Dadvice

I hope you all went home on Friday and did the chicken dance in front of your mirrors! And I hope that set the mood for a really amazing weekend.

This weekend was pretty cool at the Shankita household. We relaxed, we cooked, we watched animated movies, we went shopping, and I even squeezed in two whole episodes of The Crown. I'd been waiting for that one for quite long. Oh, and not to mention the fact that I sat on my arse and read a good book. This weekend was gooooood. And that's just because I did the chicken dance. #superstitiousmuch

But time flies when you're having fun and it's already the start of a new week today. And I want to start this week with positive affirmations and some really great dadvice. You see, my dad is awesome when it comes to giving out advice. And he does it for free so the Mallu in me if often pleased. But the thing with my dad's advice usually is that he quotes Shakespear and Socrates and other philosophers in his advice. And even when he comes up with his own stuff, it still sounds a little...you know...like he stayed up all night putting it together.

Saturdays and Sundays are the only days of the week when I speak to my parents first thing in the morning while I'm still half asleep and obviously, still in bed. It's just the way I like to start off my weekends. So this Saturday morning when I called my dad while I was still getting accustomed to the light flooding into my bedroom as I struggled to keep my eyes open, he threw some dadvice at me. We chatted for a bit and he asked me how things were going work-wise. I don't remember what I said but his response to it woke me up and made me think about words and the putting together of them. He said, "You need to remember that initially, there will be teething problems but soon, it'll be like a hot knife through butter".

The what, now?

Then I remembered something that happened at a parent-teacher conference long ago in school, when my dad told my English teacher that I was an okay student but I just needed to remember to "dot the I's and cross the T's".

Yep. My teacher looked remarkably impressed and I wouldn't have been surprised if she got up from her seat to offer it to him.

It's just what he does. All the time. Whenever my mother or I had disagreements with him, it never surprised me in the least when he'd eloquently word his argument and drop the mic. I'd often think to myself, "Dad you are SO WRONG but HOLY MOTHER OF GOD, what you just said was beautiful".

I mean, who says "initial teething problems" and "hot knife through butter" in daily conversations with one's daughter?

Is it any wonder that as a child, I was convinced that my dad (and God) never pooped? Pooping is for basic humans, not for people who talk the way he does. But dear daddy, I'm getting there. Poop-wise, I mean. Because I'm already convinced that my farts are perfume and sometimes, on good days, they grace the gloomy Edinburgh skies with rainbows. I'm getting there.

So on this Monday, on this start to a new week, if any of you are struggling with anything, I want to share my dadvice with you: Initially, there will be teething problems but soon, it'll be like a hot knife through butter".

Have a happy and productive week, you guys!

#motivationmonday