Be fiercely independent

Idly browsing through my Twitter timeline, I saw mentions of the Moms For a Better World contest being held on Women’s Web. I had the link bookmarked for over a week and life has a way of getting away from me. I had forgotten all about it till now when there are barely hours to go before it closes. Scooping Laddu up, I dumped her in the playpen and fired my laptop on. The clock ticking away has a strange way of bringing things into focus. There are a few dozen things I would like to tell my children as they grow but if I had to pick one. Just one. It would be independence.

Be fiercely independent.

Yup! That is the one message I would pass on to my children. As they grow and mature into fine young ladies. There will be myriad things competing for their attention. Boys, Girlfriends, Professional networks. You get the gist. I want them to have their independence. Fiscally, Emotionally. To be able to find their feet under life changing circumstances. To be able to pick themselves and move on after heart breaks (both friendship and romantic). To be able to carve that space within themselves that needs no validation. To be able to retreat into a hobby of their choosing that becomes their oasis the way writing does for me.

So, here it is my dear daughters. Go live your life. Find happiness with other people. Make friends, fall in love, build your family. But, be fiercely independent through it all.