A Son This TIme

My wife gave birth to our third child, a son this time. Now I am a proud father of three.

The baby is eight days old and this post is overdue. I should have done it the very next day after the birth but I couldn't. I will have no answer to my boy if in future he asks me 'Daddy Why did you delay?' I would only have to beg for his apologies. 

I announced it on facebook though. Many comments flooded in. Most of them said that I now have a "complete family". 

I am glad that I have a mixed gender in my family. All that nine months I wondered the sex of the child. Friends would say in jest that if I have a daughter yet again, I would have 'Bum Sum' which is an amount enough to liquidate my loan. While my wife who believes in superstitions, dreams and omens would tell about her dream to me every morning. She said she recurrently saw girl stuffs like flowers, necklace, kira which made me anxious.

In the labor room, my wife writhed in pain for 3 hours and I could just stand by her helplessly holding her hand. Nurses were running numerous errands on doctor's order. All that while I was so worried about my wife that I became oblivious of what was happening around. At 2:20 am she gave birth. I released all the air I held in my lungs but for  sometime I couldn't calm my nerve and I found myself disoriented in the room. I even forgot to ask the sex of the baby. It was only after six minutes that a nurse shook to tell that I have a boy. 

The next day we were discharged.

I haven't given a name for my boy yet. I am waiting for Moenlam Chenmo in samtse to commence. His Holiness The Je Khenpo will preside over the ceremony. I will ask for a name from His Holiness. Till he gets a name I will simply call him 'Son' and I would like to leave him some message and I hope he will read it one day in future.

Son,

You have come as a gift. Your coming to the world just added joy and happiness to our family. 

Your two sisters are excited. They just love staying by you and caressing you. They don't even go out with friends. You have become their new company. 

As I write this, your mother is lying tiredly asleep beside you. But she is woken up even by the slightest movement of your body to feed you. 

I gave you your first bathe. You may wonder if I am good enough to give you bathe. Son, it was me who gave even your two sisters their first bathe. As I ran my hands across your body, I could feel your tender body. You are so delicate. But you are active though. You nearly jumped out of my hands into the water after a jerky stretch of your tiny legs. You give us so much event in the house. We are just so happy. Everybody just loves and cares you. Many well wishers have come and gone. They have wished you a happy prosperous life. I thank them on behalf of you.

Son, we hope you will grow up to be a good human. You know, the world is ever becoming a bad place to live in. People are competing with each other. You just can't trust even your closest friend or neighbor. They would always deceive you. We live in a very unhealthy society. If a person finds fortune and succeeds, there are myriads who will maliciously pull the person down. 

Whatever may be the characteristic of our society, I want you to live by moral principles. I don't want you to be carried away by the brunt of the unhealthy social character. I want you to live a modest life. I wan't you to be kind to people around you. I want you to grow up to be someone people would love to stay by and talk to. I want you to live a life driven by righteousness and integrity. In a society of 100 people, it is not wrong to be the last man standing right than following the rest 99 who are wrong.   

Welcoming you to the earth,

Apa, Mummy, Baby and Chungku