Something for mother's day

The word mother as per the dictionary means – a woman in relation to a child or children to whom she has given birth. Now just close your eyes & try to think of Mother & it conjures up infinite images of the lady who was with us from the time we decided to arrive in this world, rather from the time she decided that it was time for us to come, the lady whose infinite patience brought us to where we are today, the lady whose warmth got us out of life’s troubled days!!And the list is endless…

Come to think of it - there was a time in our life when our Mom was the only person we cared for in the entire world, her approval meant so much, Unlike face book status she didn’t have to display whether she liked our actions or not, just a look in her eyes was enough to read her mind.

Way back in the 70s & 80s mom was like the computer these days – Versatile! Someone who could entertain, do the laundry , cook , teach , at times contribute to the family’s finances & despite all this had NO expectations from anybody but her kids. Mothers took a genuine pride in being good bakers or cooks in the limits of their households & not being recognized elsewhere.

Slowly times changed, the 90s got in the era of working ladies & with the onset of 21^st century, I guess you all know what has happened!! more & more women started entering the workforce , competing with the opposite sex, proving their worth ; this not only made them versatile but also omnipresent, a mom was everywhere from the board meeting to PTAs, from the home to soccer field to ballet, this generation of moms is seriously the generation of ‘super moms’ .In her endeavor of being the super mom she is not alone, the technology has got better, with the emergence of social networking sites, today’s mom can share parenting tips, recipes classes and much more, which probably the moms way back must have missed out on!!

However there is always the other side of the coin, moms then had ample time with their kids with no distractions like Face book, twitter, chat etc. They were more content with the information passed down to them from generations rather than referring to child rearing books , they didn’t need a ‘Tiger mom’ to advise them on harnessing their child’s potential. Best of all they all relied on something which we all miss today is the ‘motherly intuition’& with that single quality they sent us out in the rat race.

Today being a mother myself, I wonder how I will be remembered by my daughter, as a mother who was mostly on her laptop logged in face book or twitter and paid attention only when it was required or as someone who really taught her to be independent and capable of making her own decisions. I guess only time can tell that.

Till then as Abraham Lincoln said – “All that I am ,or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother”

Happy Mother’s day!!!