.....And my lil prince turns a month old..... ~ Joys of Motherhood

22nd July ‘2011, 9:00 PM

Pride feels good. A genuine one, so well justified, that earns you so much of respect and admiration feels even better! The pride of being a mother! But before I continue with my ocean of thoughts, I feel proud for a reason more! My blog now has 100 articles, that solely reflect my thoughts, my views and my opinions on different topics. So this is the 101th post where I feel indebted to whoever invented this blogging thingy! God bless that soul! This space has been like a friend, a guide, a silent audience and a teacher to me. It is here, I am what I am, with no pretensions and no masks. And it has been 3 years since I am blogging. The experience is rewarding.....

Now, coming to present, today is quite an important day in my life. My husband and I turn ‘a month old’ parents with our cuddly bundle of joy turning a month old today, 22nd July ‘2011. At this juncture nostalgia intervenes and some sweet memories are gushing out, right from the time, when I was just a worker bee buzzing around on Internet providing information to a crowd I knew, and I did not, about an year back! Guessing what I was? I was a software professional turned content writer working with a content writing firm, Buzzle.com. What made me change my line of work? You might get an answer here. Apparently, opportunity knocks when destiny decides, doesn't it always? Exactly 6 months after working with Buzzle.com, I embarked on a journey of a lifetime – Motherhood that commenced in the month of October ‘10 and continues..... As I recollect those moments, I have come to believe that life is just a Chinese box that unravels surprises every time, the box opens, and destiny has its plans for everyone, unique ones! So when, one of my colleagues who got the news recently, that my husband and I have been blessed with a boy, she remarked, ‘Oh my! It just feels like yesterday, when I took you to the hospital for the first time!, Time flies!’. Well time does fly, only that one realizes it after it has flown away!

And now, 4 weeks post my delivery, it feels as if I have crossed a major highlight in life! Time did seem to go slow and seemed so full still! The first 2 weeks post operation, while I was still recuperating, those moments were crazy, yet sweet. Crazy, because I was not much in a position to move around and was under a strict operandi of do’s and don’ts, and sweet because, in those minor breaks, just holding my baby made me forget all physical discomforts instantly. And now, after a slow steady recovery, the enjoyment of having to see my son eat, sleep, and play by kicking his tiny hands and legs in all directions, surpasses all discomforts. His grandpa usually wraps him up in a cotton wrap and then we all sit back and watch him wriggle himself out of it, with a fierce determination! I found that act so intriguing. He would first try to pull his hands out, one at a time and then he would squirm, push, cry, pull his legs upwards and kick them as if he were peddling a cycle and then pushes both legs with a greater force. His face at that time is a cocktail of myriad expressions! Most of the time, it could be described as an expression of anger followed by a resignation (for a few seconds) again to be followed by a determination doubled (fierce one!) and with eyes speaking aloud ‘I will succeed, come what may!’. Occasionally, he would get tired in the process and then he would take a power nap of 5-10 seconds before finishing up with what he started. And at the end of those strenuously long 5 minutes, he finally frees himself from the warm wrap his grandpa usually makes for him everyday and gives that look – ‘So, do you have any more tricks? Surprise me!’ People! want to know what determination means? All it takes is to watch a month old baby kick his arms and legs to wriggle free from a warm wrap! That was when my dad sighed, ‘Life teaches crucial lessons in small incidents such as this! No doubt, parenthood has so much to teach yet! And I have just entered as a student in this beautiful phase.....

.....And with time I seem to have transformed into some sponge, absorbing the teachings my son imparts in his own indigenous way! So, what does he teach me? Something which my parents found it hard to inculcate in me in yester years. Core values of life: Patience, perseverance, tolerance and self-discipline which were jargons of past and too bitter to swallow, now seem much sweeter to taste and much more easier to digest. Patience to keep awake with drooping head and groggy eyes until he goes to sleep, tolerance to physical discomforts (which might have been mammoth otherwise, seem little pain now) and self restraint on materialistic indulgences, which would have been indulgences in the real sense at any other time, are just some sweet lessons of motherhood! No wonder, it is such an esteemed phase in a woman’s life!

And there the realization dawns as to why these values are so important. Not missing out on the fact that I now have much greater respect for my parents who have brought me up, patiently hearing me out and getting me all I wanted (being a single child, such privilege is guaranteed!), tolerating those roller costar adolescent years and restraining themselves from being too hard on me, although my behavior at times was just too crass to handle and supporting me yet in trying times and guiding me in the right direction, lest I wander away! And my son is just one lucky chap to get such adoring grandparents who despite their age, sit with him although day and night to sing to him, change his diapers while am asleep, lullaby him to sleep, cuddle him even in between serious work and enjoy his ‘aaah, aaauuuu, aaaiiiii, qqooooo, wwooooo’ talk and converse with him in a similar way! And the reward that I get out of this month’s ordeal with all my learning from him is, my son has finally started acknowledging my presence in a unique way. He looks at me, gives me those commanding looks during his tummy and play time and responds to my kisses by brushing his lips against my cheek and then closing his eyes and cooing sweetly! Aah, is there a music sweeter than that? Wonders of God, is all I can say!

Define the best scent: the aroma of your new born.....

Define softness: run your hand through your baby's hair.....

Define smoothness: feel your baby' skin, as soft as a rose petal.....

Define sweetness: hear your baby coo.....

and.....

Define sharpness: feel it, when your baby acknowledges your hug/presence/kisses, with its sharp nails...!! (and yet, it feels like heaven...!!)

~ Parenting, Joys of Motherhood

God bless...!!