Weighty Blues!

Weighty Blues!
The weighing machine is quite ubiquitous today. Back in our childhood days, it was never a part of household items. In fact, our weight was checked only when we visited the doctor, and it was not a pleasant experience as the doctors and the nurses used to talk sternly in those days. Then our weight was checked in school, probably once a year, and we used to exchange and share our values with our friends without inhibitions. Some among us were labelled “weak” if they weighed far too less than the average weight of the class or recorded weight less than the average weight for the respective age group. I fell in the middle and was happy. In those days, we were more worried and scared we would be labelled as weak, as a note would be sent to parents, and then we would get a dressing down from the parents for not eating veggies, fruits, etc. The “weak” kids were the ones who could not stand in the assembly gathering held every morning in the school, and I didn’t wish to be part of it, as teachers would then scold them for not eating breakfast or not eating well. Kids with a stocky build or those who were chubby were not labelled anything, and we were as happy as could be.
We loved to visit the train station as there would be a weighing machine to check our weight. Later, the simple ones were replaced by machines that had coloured lights that blinked. We would beg our parents for 10 P or 20 P coins to check our weight. The amount steadily climbed to 2 Rs. We would stand on the machine, insert a coin, and wait for the ticket to pop out. We would read our weight, and there would be some message also that spoke of our future. We would read and laugh. We would carry the ticket very carefully and share it with our friends. In fact, we used to look forward to going to the station to pick up relatives (as the train station was far off and we couldn’t go there without a reason), as this would give us a chance to check our weight! We enjoyed this exercise.
Teen years came, and the terms “slim”, beautiful etc entered the vocabulary, and “slim” became associated with beautiful. Life became a little more complicated. Teen years over, and we entered the twenties. More maturity came with age, and as we reached marriageable age, height and weight were causes of concern. The rebellious among us would think, why are intellectual capabilities not considered, and who were they to judge our looks? Even then, the weighing scale was not ubiquitous.
Post marriage and post kids, the weight of kids became a “weighty issue”. The weighing scale at home became my sworn enemy. It was a paradoxical situation. My kids were labelled underweight (the problem transcended generation!), and the paediatrician would instruct me to feed them well, etc., while I would be overweight! The issues of obesity and related complications would trouble me, and I used to wonder when this weight issue would stop haunting me.
Today it is the turn of my kids to worry about their weight, while I have finally stopped worrying about it and focus more on eating a balanced diet, staying healthy, building immunity, exercising regularly, and building stamina. Whew! I vouchsafe that it is a great relief.