Indian Summer 09 - Neil

Neil was the one reason we went to India. We wanted to bring him back home. Lisa and Neil came to India in January, so that I could focus on the job search. In march Lisa came back to US, and Neil stayed with his grandparents. This was a really big thing for us. He stayed with them for two months. I was really anxious to see him after four months.and in May we went to India to get him. So all in all Neil stayed in India for five months - almost a quarter of his lifetime till now.
This was a very big step for us. And more importantly even bigger step for the grandparents. Everyone we knew asked them how they are going to manage to keep him. When he first went with Lisa in January, he simply clung to her for the first ten days. He would not leave her out of site, she had to stay within three feet of him - or he would start crying. He acclamatized later and got comfortable with everyone. But it still was a risk. If he did not like it, or remembered his mommy, it is not exactly easy to take him to US. Plus it involved a big responsibility and a huge time commitment. They did it and we are extremely thankful to them. Plus Neil is much better for it.
The first few weeks were tough. He was a handful. He is an adventurous kid for his age. He likes to seeks thrills, there is no other way to describe it. He would jump up and down from their sofa, sometimes head down first. They kept a bean bag next to it and he would jump on it, climb on the sofa, jump - he would do it fifty times in a row! He would move heavy chairs around to climb on tables and other high surfaces. They tied chairs to each other, and then he still moved them one by one.

In US he was a loner, and had a big stranger anxiety. Trying to keep him away from us for an hour was impossible. Now he is a little more comfortable with people, he doesn't shy away from crowds, and says hi to other kids easily.
He had so many people taking care of him, and showering him with love and attention. His grandparents, Vanita, Sanna, Sujata, Priya... त्याला त्यांनी अक्षरशः लाडावून ठेवला होता , त्या प्रत्येकाविषयी एक स्वतंत्र लेख लिहावा लागेल,
He learned lots of new words. Before he went all he could say was bbaa bbaa and mmaa mmaa... Now he can say a lot of things. He can count to five, ask for milk, tell that he has had a boo boo, knows words for his nose, eyes, hair etc. More importantly he has learned to enjoy communicating.