Recounting The Journey, This Mother's Day...

~~~ 

Since the last one week, my heartbeat was playing havoc. Pacing, given the thrill of the burning question - 'Would I hear those three words, those for which I had longed?' 

No, not those three - ' I love you'; those had been cherished a couple of months back. This time, it was more than those. Have you got it? 

Yes! The three golden words this time around were 'You are Pregnant'. 

The statement which can lead any married woman's life into a topsy-turvy situation. 

This burning question led me to the Gynae in no time. My fingers were crossed the entire time, to hear from her, a reply in the affirmative. And, she didn't disappoint me. With a broad smile on her face, she declared, 'Yeah, now you ought to visit me every three weeks for the next nine months, after which I'd be happy to hand over to you, your bundle of joy.' 

For that moment, I experienced a multitude of emotions, which cannot find expression in words, but foremost was the feeling of Gratitude to the Almighty for bestowing upon me, the bliss and cherished privilege of nurturing a new life within me. 

In the next moment however, a tsunami of doubts, questions raged inside me. This being my first pregnancy, I had no idea how to deal with it. Of course, I wanted the best for my baby. But, ensuring that my baby grew well in me seemed like a maze, which was difficult to navigate by oneself. 

The doctor could very well gauge the mixed reaction on my face. She held my hand and assured me - 'Everything will be fine. Just be yourself, be happy, don't strain your body and mind unnecessarily. Eat healthy and follow my instructions as far as mild exercise and the intake of vitamin pills are concerned. It will all be fine!' 

Yes, I will! I was determined to endure through the best and worst for my baby and myself too. I knew it for a fact that unless the Mother is hale and hearty, she can't expect the same for her baby. 

I reached home and broke the good news to all the family members and the journey to wellness began. Being a working woman, I had to now cope with my pregnancy, job and household chores, all in one go. The family members took care of the house and I kept myself stress free on the work front. 

Days passed by leading me to embrace the bodily changes. Some unpleasant, many more pleasant. 

Needless to say, I too had to deal with nausea or morning sickness. For me, however, the sickness was not only limited to the morning time, but lasted almost all day long. It happens, my doctor told me. One should not worry as this phase too passes away. Eating healthy could help - it did help me - in this regard. 

During her second trimester, every expectant mother is bothered about stretch marks, which are an aesthetic celebration in my opinion, bundled with pregnancy. I was mindful of their appearance and used to lightly massage the area believing that this exercise would lighten the scars. 

In the third trimester came the 'baby bump' as it is addressed, nowadays. One should not be conscious of the visibility of the tummy but dressing gracefully helps. After all, you are and should be proud of and not ashamed of being pregnant. 

As the time of delivery grew near, the amazing realization of being a mother grew on me too. Along with me, my husband and both sets of family members were waiting impatiently for 'D-Day'. 

When that day came, my water broke, the labor pains consumed me and my screams were growing louder by the minute. At the same time, I was thinking of the abundance of joy that was to be bestowed upon me, in a couple of hours. This thought helped me in coping with the pain. 

God gave me the courage to bear, and believe me, he gives this strength to all. All of this experience was encapsulated forever in that one moment when I finally became a Mother. 

Yes, that is what pregnancy can do to you. To all the expectant mothers out there, it's about putting all those apprehensions to rest, shedding all inhibitions about being pregnant, about what-how-when of managing yourself and your baby during those nine months, about giving birth by bearing lots of pain. 

Yes, of course. All of this is an experience of a lifetime but the moment you take your newborn in your arms, the moment she or he first glances at you, you become unmindful of the entire universe as from that very moment, your child becomes your entire universe. :)

It has been two decades to the time when I embraced motherhood, yet recalling this account brings along with it, a feel-good-factor which leads me to celebrate motherhood with each moment of life! 

 ~~~ 

I’m writing about my wonderful journey of pregnancy for the #YummyMummy blogging activity at BlogAdda in association with Marico Bio Oil.

Curiously Smart, Kiddo!

My maiden collaboration with Women's Web and they along with Kid Social Shell find my post deserving of the Third Prize.

Thank You for giving me an opportunity to pen this post. :)

~~~

"Children today are tyrants. They contradict their parents, gobble their food, and tyrannize their teachers."

I will never be able to know what went around Socrates' mind when he was prompted to make such a categorical statement which is devoid of any relation to the coordinates of time and space.

Well, it holds true universally and is as prevalent as the concept of 'Generation Gap'.

I guess the human psyche is wired to behave in a jaunty manner that it does.

It is blatant and in-your-face, more often than not, as this.

We are our own masters and enslaved by none. Free-spirited dreams govern our horizons, discovering the nuances of life as our own! 

I would be kidding my own self if I were to say that my own daughter was a prim and proper, well-behaved kid at all times. 

No, not at all. She was a brat at times, lady-like at times. The kid in her amazed us all. 

My daughter, is a case in point, to reinforce the fact that kids were, are and would continue to be curiously smart. 

You would believe that I have outgrown the phase of toddler parenting, as it has been two decades since the apple of our eye stepped into our house. I would beg to differ. 

Parenting is a tricky business. Jovial pride, uncanny reasoning, adamant disagreement, clever negotiations, baffling discoveries, all are part and parcel of life as a parent. 

You never cease to be a kid with your kids, they say.

Nor being a parent, I add. :)

I always believe that kids are able to present a never-seen-before perspective to us adults, who tend to the world around us on face-value, for granted, in any situation. 

Kids commit the most outrageous crimes while belittling them with a straight-faced - 'Did I do that? Are you blaming ME for the ruckus?!' :D

It is this innocent outlook which wins hearts. They are an angel to call our own. 

Well, let me warn you, by adding that they are more devious than you can even think of, too. 

~~~ 

It's a small world, they say. More so now, owing to the eternally connected world. 

I believe that communication is a tool which zeroes in on the distance factor. 

With such vastly spread means of communication, it comes as no surprise that toddlers who are barely learning to walk have acquainted themselves well, with the quintessential 'smartphone' and every detail of its functioning, with toothless smiles! 

I remember distinctly when I spent a good fifteen minutes chatting with my colleague. 

Five minutes later, I received a call from her princess! 

Turns out, she had sneaked in the phone from her mother's reach and accidentally swiped her finger on my name in her last called log. 

This is how the children of today are exploring flashy gadgets and bright screens on their own. :) 

~~~ 

Back to when I was acquainting myself with the nuances of parenting, we were also welcoming the Internet in the 90s.

The retro telephone with that round dial, which used to go clunk-clunk on dialing the digits, those televisions which used to go 'five colored lines' if the signal went wary, and those cassettes with reels which had to be rolled using that pencil were still the norm. 

The computer with its Windows '95 OS and the blue screen which signified a terrorizing system failure was a new addition to the house that time as well. 

With that massive desktop machine, the words Compact Disk and Floppy Disk too made way into our vocabulary. 

Unlike today's ultra-slim, wafer-thin gadgets, the technology of that time was arduous to the tee and cumbersome to a certain extent too. 

From that blue screen which symbolized terror on the Win '95 command prompt to a violet colored template on the GUI of Windows 8.1 which means perfectly normal, the technology in our house has come a great way!

  

The stereo from BPL Sanyo with an accompanied cassette chamber, ranging from 1-2-3 A-B-C to Indie Pop songs from Leslie Lewis and Hariharan has been replaced by the sleek iPod. 

Those VHS cassettes with which we as kids used to discover joy, on having documented numerous birthday parties over the years has made way for a single DVD player and multiple CDs. 

The concept of the reel driven Kodak camera, which used to surprise us with the development of every 'negative' is now obsolete. 

From those video game parlors to game applications 'apps' on the smartphone, technology has taken gadgets in its stride and evolved too. 

The BPL Sanyo, The Kodak Reel,
The Nursery Rhymes, The Past's Feel!

~~~ 

Kids today are so receptive to technology that it makes me wonder - 'Where will we go from here now? What next?' 

The next step might be to make the child realize that the page of a book does not zoom in on its contents and that the television screen does not respond to touch! :)

It is the hyperactivity of today's kids which has led them on to be Einsteins and Newtons of their own little world!

There is a little anecdote of curiosity concerning one of my colleague's two-and-a-half-year-old. 

The other day, she was recollecting how her husband had gone to the girl's school to complete the formalities concerning the tiny tot's admission. 

She was joyously proclaiming to him that she would also be able to go to school, like her mother.

The fact being that my colleague and I are teachers, the little one was surprised on not finding her mother in her school, the next day.

When she returned from her first day in school, she ended up complaining to her mother.

'Mumma, I went to school today. Where were you? You were not in school. You don't go to school! Where do you go?' :)

She does not realize yet that there is no one school in this world. It will, of course, dawn upon her in due time. 

As goes for self-discovery, today's kids have mastered that art. As parents, we must flow with the tide and learn with our little ones.

These children of today's generation are growing up in the world where it is imperative to explore oneself and the happenings around oneself to ensure a witty survival. 

The realization of this fact and the ideology of the survival of the fittest, ensure for them a well-rounded personality, as they embrace their future with open arms. 

Being 'Curiously Smart' is what lends an edge to the GenX persona, Kiddo! :)

~~~ 

There is something to the kids of this time,

#AajKalKeBacche

Ousting the parents they call their own,

Who exclaim "Kids Today!"

Queries which put up disagreement,

Adamant eyes which desire a reason

To put their curiosity to rest,

Pair what you know, with the art of persuasion

#AajKalKeBacche, whose adventures find no end,

A love-hate relation with interactive discoveries

Stressed out parents, mischievous kids,

Hand in hand, the explorer never takes a moment to sit

Ripping devices apart, assembling them together,

Discovering the unseen, unheard, are #AajKalKeBacche

Being tech savvy, gadget-friendly,

Comes with its concerns about safety

Parenting is an art, to continuously evolve,

Ensuring the ring of security in the cyber world too

Explore the world together with your child

True bliss, would then be known  :) 

~~~ 

I am participating in a Blogging Contest, organized by Women's Web. 

This blogger contest is supported by Kid Social Shell, a unique digital parenting platform with 11 gaming-learning apps. Use it to play 3D nursery rhymes, counting number games, shapes games, fun math worksheets, coloring games and more! 

It is a unique digital parenting platform that bridges the gap between parents and their children as it offers kids-oriented learning content and rich productive parenting tools.

Some of the benefits offered by the Kid Social Shell platform are:

• Learning with gamification
• Monitoring your child’s performance.
• Interacting with like-minded parents
• A secure hub for kids

The app consists of 11 gaming-learning applications such as 3D Nursery Rhymes, Counting Number Games, Math Worksheet, Shapes games, Coloring games and 6 others.

Of Love And Friendship, lunchboxANDyou...

~~~

Stir Your Souls: Of Love And Friendship, #lunchboxANDyou, in association with @AndPicturesIN & @indiblogger http://t.co/La3yYtX6h5
— Poonam Khanduja (@stiryoursouls) February 10, 2015

~~~

The month of February spells love. 

The month of February spells dearness. 

The second month of the year belongs to Cupid, after all. 

~~~ 

However, love in the month of February does not necessarily have to be love for your spouse or for that 'special one' in your life.

For me, this is not the notion, at least.

~~~

Love for my dear ones, in my opinion, does not require a special month, for it to be celebrated.

I love my family, and I celebrate this mutual emotion with them, all year long.

~~~

 For us, Valentine's Day and its preceding week pass along without much pomp and show.

We, at home plan Cupid's Day so that the entire family gathers around, in round table fashion, for us all to enjoy an unpretentious, cordial, and homely dinner, or even lunch, sometimes.

This has been an annual ritual, so to say.

It is not only about a family lunch or dinner.

Each of us writes a personalized, hand-written note to that one family member, whose special memories have made the past year lovelier.

Also, we are to exchange those notes over Dessert, to make the memories, as well as the lingering pleasantness of taste, even memorable.

The dessert too, is special.

The 'From...' person prepares the dessert which is the 'To...' person's favorite.

Quite an unusual combination with the dessert and the note, you'd say.

In the end, each family member, has this sweet gesture and a special note, addressed to them, to cherish. :)

~~~

This time around, we plan to organize a lunch.

Speaking of lunch, the other day, I was flipping through those movie channels on TV.

As I chanced upon &Pictures, I was compelled to pause for a moment.

Why?

But of course, I chanced upon one of their adverts, announcing the Valentine's Day Premiere, of the BAFTA Nominee, The  Lunchbox, on Cupid's Day at 8.

It is one of the precious gems of Indian Cinema.

I have seen it in the past and am willing to spend a good two-and-a-half hours watching this masterpiece again too.

At the same time, my Twitter timeline was set abuzz by ANDPictures!

They had been tweeting, inviting people to share their Lunchbox stories and their love for food.

~~~

I wanted to send in my tweet too, but my tortoise - paced internet did not allow me too. 
Nevertheless, my Eureka moment saved the day. 
I couldn't send in my tweet to participate in this novel campaign. 
That reminded me... 
My love for food? 
The lunch planned for Saturday! 
The dishes for lunch had been taken care of, without a sweat. 
But, I still hadn't decided the name which would fill in the blank ahead of 'To...' in my note! 
Lunch... 
Lunchbox... 
The Lunchbox... 
Yes! 
Lunchbox it is! 
~~~ 
Then and there, I connected the dots to visualize the family member for whom I'd be penning my personalized note! 
I would be addressing this year's note... 
To... 
My Daughter... 
Charu! 
~~~ 
First things first, let me tell you that Charu's favorite food or favorite dessert, if you may call it, is Carrot Pudding, the humble गाजर का हलवा! But, for this year's special lunch, she has requested me for chocolate cupcakes. 
So, chocolate cupcakes it shall be! 
I suppose she won't mind Carrot Pudding too... ;) 
~~~ 
Here's why I'm writing a note to Charu, this year... 

• For the past many years, my better half and I have been exchanging such notes on this day. This time, I wish to do something different. For a change, I would be writing a note to Charu, and she'd be writing it for her father. :)



• This advert on &Pictures brought back pleasant memories. Memories of me packing lunch for her, in that cutesy little lunchbox to carry to school, at the advent of dawn, and of her relishing something home-made, something new in her lunchbox, every day.
  Sometimes, it used to be simple cheese sandwiches with her favorite cream biscuits as a side. On other occasions, she used to crave for her favorite Mushroom - Cashew nut gravy, coupled with home made Pulav. I even remember preparing Pasta for her, on multiple occasions. That was when she had to share it with her friends and boast of her mother's special dishes.
  This time, I wish to re-live those memories with her. At times, she used to save those biscuits from her box, to share with me, when she came back home. We used to share it over 'What happened in school, today?' sessions! :)



• It will serve as the perfect surprise for her, if her favorite Carrot Pudding, or cupcakes come to her served in a similar lunchbox, for her to relish. I'm writing to her because I wish to witness that precious smile on her face. From ear-to-ear, timeless joy! :)

~~~

Don't you wish to have a look at what my personalized note says?
I'm sure you do...
Here, leaving it for you to read, too! :)

~~~

'Tis Valentine's, I've done something exceptional...
Moved away from the archaic concept of Love...

This time it's not about your father and me...
It's about YOU and me, to make you feel special! :)

To surprise you, this Lunchbox has arrived...
To make sure that your love for food too, is revived!

It has been ages - I've always been packing my love for you...
For you, to take with you, in a tiny box - What all do I not brew? ;)

An age-old cliche it is, regarding your Mom's extraordinary culinary skills...
माँ के हाथ का खाना, which always makes you smile, it brings back memorable stills...

Today I'm set to surprise you, with anecdotes of love and friendship...
Out of it all, that we've been sharing over food...

Today is meant to be special...
'Tis Valentine's, it's about me and the cupcakes in that tiny box...

It is about your lovable lunchboxANDyou! :)

I LOVE YOU! <3 
~~~ 
I hope this brings a smile to her face, just the way I'm imagining it to be. 
What do you think of my plan, for my daughter, this Valentine's? 
I'll be glad to know of your opinion too. :) 
~~~
'The  Lunchbox' Premieres on Valentine's Day at 8 PM on &pictures. 
It boasts of stellar performances by Irrfan Khan, Nimrat Kaur and Nawazuddin Siddiqui.  
It is a masterpiece by Ritesh Batra. 
If you go by my word, you will love this movie too. 
Be sure to watch it with your loved ones. 
For... 
Can you fall in love with someone you haven't met? 
~~~

~~~

The Irre'Zest'ible Five...

~~~

Zest...

Something Exciting...

Something Adventurous...

Something Inspiring...

Something Unique...

Something Extraordinary...

~~~

There Are Some Zestful Activities In My Everyday Life...

Which Aid In Renewing My Vigor And Zeal Towards Life...

~~~

Reminiscing Over My Mother's Many Creations...

Like This One...

Admiring Her Artistic Creations...

Gives Me A Sense Of Fulfillment...

And, Reminds Me Of The Passion And Perseverance...

She Had...

For Her Efforts...

This Year, We'd Be Commemorating Her Fifth Death Anniversary...

But, It Doesn't Feel Like It...

Because, She Lives On In Her Art...

Her Works Adorn My Home...

And, She Lives On...

In Her Art! :)

~~~

Photographing Nature's Beauties...

Like These...

Especially In The Monsoons...

Rainbow Magic!

Notice The Sun And The Peacock, Even Midst The Grey?

The Spray Of Freshness, In The Monotony...

The way Nature's Marvels present us with Life Lessons...

And, present us with special opportunities to look at the Bright of Life and not at the Gray...

Because, There's Always A Silver Lining In Even The Darkest Clouds. :)

~~~

Collecting Memoirs From Vacations...

Like These...

To Remind Me...

That...

Even The Littlest Of Adventures In Life...

Can Leave A Long - Lasting Impression...

With The Memories, That We Gather. :)

And, Just A Glance...

At Souvenirs Such As These...

Is Enough To Bring About...

The Adrenaline Rush...

Of That Adventurous Vacation...

All That Is Needed...

Is An Excitement...

And, A Spirit...

A Zest...

To Live Life To The Fullest! :)

~~~

Expressing My Artistic Side...

On Festive Occasions...

Expressing My Artistic Best...

Instills A Strong Sense Of Self-Confidence...

And, Of Familial Support...

Celebrating Festivals Together...

Brings Along An Inexplicable Sense Of Exuberance...

Having Kept The Celebrations Of Life...

Zestfully Alive! :)

~~~

Reminiscing Over My Daughter's Awards...

These Awards, Stand Testimony...

To Achievements...

In The Past...

Which, Provides A Path...

To Progress...

These Are All Inspirations...

To Chalking Out...

Newer Achievements In Life...

With A Newer Zest...

And Newer Ambitions. :)

~~~

These Are My Pointers To Looking At Life...

With A Unique Perspective, Each Day!

Because,

All You Need...

Is...

Zeroing In On The Priorities In A Life...

Escaping Those Mundane Monotones...

Shatter That Glass Entrapping The Self...

To Unleash Unexplored Talents, Hidden!

~~~

This post is a part of the #ZestUpYourLife Activity in association with TATA Zest and BlogAdda.com.

A Mother's Treasure Is Her Daughter...

This post won an 'Award Of Appreciation' in the 'Express Your Love' Contest by 'A Tale Of Two And A Half' 
Heartfelt Thanks To Monika Bakshi!

~~~

         Love -- The Most Beautiful Feeling among all and the best relationship personified is the Mother - Daughter Relationship. Right from Day One -- Not since her birth but even Nine Months before that since her first feel in oneself initiates the relationship.

        They both complement each other in all respects throughout life. As a chubby bundle of joy - giving new degrees of happiness everyday, leaping new landmarks - first word -- Maa! 

        The best friend in her youth sharing everything & the biggest support in a Mother's senility - A Daughter is the epitome of Love increasing manifold everyday.

~~~

This post is written as part of 'Express Your Love' Contest.

Contest Organizer :- 'A Tale Of Two And A Half'.