My Child Is Ageing in Reverse. I Am Ageing at Double Speed.

Of late, I wonder whether I'm raising an almost 8-year-old or a toddler all over again. The clinging is at its peak. Suddenly, my child cannot bathe without me hovering around like a very unwilling voyeur. The hugs are tighter, more frequent and completely out of the blue.

This morning, I had to spit my coffee back into my mug because he was screaming his head off for a hug. My mornings of late seem to have far too many hours.

By the time I log in to work, my brain is already half-fried, and I can honestly devote only 50% of my intellect to what I'm doing.

I'm so exhausted that even sleep doesn't seem to be working anymore. My child, meanwhile, seems to be ageing in reverse. The clinging is at its peak, the wall-climbing is at Mount Everest peak, and the screams are getting louder – so loud that my senior citizen neighbours must be waking up well before their alarm clocks.