When we were growing up in the 90s, we thought:
- We were the coolest generation around
- What we were doing was really different, rather revolutionary
- How we lived was the only way to live
- Our parents and especially their parents lived in dark ages
Years later I have realized how mistaken we were.
Life with a ten month old son, a communication consultant job and thousands of household chores isn’t easy. It’s literally like getting up as soon as you can, rolling a healthy bite for the kid while checking on work related mails, simultaneously talking to mom on phone and discussing everything on the earth. I thought I was a super mum, a power puff girl and a superwoman garbed as a mortal.
Everything went smooth till I stepped out to meet my granny. The 85 year old woman with numerous health issues was more radiant than me. She immediately hugged the kiddo and somehow he also loved her company. There were no prank, no tantrums, no shrieks. She cajoled him with poems in Pahari, Hindi and half baked Punjabi and he played to her tunes. She gave me more ten more kid recipes to try out.
Later mom told me granny took care of me right from when I was 3 months old till I was three years old. She took care of me singlehandedly , even when she was running a household of 20 people including unmarried daughters and newly married daughter-in-laws. And of course, she had her own mother-in-law to look after. And not to talk of scores of guest who would come unannounced and stay for days altogether.
Despite being a class five pass out she ran the house with such an elan that nobody left home without having food, without carrying meal for next time, wearing old, tattered clothes, no guests were left unattended and her house was sparkling clean all the time.
I thought: “what was she made of? Had I been I her place I would have died of sheer depression of having to manage so many things.”
May be they were the generation of superwomen, super mums and power puff girls. Hats off to those women and that generation! In the meanwhile, I’ll try to take tips from her on how to manage things PATIENTLY.
- We were the coolest generation around
- What we were doing was really different, rather revolutionary
- How we lived was the only way to live
- Our parents and especially their parents lived in dark ages
Years later I have realized how mistaken we were.
Life with a ten month old son, a communication consultant job and thousands of household chores isn’t easy. It’s literally like getting up as soon as you can, rolling a healthy bite for the kid while checking on work related mails, simultaneously talking to mom on phone and discussing everything on the earth. I thought I was a super mum, a power puff girl and a superwoman garbed as a mortal.
Everything went smooth till I stepped out to meet my granny. The 85 year old woman with numerous health issues was more radiant than me. She immediately hugged the kiddo and somehow he also loved her company. There were no prank, no tantrums, no shrieks. She cajoled him with poems in Pahari, Hindi and half baked Punjabi and he played to her tunes. She gave me more ten more kid recipes to try out.
Later mom told me granny took care of me right from when I was 3 months old till I was three years old. She took care of me singlehandedly , even when she was running a household of 20 people including unmarried daughters and newly married daughter-in-laws. And of course, she had her own mother-in-law to look after. And not to talk of scores of guest who would come unannounced and stay for days altogether.
Despite being a class five pass out she ran the house with such an elan that nobody left home without having food, without carrying meal for next time, wearing old, tattered clothes, no guests were left unattended and her house was sparkling clean all the time.
I thought: “what was she made of? Had I been I her place I would have died of sheer depression of having to manage so many things.”
May be they were the generation of superwomen, super mums and power puff girls. Hats off to those women and that generation! In the meanwhile, I’ll try to take tips from her on how to manage things PATIENTLY.
