Dear Penguin,
When you were younger, every little thing felt like a festival.
A trip to the park was an expedition.
A visit to the vegetable market was a jungle safari.
Even sitting on the terrace watching the moon felt like a grand adventure.
Life was slow then. And slow was beautiful.
You had time to find shapes in clouds, dig up tiny treasures from the soil, and laugh at silly jokes we made up on the spot.
But somewhere along the way, the world began to move faster, and without realizing, we jumped on the speeding train too.
Schoolwork expanded like a balloon.
Classes, playdates, tournaments, extra classes, birthday parties — one after another — packed into tiny boxes on a calendar.
At first, it seemed exciting. “More opportunities! More learning! More exposure!”
I thought I was giving you the world.
But soon, I saw the signs.
The tiredness under your laughter.
The mini meltdowns after too many “busy” days.
The sparkle faded when you didn’t even know why you felt grumpy.
That’s when it hit me..
Overscheduling isn’t about having too many good things.
It’s about having too little time to just be yourself.
One evening, after rushing from piano class to a school event and then a relative’s function, we both collapsed on the bed, tired, restless, and a little cranky with each other.
You muttered, “Maa, can we just stay at home tomorrow? Just you and me?”
And my heart cracked open.
That night, we canceled the weekend rush.
We cooked khichdi, watched a silly animated movie, made a messy fort in the living room, and I don’t think I’ve heard you laugh so hard in weeks.
That day, I realized. It’s okay to say no to “good” things.
It’s okay to protect our quiet.
Since then, we’ve tried … not perfectly, but mindfully to leave breathing spaces.
Now we aim for one slow day a week.
Now we keep some weekends blank on purpose.
Now we say, “Maybe next time,” even when the world says, “Say yes to everything.”
You, my boy, don’t need to fill every hour to live fully.
You need time to get bored.
You need time to lie on the floor with a book.
You need time to dream, to dawdle, to wonder.
Life isn’t about how many trophies you collect or how many events you attend.
It’s about how deeply you live the moments you are given.
Overscheduling squeezes out joy.
Space invites it back in.
I hope you remember this when the world around you gets noisy.
I hope you protect your peace like a sacred garden.
Some seasons will be busy, that’s true. And that’s okay.
But don’t forget to rest.
Don’t forget to be.
Because you are not a machine built to perform.
You are a living, breathing wonder meant to experience.
And my biggest joy is not seeing how much you achieve… but how much you feel alive.
Always walking beside you,
Maa.
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