Day 301 (Mother's day)

This is my 5th Mother's day and the gift I am giving to myself is finding time to write a blogpost. Incidentally, my mom (actually both my parents) are here in Bangalore staying with us currently so it is kind of a two generation Mother's day in the same house today.

Mother's day is just another (Sun)day which if someone tells my son to wish me, he wishes with a shower of kisses but like any other Sunday it is a myth because we have a 4-year old hyper-energetic boy running around 24x7.

From kitchen duties to kid's duties nothing can be skipped on any day because it is a vacation-less responsibility. The other day I was watching this hilarious stand-up comedy where the comedian said that "When we were small, we were told to listen to our parents. We listened thinking that when we will become parents, our kids will listen to us. Apna time aayega! But when we became parents, syllabus changed. Now it said to listen to your kids. Apni batting hi nahi aayi!"

So being another mother (parent) of this referred generation, we try to give rest to our old parents. But in all this idealism, there isn't left anything for us to do. And honestly, sometimes I think we are ageing faster than them!

However, I try to do a lot of things. Last year on Mother's day, I explained how even in complete lockdown my kid encouraged me to be a "fit mom". I continue this legacy realising no matter how hard I try, I am not gonna get more than continuous 20 mins free from my day. If that's the case, why not skip those lazy 20 mins and bunch them together and try to do something to keep yourself up to the pace for the coming years. So I engage myself in book club, Zumba, running or any other activity I can find my hands on 3-4 days a week which club my 2 days of free time into 1 slot of a healthy workout (mental or physical). 

I have realised we might not age like our parents due to 2 reasons:

1) Our parents had healthier food and habits to consume which will be a support in ageing process.

2) We have been brought up to acknowledge this ageing process and do our bit. However, we don't intend to put the burden of expectations on our kids because the world has so many burdens for this generation already that keeping themselves up with those is itself a life-long engagement.

But no matter how smart a mom of my age can try to be.... to be fitter, smarter, sane and what not, she has to keep in mind the duties that await her after burning even 1000 calories. You can't give your 100% to any workout because either you go to a workout after doing all household chores + office + kid's entertainments or you do all that right after sweating and panting like crazy!

No matter how modern you are, but your prime worry is always the century old worry "Did my kid eat?"

Sometimes I decide my running course based on what I have to cook. If I have to cook something quick, I can attempt 5km or more. If I have to cook something time taking, I have to get back within 30 mins which means around 3km of run.

In all this, we keep reading articles of "how to find me-time", "how to manage time more efficiently", etc. But we all know there is no one size that fits all. Sometimes we prioritise things we are responsible for over things we love. 

All moms do their best but all of us fall short everyday. We cannot be the best mom, the best employee, the best cook and the best wife at the same time. And that is okay. Fortunately, we have days like women's day and mother's day to encourage fellow women to keep going and do what we are doing. We learn everyday and we evolve everyday.

Happy mother's day!!