Love can hurt also!!

Today on the way back home, after soccer, in the car...

Nandini: Shivali, you have to read books. You know it is very very very bad that you are not reading books. You are so lucky that you can read and have so many books.. When you will grow up, people will ask you - have you read, Harry Potter series...no, have you read Nancy Drew series...no, have you read The Chronicles of Narnia...no. So you know what, from now on if you don't read 2 books a week, I won't talk to you the whole of Sunday.

Shivali: WHAT??!!!

Nandini: Yes. And if I do talk, that would be accidental and so don't you go and take advantage of that. OK. 

Shivali: Why would you do that to me? It is not nice that you won't talk to me for a whole day. Which sister says that to her sister that she will not talk to her? That's not how good sisters behave.

Nandini: Tell me Shivali, am I a mean bratty sister or a kind loving one. Not talking to you for a whole day I agree, it can be both, a mean sister and a loving one. Am I a mean one like Candace (ref: Phineas and Ferb, TV show)? Am I selfish? Do I tattle tale on you? Or am I a loving kind sister who wants the best for you? Who wants you to read books for your own good? Which one do you think I am? Do you want to grow up and then realize that your sister wanted you to read books for your own good and not for her good but your own good? I am only doing this for your own good. In fact it is bad for me. You know it will be hard for me to not talk to you also.

Shivali: But does that mean that I have to read 2 whole books... 8 chapters each??

Nandini: Shivali, I can read that in an hour!!!

Shivali: You are bragging. It’s not nice to brag.

Nandini: NO, I am not. You can read it in a day.

Shivali: But why would you give me such a punishment? I am not happy about this. I won't play with you ever... Does that mean I can't talk with you??

Nandini: No it means that you can go ahead and talk but you won't get a response from me till you read your books. It is not a punishment; in fact I actually dread doing that.

Shivali: What does dread mean?

Nandini: (explains what dread means)

Shivali: I still don't like it. Do you know how bored I will get if I can't talk to you, play with you all day?

Nandini: Shivali, you don't get this. I am trying to help you here. OK, so how about then you have to read just one and half… OK… OK just one book.

And there I was driving back home and paying attention to the road but trying desperately hard to remember the conversation for posterity!!

Isn't this true how often we take the good advice also in a wrong way and not see that the other person means well. And also isn't it often that we give well meaning advice with some condition that actually does more harm than good.