This Year, My Daughter Grew… and I Lost All Chill (In the Best Way Possible)

Aruneeta Srivastava
Dec 29, 2025
3 min read

This year has been amazing.Not the Instagram-perfect kind.The real kind — where your heart grows faster than your ability to stay composed, and you realise you’re raising a whole human with opinions, humour, and impeccable timing.

This was the year my baby became a person.

The Day My Baby Went to School (And I Pretended to Be Brave)

The same child who once had stranger anxiety so strong she’d hide behind my leg like it was top-level security…walked into school.

Alone.No tears.No drama.Not even a backward glance.

Meanwhile, I stood outside wondering if I could enroll myself too — you know, just to be safe.

From Stage Fear to Stage Fame

Then came her first stage performance.

She spoke her lines.Missed two.Paused confidently.

Looked at me and said, “Kya muma?”

I whispered the line like it was my life’s purpose. She repeated it, nodded proudly…And then got so excited seeing me that she fell off the stage.

At that moment I realised — she trusts me more than gravity.

Dr. Tinkerbell Curie, Obviously

She won 2nd prize in fancy dress dressed as Dr. Tinkerbell Curie — because why choose between science and fairy wings when you can have both?

Iconic behaviour. Einstein could never.

The Year of Props, Glue & Pro-Mom Energy

Let’s pause and acknowledge a very real achievement of this year:half the year went into prop making.

Cardboard.Chart paper.Fevicol everywhere.Late-night DIY sessions questioning my creativity and life choices.

Fairy wings.Science props.Stage accessories.Last-minute fixes five minutes before school.

I made so many props that somewhere between cutting, pasting, and praying things would stay together, I realised —I’ve officially become a pro mom.

Not Pinterest-perfect.But the “haan ho jayega” kind.And honestly? That feels even better.

The Emotional & Independence Glow-Up

This year, I watched her become:

More emotionally intelligent
More independent
More expressive
And unintentionally funnier than most adults

She chooses her own clothes.She loves shopping — serious, decision-making shopping.She tells me I look better with my hair open (and I listen, because she has taste).

She’s so funny and she doesn’t even know it.

One day she held up a clothing label and said,“Muma, this is the I-card of the clothes.”

Honestly? She’s not wrong.

Our Little Rituals (AKA the Things I’ll Miss Forever)

We have rituals now — the quiet, everyday kind that slowly become your whole heart.

Whenever we can’t find the TV remote, she turns into ACP Pradyuman and asks very seriously,“Remote kahan gaya?”…and somehow always finds it.

She eats dahi and ghee like water, loves broccoli (I don’t know which universe this is, but I’m grateful), and after fancy restaurant dates still asks for“Dal chawal… roti… sabzi.”

Because comfort food always wins.

She insists on movie night with mom and dad — switches off the lights herself, spreads the mattress on the floor, and makes sure we all lie down together.

No sofa.No distractions.Just us.

Kitchen Slab Conversations & Pink Tea Dates

Whenever I cook, she insists on sitting on the kitchen slab — not to help, not to eat — just to be with me.

We have pink green tea dates — rose and hibiscus green tea, to be precise — because clearly, we are classy like that.

She sips.I sip.We discuss life.Mostly her life.

From Story Addict to Storyteller

She used to fall asleep listening to my stories.Now she recites them back to me.

I don’t know whether to feel proud or slightly exposed — because clearly, she’s been paying attention.

Three Words That Undo Me Every Time

And then there’s her favourite sentence:“I love you, muma.”

No reason.No occasion.Just randomly, throughout the day — like an emotional ambush.

Gratitude, With a Full Heart

This year, I didn’t just watch my daughter grow taller.I watched her grow braver, kinder, funnier, and more herself.

I am deeply grateful to God for blessing me with such an incredible child.She teaches me patience.She teaches me joy.She teaches me how love sounds when it’s said honestly and often.