It’s a cold cold Friday morning. The air outside is fogged out partially. But good enough to see the silhouettes of the trees and the sprawling locality facing the dining area window. I peer out of the misty window pane. Yesss! It’s Friday again. Another weekend. And I have a breakfast date with my 18-year-old daughter-friend. 

I jump into the shower and thereafter spruce myself up in the brightest Jaipuri jacket, with patterns of magenta, purple, green, blue and black! Well, the sun hasn’t yet peered out, from behind the clouds and I need to brighten up the day with my vibrant look. I toss in a blue beret alongside. Daughter dearest sports her feathery downs jacket and we are ready to go. Our chatter merges with the background music playing from her phone in my Figos Aux cable. We talk about life, friendships, love and so much more. It’s one of those rare moments when we get to connect one on one and bond heart and soul. Well, she is in college now and tomorrow she goes back to campus after a month-long break. It will once again be the DH, the 8-year-old angel brat and moi. And oh yes, our two furry girls and sweet help, Shilpa. We will miss her once again, only to be reassured that she will be back on some weekends atleast. 

 

The glass pane gets mildly fogged out, and we continue our chatter oblivious to the interruption. In between, I pull out the cloth and wipe off the mist, but we continue to make conversation. Before we know it, we have reached our favourite breakfast place, DiGhent. It’s just 9:15 am and the temperature is still at a freezing 8 degrees outside. We are the first people at the cafe, and the bright, warm Dutch lady at the counter (or is she German? We still haven’t figured out yet) gives us a broad smile. We make ourselves comfortable and order our favourite, runny Egg Benedict Wondelgem with Smoked Salmon, Asparagus and Bernaise sauce. A bit of sweet and savoury. Just the ideal breakfast. We both love the same stuff mostly when it comes to food. Though off and on she has been leaning towards turning a vegan. I love my meats way too much to give up. We relish our breakfast, chat some more, I sipping into my hug in a mug, cappuccino and she her ginger-lemon-honey tea. 

These moments are way too precious. I want to hold on to them, and not let them go. As we drive back home, we have so much to talk, share and exchange. It’s really fun being a mother to an adult teenager. You can have mature conversations, and at the same time be there for each other. And on many occasions a shoulder to cry on. Yes, we have our share of cat fights too. My adult-teenager has always been a friend to me. She used to dispense advice to me even at 14. And I really have a lot of faith in those words. Well, she’s an old soul. A mother at heart. And a daughter at the same time. Nurturing, caring, all-encompassing.