Where am I today?

(This is an essay which I wrote so very long ago-sometime in 1993, or was it 1994?! I have preserved it because I have felt it described a very beautiful phase of my life-so here goes!!)


Is giving up a promising career the ultimate sacrifice in a woman's life? I wonder!

Waking up at the dot of 6.00 to an alarm akin to a factory bell, one is relieved to be granted 10 extra minutes of blissful sleep by an obliging husband, who heads straight for the door to collect the milk and promptly proceeds to make steaming cups of decoction coffee, Bournvita and even helps to pack the lunch boxes for the boys. And this job he does with single minded focus (the fact that men just cannot multi-task is to be remembered here) and not to forget, enthusiasm.

My work begins with ironing uniforms, polishing shoes, scampering behind the boys to give them their bath and dress them in time for the 15 minutes of revision tests( formatted and kept ready the previous night) which I have to conduct for the two absolutely over-confident boys who are so sure they know all there is to know about anything from Spelling to Mathematics!

The next couple of hours is spent attending to the incessant phone calls and faxes, in between cooking the three main meals (undertaken I assure you , purely for the love of cooking), working out to sound of the latest in music-Dire Straits, Celine Dione, Savage Garden, Lee Anne Rhymes. Then comes dashing off at the stroke of eleven for 4 hours of productive work seated at office, followed by picking up the children from school, getting them to change and then watching them run off to play (something they do with absolutely no prodding, I assure you!). Then comes an hour of study-which thankfully, they do fairly willingly. Then finally, time and energy permitting, the family heads out for a drive or to catch up with close friends over dinner.

The 2 major annual events, the birthday parties are something definitely worth writing about. I had managed to get a consensus on the fact that they would be held on the same day for both the boys, as Sept 12th and Nov 11th were thankfully just 2 months apart!!

This annual event had the mother all excited and brimming with ideas initially, to reaching the overworked, near breakdown stage as the date drew near! The planning of the games and menu alone involved meticulous back breaking work-which I would never have accomplished without the help of the high school girls nearby, who stood by me all the way!

Of all the parties held, the ‘Pirate Party’ won head on! It was such a hit that we had kids raving about it for weeks with every home (of the 40 odd homes invited ) having at least one little pirate wreaking havoc for almost a month after the event!!

The gamut included a pirate ship, treasure chests, games galore-including “Passing the booty”, “Yo ho ho & a bottle of Rum” and treasure hunts. There were around 40 little pirates-girls and boys between 4 and 6 yrs of age, storming around with swords, bandanas, eye patches, the works!! We had Captain Hook, Captain Pugwash and even Peter Pan dressed as a pirate!!
Were the parents enjoying themselves too? You bet! Their faces were dead giveaways!!

The holiday planning took anything from 2 weeks to a month whereas the actual holiday package lasted not more that 4 days to a week! But all was forgiven as long as the husband took time off with us! And when holidays are a ‘no no’ because of the peak season at work, the long faces and complaints about how we have never been taken for a holiday ever lasts anywhere between 2 or 3 weeks!!

What have I gained from this one might ask. A secure, contented home with a garden to call my own, two well balanced kids with contentment written on their smug little faces and a fairly successful self employed husband who has finally consented to give us holidays abroad and in India. Could I ask for more?

In retrospection, the right choices were made probably at the cost of smothering a budding advertising professional!

Now with life more settled and flowing smoothly, can I dare to give my career one more go? I wonder.
I end this communiqué issued from the hands of one dedicated mom, quoting
Sigrad:
For yesterday:
I am, where I am
I know where I could be
Had I done what I did not do

Tell me friend, what can I do today
To be where I want to be tomorrow.
Nimo N. Menon