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| My Five-Year-Old Proudly flaunts our jersey collection on the eve of the 2022 FIFA World Cup |
Have you ever been so happy that you began crying? So content that you sensed a hollow deep inside your chest? That you couldn't differentiate between sadness and joy?
A month ago, I experienced such bliss, sitting in front of the TV. It was the final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Argentina were battling France for the Holy Grail of Football at the Lusail Stadium. Millions of miles away, I was living every second as if my last
All of a sudden there was a big void inside my chest. I could no longer feel the ground beneath me.
Gonzalo Montiel had just converted his penalty kick. Argentina had won the game. Lionel Messi. World Cup. My head was spinning. I was struggling to breathe. It was as if I was dropping down an exceptionally deep gorge.
Clad in the sky-blue and white stripes, I couldn't hold back my emotions.
It had been a draining game, with Messi and Kylian Mbappe taking us all for a ride. Lifting us to seventh heaven, dragging us down to the pits of hell. My chest was exhausted from the emotional rollercoaster. My heart.. well, my heart.
When Montiel’s penalty hit the back of the net and my lifelong dream came true, the floodgates crashed open and I burst into tears.
"Why is Baba crying?"
While I was weeping inconsolably, our five-year-old-son had entered the room. He walked up to me, a little concerned. I locked him in tight embrace, still shaking, still sobbing, unable to control myself.
I could see the surprise in his little eyes. He had never seen his father break down so. Baba was always laughing, always fun amid occasional admonition.
I understood his confusion, but words eluded me. Lionel Messi. World Cup. The realization of an impossible dream.
I let go of our son and he tiptoed up to his mother's lap, eyes still on his sobbing Dad.
"Why is Baba crying? Is he hurt? Is he sad?"
There was concern in his voice now.
"No, he is happy."
"But if he is happy, why is he crying?"
"Well, sometimes when you are very happy you start crying... "
As his queries were gently addresses, I tried in vain to get a grip on myself. The journey of life often turns an unexpected happy bend and pushes us into a bubble of delight.
Life urges us to indulge in such sojourns and breathe in enough potion to keep us going. It is all about enduring the darkest of nights and the worst storms knowing very well that the next colourful respite could be just around the corner.
I have lived through such turns in life, such moments that bring tears of joy. I only hope our child too can experience such unadulterated happiness all through his life. Perhaps through friendship, humane bonds. Perhaps through achievements in life. Perhaps also by falling in love with a football team.
It was on one such happy bend, a few years ago that our child walked in to our lives to add more colours to my sky. That day, too, I believe I had tears of happiness in my eyes, as I named him Messi after the one who ruled my heart.
One month ago, on this day, the diminutive Argentinean fulfilled our dream and made my life worthwhile. And he quietly helped me find salvation and inner peace and sent me on my way. To fight with renewed vigor in search of more moments that take our breathe away. Moments that can sometimes move you to tears.
Have you ever been so happy that you began crying? I was, very recently. And I was not alone.
Vamos Vamos, La Albiceleste.
