The motherly instinct
Mother’s Day is done for this year, and all the hullabaloo surrounding it has slowly started dying down. Every year, around this time, you would find a lot of stuff written about the beauty of motherhood. The market is flooded with mushy Mother’s Day greeting cards, and for a good reason. Raising a child is a challenge unlike any other, and it feels good to be lauded and appreciated for the same. However, there would be another day to talk about the trials and tribulations involved in the process. After witnessing the celebration over the past week, I thought of bringing up the mothers’ side of the story as well, in order to show how the act of bringing up a child has enriched our lives too.
The journey of motherhood isn’t just a story of great sacrifices. It is also about being the receiver of great love. A child’s love is the purest of all forms of love, and it is a privilege to be at the receiving end of it. Some of the most beautiful moments of my life are the ones that I have spent with my children, cuddling with them and looking at the stars before drifting off to sleep. It’s not all rosy; there are tantrums in a middle of a long-awaited, planned-to-the-hilt vacation. Just as well, there are times when you would be holding and trying to calm down your out-of-control toddler and, all of a sudden, he decides to flash you a beautiful smile. Motherhood is unpredictable, taxing and rewarding. While the nurturing has an obvious influence on the children’s lives, the act, in itself, can change you in profound ways. Suddenly, all the imaginary barriers that you had erected around yourself start seeming nonsensical. The stripping away of the vestigial thought process allows you the freedom to flap your wings and soar high.
Perhaps the most precious thing that my children have taught me is to trust my instincts. It began right from the day my elder one was born. I remember going through labor (the pain of which can best be described as ‘indescribable’!) and knowing exactly when it was time to push, much before the midwife or the doctor told me to. It continued as my child progressed through infancy. As a first-time mother, there’s hardly anything to rely on, except one’s own instincts. You can have all the new parent books, a friend circle of new mothers, and the ever-present Google, but when your baby is screaming his head off at 2 in the morning and you don’t know why, you go by your instincts. That doesn’t mean that you are always right, or able to figure out the perfect solution. But when you have nothing else to go by, you fall back on your instincts; and receive a jolt when you realize that it actually works quite well! That’s a lesson that you carry for a lifetime, long after the kids have spread their wings and flown out in search of unexplored territories. Learning to trust your instincts helps you take off once again, knowing that you will be able to find your way around, no matter what!
P.S. I have written this post as a mother, and in the context of Mother’s Day celebrations. While I am proud of the role we mothers play in bringing up the next generation, I don’t wish to take any credit away from the fathers, who have an irreplaceable role in the entire scheme of things. My partner connects to the kids in a way which is very different from how I do. The kids get to explore their adventurous side with him; I, the self-designated safety officer, am not usually up for such things! In fact, he will the one to thank for (and blame) if the kids go on to become professional bungee jumpers! At least, till the time when I decide to trust my flying instinct and go sky diving :-D
