Monday, June 1, 2009

MOTHERHOOD MEANS…

  1. getting to smell that ineffably sweet mixture of Johnson’s baby powder-cum-curdled-milk emanating from my little baby’s downy softer-than-a-petal neck, which is my favourite snuggling spot. I am doubly lucky to have a double treasure of snuggly-soft back-of-the-neck spots.
  2. having two extra pairs of helping hands in the kitchen in the holidays. Although I am not too sure about the helping part. But the best thing about these two pairs of small (and smaller) hands is that I just love how they hold tightly on to my hands sometimes, when we cross a busy road or when we walk into a dark room. Whenever.
  3. …giving a contented sigh when I see the two little fast-asleep faces. I find it so amazing how they manage to fall asleep in a jiffy. One moment, they are wide awake - demanding a glass of water/ a new story/ an answer to some unfathomable question, then their eyelids droop, the stare becomes fixed-yet-unfocused, and the next moment they are fast asleep. Blessed and Glorious Peace reigns. And I rub sleep away from my own tired eyes and get up for some me-time: reading books, blogging, what-have-you. I am really happiest when they are sleeping!!!
  4. sitting two seats away from the spouse with the kids hogging the seats in-between. We are just back from a week-long trip to my brother’s place in Bangalore, and at the airport, a newly-married couple was sitting all lovey-dovey, hands-entwined (to put it mildly), side-by-side. And all the oldly-married couples saddled-with-children (like us) were looking at them enviously as if at a distant memory. That life when we could gaze into each other’s eyes uninterruptedly for hours on end seems to belong to a past life. Now the daily clock has been hijacked by two little terrors. And romance is a few stolen moments spent remembering the old together-days or discussing – guess what? – children!
  5. …a job with a 1001 responsibilities, round-the-clock duties and NO OVERTIME PAY. The boss (or bosses, two in my case) are perfect little tyrants – very demanding, moody, ungrateful, tantrum-throwing divas. It’s funny - in this job, I have LOST a lot of things: my sleep, my hair, my happy-go-lucky care-freedom. And all the nice things that happen usually happen to my two BOSSES – the first smile, the first rolling over, the first crawl, the first faltering walk, the first lisping talk, the first day at school. I (and the spouse) are just the foolishly-happy witnesses/caretakers/cleaners. But though motherhood is such a tough job, I wouldn’t have it any other way, actually.

    Thank you, SDG at Whims-and-Wishes for this wonderful tag about the 5 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT BEING A MOM. I thought hard and deep, but could come up with only two (the neck-snuggle and the hand-clutching). The other three points are THINGS THAT ARE BOUND TO HAPPEN IF YOU ARE A MOM - WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!

    Instead of passing the tag on to specific victims, er…parents, I leave it open for all mothers and fathers to comment or write a post about their own 5 favourite parenthood moments. Enjoy!

20 comments:

sujata sengupta said...

Beautiful and honest to the core post...I love to cuddle my kids..at times they like it and at times they are embarrassed, but that's my overtime pay. The real bangla chotkano..I love that about motherhood.

A New Beginning said...

Hey Sucharita!You have an excellent blog here.I am sure your kids feel blessed to have a mother like you:)Hugs to them!
Thanks for visitn my blog, do come frequently, would love to have you there!Take care!

Swaram said...

Have read this tag many times before. This one is lovely :)
And Point.NO 4 LOL :)) Let me enjoy these moments before a li'l one takes the seat in between ;)

Pinku said...

this is so very beautifully written Sucharita...am at a loss for words..

havent expereinced motherhood yet...I hope I do atleast so that i can feel all this for myself...

Anonymous said...

aww this was such a cute post:))
Sucharita this is too cute:))

*touchwood*for your little treasures:)
not a mom yet but just reading the way so many moms have done this tag makes me smile:))

Deepa said...

What I like best about motherhood is seeing my baby smile and knowing in my heart that God used me in the process of creating this beautiful little wonder

Aparna said...

Although my elder one is almost 14 and she pretends that she really doesn't need me anymore, I know she does. The younger one is less reticent about her affection.
With my elder one I am more of a friend, with the younger one, I am unquestionably the mother. Both roles give me a high.

Ugich Konitari said...

Motherhood ripens like a green mango does , as the years go by. Sweeter, more mature.

You are so lucky you have daughters. With sons , it is different.

At my age, the snuggles are reversed :-) Suddenly, there will be two arms circling around my shoulders, and she will snuggle into my neck.

The smells are probably those of tadka, and hing, but , I suppose , at her age, my daughter finds spicy things more exciting .....:-)

Wonderful post.

Sharmistha Guha said...

Wonderfully written!! And how true....motherhood is an experience of so many hues....it's a roller coaster ride!!!

Anonymous said...

Everytime I read this tag, I fall in love with motherhood again. All of us mothers have so many different ways to convey the same things.

This is beautiful, Sucharita! I did this in a letter form.

Swati said...

Cutest post on this tag :)

Anonymous said...

Great post!!! Just love the way you write. I totally identify with you.I have a boy and a girl. And how much ever I try and crib about them,they are the best things that have happened to me.

Anonymous said...
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Pesto Sauce said...

Motherhood means unconditional love & forgiveness....very beautiful post

Sumandebray said...

Well said! you gain a lot but lose a few things being a mother.

A mother re-live her childhood through her daughter. those wonder years! those growing years!

It is a second chance provided by nature!!!Life's own way to provide a opportunity to have those nice things once craved for during own childhood and adulthood, but did not happen...
And offcourse you lose certain niceties of life like the front seat in the car or the first hug when hubby comes home from work...
but it is worth many times over..
.... this is from a dad's perspective. The moms might decide to disagree

manju said...

Lovely post!

My children are grown up now, but the memories of their early years will be fresh and fragrant forever!

pradipwritenow said...

What I have seen that both parents are busy with their own work and children are left to helping hands. I am very much happy that your twochildren gets the motherly touch always from awake to sleep. You are a wonderful mom.

Mystic Margarita said...

Very cute post. I love reading this tag and it never gets stale. Lovely!

Sucharita Sarkar said...

@Sujata,
I also love my daily dose of Chotkano.

@A New Beginnning,
Thanks!

@Swaram,Pinku, Indyeah,
Enjoy yourself as much as you can before a lil one comes.

@Scatterbrain,
Having already crossed the motherhood bridge, it is inspiring to see your calm happiness.

@Aparne and Suranga (UK)and Manju,
Am looking forward to the future.

@SGD, Jyothi, Swati, Pesto Sauce, mesoliloquy,MysticM,
Thanks. The rollercoaster is a bit too rocky sometimes.

@ Suman and Pradipda,
Your compliments are inspiring, if a bit tough to follow through.

ZB said...

thats beautiful.i can so well relate, even though i am no mother. i can relate coz i am a father (of 3 month old lil angel) and trust me fatherhood is pretty similar to your experiences of motherhood, just that its a tad bit understated. probably men arent as expressive as women (like you) or its taken that men arent supposed to be that way. Nice writeup.:)