Category: Motherhood
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Through the Door
My daughter was in the shower. The sentence that arrived before I was fully awake was: this is my child, but I don’t know her. A reflective essay on the week my daughters began to feel like strangers, and what my own mother said when I asked her the same question.
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Boxed In
It is dark when I pull out into our driveway. Pattu is hunched over in the front seat tying her shoe laces. Ammu is in the back seat, headphones covering her ears, looking at the slowly lightening skies, hues of pink and purple in the horizon. The bluetooth connects and Taylor Swift sings “Welcome to…
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Mother’s Day – A Long Line Of Ladies
“Can I give you the gift now?” Laddu is making circles around me in the study as I pause the Cdrama I am watching with a reluctant sigh. “You can give it to me on Sunday” I say and hit unpause on the video player. She rolls her eyes before walking out in a huff.…
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Mom – Primary Identity
“Third grade dance group”, “Bus xx group” are few of the active WhatsApp groups on my phone. I scroll through the list and barring a couple of groups that serve as a neighborhood water cooler, the rest are tangentially or directly related to my identity as mom. The messages that get traded here have to…
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Something In The Rain
My middle daughter and I stood by the entrance of the studio where we were for her voice lessons, looking out into the pouring rain. Our car was a short walk away. Mulling over whether to wait for the rain to stop or get wet, I asked her if we should do it kdrama style…
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Mother. Daughter. Mother.
“Skipping time” Amma calls out to my prepubescent youngest child who is upstairs talking to a friend over Facetime. I am in the kitchen doing dishes, amused by the interaction. I hear the sound of jumping upstairs as Laddu counts and jumps a hundred times. She is out of breath but rushes proudly to her…
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End Of Summer
Today has been a day lived in full cognizance of the passing of time. Each moment together, sweeter because of the change that sets in tomorrow with the beginning of the school year. I put in the effort to make a meal that could be savored as a family. We went out for dinner and…
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Falling Leaves, Change In Pace
Under the glare of lamps in an almost deserted parking lot, our family of five stood in the night breeze, savoring the chill and, watching a beautiful fireworks show. The fireworks capped a lovely day spent shopping for back to school clothes, bags and supplies. As our older children picked out outfits, Saathi and I…
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Parenting From The Sidelines
For a brief few hours last evening, I sat on the porch of a friend’s home chatting, ordering pizzas and watching a group of over ten kids walk to the park, chat and interact with each other. My gangly twins and the stocky youngest fit in seamlessly. They made their own sub groups, congregating and…
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Mother’s Day: Roe v Wade Edition
It is Friday afternoon and my social media feed is already showing Mother’s Day ads and wishes. I am irked, annoyed and sometimes, downright angry. My mother lives with me. I raise three daughters. This Mother’s day feels like it should be a day for all those who are tangentially connected to the act of…