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The simple pleasures of life are waiting to be noticed. Are you and your child rushing too fast? This post has some simple wisdom!
Whether she is a working woman or a housewife working in her home; a mother’s aim is to always keep things in order, and to keep things moving. The orders of the husband, the demands of the children, and the requirements of daily life keep her on her toes.
I see myself running as soon as I wake up in the morning – to set up things for my family before they rise. The day continues pretty much on a spin and I often hear myself saying “Hurry up, walk fast. Hurry up! We are getting late!” Whether it is to comb my kid’s hair, dress him up, pack the tiffin, or to do many of the little tasks that need to be done.
Hurry, hurry, hurry. Fast, fast, do it fast!
But today, I slowed down. Not because there were fewer things to be done or because it was a holiday. I slowed down because my 5 year old told me to.
“Mummy, you have to do it slowly; slow like a snail.” I thought I didn’t hear it right the first time, and asked him again. He repeated it : “Slow as a Snail.”
Then he clarified – every time, I rush him, he falters, and I grumble and yell. Then I rush some more.
And it got me thinking.
Where is the fun and enjoyment of doing all the simple things? Why is it a race, who are we trying to win against? When are we going to just enjoy the journey? As I heard him, I stopped and checked myself; is this how my child sees me? A harassed lady hurrying with everything she does, just trying to complete the numerous things of the day. Rushing her kid and family… and teaching him to rush through life?
This is not the message I want to send across, I want him to enjoy his life; to stop and smell the roses, and if he misses his bus, so be it.
I am sure our drive to school will yield another stimulating conversation. So now we go slowly, slow as a tortoise, but not a snail!
This post was first published here.
Pic credit: Rupert Ganzer (Used under a CC license)
Inderpreet writes for her love of writing, edits manuscripts and reads endlessly. An authors' editor with a decade of experience, she provides manuscript critique, linguistic editing, substantive editing and developmental editing for fiction and nonfiction. read more...
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Neena was the sole caregiver of Amma and though one would think that Amma was dependent on her, Neena felt otherwise.
Neena inhaled the aroma that emanated from the pan and took a deep breath. The aroma of cumin interspersed with butter transported her back to the modest kitchen in her native village. She could picture her father standing in the kitchen wearing his white crisp kurta as he made delectable concoctions for his only daughter.
Neena grew up in a home where both her parents worked together in tandem to keep the house up and running. She had a blissful childhood in her modest two-room house. The house was small but every nook and cranny gave her memories of a lifetime. Neena’s young heart imagined that her life would follow the same cheerful course. But how wrong she was!
When she was sixteen, the catastrophic clutches of destiny snatched away her parents. They passed away in a road accident and Neena was devastated. Relatives thronged her now gloomy house and soon it was decided that she should be married off.
Women today don’t want to be in a partnership that complicates their lives further. They need an equal partner with whom they can figure out life as a team, playing by each other’s strengths.
We all are familiar with that one annoying aunty who is more interested in our marital status than in the dessert counter at a wedding. But these aunties have somehow become obsolete now. Now they are replaced by men we have in our lives. Friends, family, and even work colleagues. It’s the men who are worried about why we are not saying yes to one among their clans. What is wrong with us? Aren’t we scared of dying alone? Like them?
A recent interaction with a guy friend of mine turned sour when he lectured me about how I would regret not getting married at the right time. He lectured that every event in our lives needs to be completed within a certain timeframe set by society else we are doomed. I wasn’t angry. I was just disappointed to realize that annoying aunties are rapidly doubling in our society. And they don’t just appear at weddings or family functions anymore. They are everywhere. They are the real pandemic.
Let’s examine this a little closer.
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