Living in the “Mom”ent

 

Do you know what this means? How is feels? How to do it? Why do it?

 

I do not, yet...but I am trying.

 

I say 'trying' because I live in a world that drives me crazy....

 

There always seems to be chores to do, one after the other

Cut throat timelines that relentlessly bother

 

The mind always feels rushed

The poor heart is always hushed

 

‘I am busy’, ‘I have no time’ is said all too often

Too busy to live, too busy to soften

 

So many moments we miss in a day

Thanks to the notorious routine that takes us away

 

Feeling peace, feeling quite

No longer feels normal or right

 

In a race, always focused on your pace

No grace left to feel the sunshine on your face

 

To find the balance between work and home, we take so long

You feel agitated all along, only to realise you may have just got it all wrong

 

Alas, you cannot walk away from what needs to be done

It is after all important to earn and eat some bun and have some fun

 

To be able to do this you sure do need money

And earning this is not always fun, honey

 

But amidst this madness that you barely seem to cope

Everyday living sprinkles us with moments that are full of hope

 

Moments when your child is busy playing and randomly says ‘I love you’

And you flash a smile and feel blessed for this being-loved cue

 

Moments when you watch the colour of your child’s eyes in the sunshine

And in them you see the simple and innocent soul shining like a goldmine

 

Moments when your child giggles over your silly act

You feel glad you initiated this enticing laughter with such simple tact

 

Moments when bed time leads to insightful talk times and delightful story times

And ends with cuddles and feeling mesmerised on hearing each others’ heart chime

 

Moments when your mind is not elsewhere and your eyes are not on your phone

but it is instead focused on your child, the joy and the confidence they feel is clearly shown

 

Moments when you watch your child so utterly focused on a painting task

With their eyebrows in a frown and lips in a pout, to watch this cuteness you simply bask

 

Moments like these are within your reach

To live in these moments and to express the love you feel, they teach

 

A long day you might have had, your to-do-list looks equally bad

To not recognise these moments that will surely make you glad is indeed very sad

 

When you have said ‘Hurry up’ and instantly bite your tongue out of guilt

Then this guilt is a good sign that your focus on life has a new tilt

 

Why all this fuss about missing moments you may wonder

About life when you ponder, these missed moments will have the answers to your blunder

 

Your touch, your attention, your smile, your calmness, your encouragement play a vital role

To raise a loved child, moments like these bear the ultimate goal

 

On most days you are granted this wish but some days some moments you may miss

Don’t beat yourself for this, your child will always remember your kiss

 

So, regret not about the moments you have lost,  worry not how, and ask not why

No matter how much you try, money can never buy these moments even if your try

 

If you think you see a moment, stop your clock chasing mind

Follow your heart, the soulful secret to living in the moment, you will surely find

EOD Routine

“I want 5 books (to be read) tonight mummy” declares Mr 3.9

I say 'First lets brush your teeth'

“Three books, ok? But I brush my teeth tomorrow morning, ok?” comes the negotiating reply.

I repeat the same thing (every night) about sugar bugs eating away his teeth while he is sleeping. (The days I am lazy to help him with brushing, the sugar bugs are on a holiday and his teeth safe for the night)

“Three books, ok? But only brushing no cleaning tongue, ok? he negotiates again.

My ‘OK’ has to sound like he won a good deal for himself. (3 books is still a good deal.)

I negotiate for 2 books. An instant and suddenly teary “You are always naughty mummy!” reply seals my failed negotiation

Every single night I attempt to skip a page, I get told off for missing a page.

I read fast, I am asked to slow down.

I yawn and sheepishly skip a few lines, I am asked to repeat the page

The joy of snapping a book close after the last word, is all mine!



The Mad mummy (in me) is counting every second of sleep he is missing out on and calculating how late he will wake up the next day!

The Good mummy (in me) is thinking she is reading to her child every day as recommended and that her child actually loves to be read to, yippie!

The Angry mummy (in me) is wondering why the same book every day? Keep me motivated, dude!

The Happy mummy (in me) is wrapped by the smile, hug and kiss after a reading session that leaves her little man satisfied!

I feel the love on Valentine's Day

My dear FIL,

Can I begin by saying that there has not been a single day that I have not thought about you and not wished that you were still here with us? You were a man of great character and principal. I was always in search of a mentor like you to guide me through this rock and roll journey called LIFE.Just almost when I began to realise that I could learn some really good tricks of the trade from you to combat life, destiny dealt her cards and took you away.

Now, I can't ever put in words how grateful I am that your death was so fast and graceful, if I may say.My deepest and strongest wish now that I feel too tired and old on some days is to have an end like you did.
A way to a man's heart, they may say, is through his stomach. But surely a way to my heart is simply through my heart. We all have different shades to our personality. Different people see different shades. Different people like different shades.I too saw different shades in you. One as father to his DIL and the other as a grandfather to my son.The way our minds and hearts work, the former shade felt like a growing seedling...a growth that I slowly began to realise and relish. The latter shade, I simply saw without doubt, straightaway - from day one.. and this is the shade that found its way- straight into my heart, so effortlessly.
I feel robbed of all the valuable learning's that I could have pocketed and I feel so utterly robbed for my son since the relationship that you two shared was so abruptly cut short.The bond that I saw growing between the two of you was love and affection in its purest form personified.Well, as I say the way our minds and hearts work, such a bond brought such great sense of joy and warmth and assurance that a tinge of envy I could not avoid. Envy that my little man had such a blast in your company more so than mine.
Along with you seems to have gone that sense of confidence in parenting that I was just beginning to discover.

What I have today, I try to believe is like a present wrapped in lifes' ifs and buts.I can see my present only if I unwrap and put aside the ifs and buts. And what I find is my present packed with memories we created that are so fond and just as beautiful as our bond....