Beep! Beep! Beep! The alarm went off. I woke up quickly and turned it off.5:30AM-
Pee time for the little one. I carefully woke up my 4-yr old son Appu and took him to the loo. Even that didnt disturb his sleep. It had by now become an automatic action. I moved my husband hands and tucked Appu back in bed with his father. Both were back to sleep hugging each other. I think they look very much like the Daddy and Baby bear in the Goldilocks storybook! Now to start with the days activities. Moving to the kitchen I thanked God and the people who invented all the modern electrical kitchen equipments and breakfast was done in a hour!! By then both Appu and his father had woken up. I gave him his bath and got him ready for school. By the time I got dressed my husband had given Appu his breakfast also.
7:45AM-
We are both IT professionals and have a really hectic schedule ahead. But we somehow just manage. After dropping off Appu at his school, it takes me an hour to reach my office. I fit in all my newspaper reading in the bus in that slot. There was afterall only 24hrs in a day and time had to be twisted and tweaked to fit in everything in between.
8:55AM-
I am finally settled down in my seat. Took a look at my familys picture which was pinned up in my cubicle. A small sigh came out of my mouth... I just wondered how my mother managed with 3 of us and a full time career. As children the only thing we missed from her was not getting a plate of hot tea-time snacks and a glass of fresh juice when we reached home from school. We never heard our mother fussing around about our food, keeping the house clean and those millions of things normal housewives always did the whole day. She just quietly managed everything perfectly and quickly so that she had plenty of time for herself despite being at office for more than 8 hours everyday. I learned the importance of being educated and having a good job from my mother. We never had any financial troubles at home beacuse of the extra income she was earning. It helped to reduce a lot of stress on my father from being the only bread earner at home. We also grew up seeing our mother take an active part all the decision making at home. My parents would always dicuss among themselves and with us about every step we took in life as a family. Having a job also kept her upto date about the world outside and her views and outlook towards everything changed and evolved as we kids grew up. We never had a problem of Generation-Gap with our mother as did quite a few of our friends. She was always there to support us and help us take decisions and advice us about our education and the paths our lives were to take.
When my marriage got fixed the only thing that gave me a bit of a commitment phobia was imagining running the whole household by myself and how I would manage it in my daily life. My mother just gave me a hug and a small tip. "Never run your family with only hardwork and become a donkey pulling a burden with no happiness. Run it smartly with your brain and heart in place and everything will be just fine."
5:00PM-
I was let off an hour earlier and dashed back home.
6:15PM-
I entered our flat. Appu would have reached back to our apartment complex at 4:00PM. He would be playing downstairs with his freinds. Our neighbour Usha was kind enough to let Appu keep his school bags at her place when he returned back from school. This was one thing I had a gulty tinge about. Does Appu miss me in those few hours? Did he want me to be there at home to give him a hug when he gets back from school? I had wanted that from my mother because thats what all my friends mothers did. I made some snacks for him and waited till he got back from playing.
6:30PM-
I took a good look at myself. I had lost a few of those piled up pounds which was good. But it was my face which looked too tired and haggard. Did marriage do that to you? Does it matter too much? The TV was blaring in the background. "Mummyyyyy" screamed the girl in the Santoor Soap Ad. And everybody in it looked amazed that a mother of a 6 year old girl could look like a beauty queen. Use the soap for the same effect the Ad said. I have been using it since my college days and now with a 4-year old son I look like a bedraggled chicken than a beauty queen. Hmppff...
Just then Appu came running... "Ammaaaa... " he was shouting... "Amma, Jojo made fun of me that I am alone. Then his mummy took him home to do homework. I have lots of time to play till you come home. So I told Jojo that my mummy is better than his mummy." Gently I chided him and smiled... well, I had got my medal and got my fears dispelled all at once!! :-) Everything was going to be just fine...
I dedicate this story to my mother, who taught me the secrets of how to do the balancing act with my life!! Happy Mother's Day Amma!!
And to everyone reading this please leave comments and pls vote for me on the Indus-ladies blog competition!! :-) thanks in advance!!
