Category: SAHM
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Mommy Tax
Laddu is on the kitchen island, her legs dangling off the edge. Large sunglasses cover more than half her face. I am feeling reflective and in the mood for conversation. “What is your destiny?” I ask as a follow-up to our discussion on the show Ever After High. She blinks. I go back to the…
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Leaning In
The sambar bubbles merrily on the back stove. The vegetables in the sambar are just done, not mushy, not too hard. The color is a golden yellow. The smell of ghee elevates the whole experience. The only thing missing is coriander. The okra is crisping evenly, specks of brown amid the green. I smile to…
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The Struggle Is Real
“You are burning up!” I yell at someone in my dream. The feeling is too real. I wake up with a gasp and realize that Laddu is in bed, her arm resting on mine. Her skin is hot to touch. I touch her forehead and with a sigh push the covers off and make my…
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Deconstructing Self Worth
I sit between two women at the tae kwon do class my twins are at. We trade smiles each time one of us turn toward another. We are tentative, jabbing, probing with our eyes, ears and spidey senses to see if there will be a connection. We have forty minutes to kill. Our younger ones…
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On Motherhood and Curated Lives
I woke up to outrage on social media yesterday over the remarks of a minor celeb in India following Women’s Day. My first thought was why amplify one voice over millions of saner ones. I let it be and moved on to other flaming issues. Then again this morning was a slightly smaller, more intimate…
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Tis All About Me This Time
Two years ago, I turned in my badge, laptop and everything else that signified I had a corporate persona. I drove home feeling relieved. I spent the next one year physically tending to my children in an effort to validate my decision. I cooked (and still do) fresh most meals and did away with most…
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Daycare, Me Time and All That Jazz
We set off, Laddu and I each morning. Today she is in an orange dress, a ball of sunshine herself. I belt her in, put her lunch bag on the passenger seat, slide in, turn the radio on and off we go. My fingers keep time with the music on the steering. Her silver anklets…
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Thoughts On Stay At Home Parenthood
Laddu is on her chair, the booster seat enabling to see the food in front of her. Saathi and I are across from each other, eating and sharing notes on the day. Her hands reach out for morsels, her eyes are bright and she is a full participant at dinner. I watch her haggle and…
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On staying home to raise children
“What does your dad do for a living?” I ask the twins. “Cut” answers Ammu. “Clean” answers Pattu. I repeat my question stressing the ‘for a living’ part. “Oh! you mean earn dollars?” asks Pattu. I nod enthusiastically now that they had caught on. “Type on the keyboard” says Ammu tentatively. I beam and correct…
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Reflections on being a stay at home mom (SAHM)
Hold that thought right there. No, this is not another post debating the relative merits of working or not working. Or being a mom or not. 🙂 I set the pan with water to boil for my afternoon coffee. Laddu is straining to be taken off the high chair where I have her squirming and…