she asked impatiently.
Joel looked back at her in disgust. "Not bad Mom; but it would have been better if we would have followed the examination timetable", Joel shrugged.
"What do you mean by that?", she asked with a puzzled look.
"It was the Computer theory and not Mathematics examination today Mom", he said as he banged his bag on the table and entered the kitchen for a glass of water. She watched him emptying one glass after the other as she stood right there, transfixed and spellbound.
The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.
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well written...can feel the helplessness of the kid in ur writing..:)
ReplyDeleteShe was not much of a perfectionist after all :-) . Good one Neeraj.
ReplyDeleteNice and fuid writing..The ending was interesting :) i remember it had happened with me back in school...studing wrong subject
ReplyDeleteNice work :)
A painful experience for the child...and yes I agree with madhu....she wasnt a perfectionist...well written man
ReplyDeleteShahid
Nice on dude... the ending was specifically surprising... very nice...
ReplyDeletecheers!
Tavish
Latest blog post All in a day's work part 2 - (Blog-a-ton 6)
The agony of the child and the ambition of the mother is very well captured.
ReplyDeletenice work dude :)
ReplyDeletevery well written my friend, the emotions jump out of the post, excellent flow and an apt ending.
ReplyDeleteNice twist at the end!
ReplyDeleteOh damm... i recall the dialogues with my parents a few years ago...the reason why i left home...excellent...:D
ReplyDeletenice one there.
ReplyDeleteOh! Such parents do exist!! Poor kids! :(
ReplyDeleteThe twist in the end was cool!
Liked it! :)
Perfectionist indeed... just like a robot. But such parents do exist in the real world and their numbers are only increasing...
ReplyDeleteThe twist in the tale was good. Quite unexpected...
Very reflective of the situation kids face today! Enormous pressure, magnified every moment!
ReplyDeleteVery well written - as always!
Providence of children: You spend the first two years of their life teaching them to walk and talk. Then you spend the next 16 years telling them to sit down and shut-up... ;)
ReplyDeleteNo wonder William Wordsworth was so very prudently meaningful, ages ago when he wrote...
"My heart leaps up when I behold
A Rainbow in the sky:
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
The Child is father of the man;
And I wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety." :)
What we are when we are young gives shape and, in a sense, gives birth to what we are when we grow up. This pretty emotive post of yours, dear Neeraj, can be aptly classified as a prescribed antidote for the real-life parents who have not really grown up themselves, while robotically trying to transform their wards, all in vain, eventually...
Congrats on the stimulating post for 'Blog-a-Ton', Neeraj! Cheers! :)
SHRINATH VASHISHTHA
Port Blair.
Andaman & Nicobar Islands (India).
What an eccentric mother! Do such mothers exist too?
ReplyDeleteVery well written, Neeraj. Liked the narration.
All the best!
Cheerios!
i am sure this things happen with at least 2 houses of 5...
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that my mom wasn't like that. Parents should understand that they shouldn't compare their kids with other kids. Hope I wouldn't do that when I become a mom.
ReplyDeleteI gotta say it was well written. Both the characters were portrayed well.
:)
Nice story Neeraj. You have described it so nicely that I had a picture of the incidance in front of my eyes...
ReplyDeleteNo point in saying that I liked it... I have read and enjoyed your writings for quite some time now.... :-)
ReplyDeleteA very realistic description.... In fact, I recall how upset I was with my little daughter (KG-II, 5 yrs!!) for the more than a week when she got B+. I even had an altercation with wife on the issue. I pray that it was a momentary lapse of character, and I will never ever do it again... Good Luck for BATOM-6
Hey whatta story man, I really loved it! People are like this these days. They don't understand that - All work and no play makes jack a dull boy.
ReplyDeleteGud one :)
lol! i did laff at the end :) good one
ReplyDeleteNicely written!:)
ReplyDeleteReminded me of this neighbour of mine. We could over hear her shouting at her son from the balcony - "RAGHAV! EXAM KE LIYE KAUN PADEGA? MAIN?!!!"
It's hilarious how weird some parents behave!
:)....It would have been better if we could have followed time table.
ReplyDeletelollzzzz
:)
Keep writing!
Really good one.. Very well written!!
ReplyDeleteThank you all for your motivation! :p
ReplyDeleteGood one, nice post on today's competitve world, where the parents are more tensed than their children. I think parents only need ot give an initial push, the rest should be left to te children.
ReplyDeletevery relevant post in today's scenario...
ReplyDeletegood one..
well written
ReplyDeleteoh...poor thing. Title suits the post aptly. Well developed from the picture.
ReplyDeleteaah thats really bad for a mother to do such, as one of them commented here, we teach teh kids to walk and talk then to sit down and shut up! I wish indians learn the art of heart filled education, and fulfilling career.
ReplyDeleteYou write wonderfully well.
ReplyDeleteI can completely empathize with the kid.
Such mothers can make one tear their hair out!
Good Luck for BATOM6! :)
Marvel....well narrated..
ReplyDeleteM for Maths and M for Must for everyone....
I liked the "Second in d class" concept.....
gud take on current education system....
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI really loved the writing style. Its simple and aptly depicts the feelings of a kid denied of his basic needs.
Kudos.
You have caught the present-day scenario just perfectly. Kudos!
ReplyDelete