You never know until it happens to you’. This phrase is my eye-opener today.
So after marrying the love of my life, I began my working career again today. I have this problem with offices, ‘I can never sit in one place and work’. Though my previous workplaces are all having a desk to sit and a system to operate, I never used it completely. I either was working on the field or I was completely absent to the office and the desk.
So i’ll elaborate. Basically, I was doing a 6am-2pm job, where I need to perform my duties of a crime reporter, by going to the field, report, come back to the four-wall- big office, submit the assignment and leave home. See here, it’s clear. I am not working by staying at my desk all day.
I enjoyed this, until one day I decided to resign because of my inability to perform what’s SHIT.
Now here comes the biggest task of working again after being a freelancer for a couple of happy years. It feels like going back to your home from grandparents’ house, after a long vacation and also like, having to go to your regular subject class, after complete two hours of games hour and also like, having to eat only biryani rice without a mutton piece.
Coming back to paragraph one, I was talking about going to the office, to work at an allotted office desk. This is really painful for me. I mean, as told already, I can’t work, sitting at one place, all day. But what to do, when you are an independent strong passionate woman, you tend to work and earn, not just the money, but self- satisfaction too.
Fortunately being such woman, I decided to go to this office-desk suffocating place and play the regular 9-6 polished drama. But wait. I’m a homemaker now. I also am a working woman. So I think I’ll frame this, this way, so I’m a working -homemaker! Sounds different but pleasing right?
Okay so, being a working- homemaker, I’ll first have to fix my home. I’ll start with completing the chores, which includes washing the dishes, cleaning the home, which again has a subdivision of mop cleaning the home and now you need to wash the clothes and put them to dry, okay wait I think rangoli comes first, so you wash the area and put rangoli and now you need to put the bed sheets properly and make sure everything in the house is in place, cook, this has a subdivision of chopping the vegetables, ok wait, I forgot about breakfast, now after all of these, you need to prepare the boxes, perform puja, get ready, make sure everything is proper, wash the left out dishes from cooking and breakfast, now lock and go to office-desk place. Ufff, hectic right.
Wait, this is just about going to the office, again you have a separate schedule to accomplish at office. This isn’t over yet. I’ll have to go back home and complete the rest activities, like cooking, cleaning, doing the dishes, setting everything right and then try sleeping.
You all might be wondering why I am discussing my personal stuff here- my stuff, of going to the office, doing chores, coming back and doing the chores again. If so you are mistaken. Let me remind you the first sentence again, ‘You never know until it happens to you’. So all these 26 years, though I clearly knew how hard my mom was working, still there were times I neglected and didn’t help her. Today, though my husband is of help to me, I still feel it’s not easy managing everything. I have realised how hard and brave it is to be a working woman. Not just the home things, you have an endless list, you ought to manage alone.
Mom, I’m sorry, I couldn’t realise this until it happened to me today. I’m sorry for letting you do everything though I was available at times you found it difficult. I’m sorry for not understanding your commands of help. I’m sorry for not realising this when I could do something. Mom, I’m sorry. You surely are a super wonder woman and I’m proud of you.
Today though I have to do something I don’t like, I still could gather the energy to try doing the same. Not just because I don’t have another thing to perform or escape, but because I realised the days my mom and dad struggled and managed so much in doing something they don’t like, just because they wanted to raise their children comfortably. Love you, mom and dad. Things you did for raising me and brother are the same things that are inspiring me to begin living.
To every mom and dad, thank you for being so strong. Your sacrifices inspire all of us. And to every son and daughter reading this, ‘Embrace her importance before it’s lost completely’. And every daughter-in-law, it’s your turn to stop regretting and start reacting. After all, mother-in- law is first a mother.
Though I realised this now, I cannot bring back the days I wasn’t of any help to my mother. But you, you can help her and share her work, and try making her healthy and happy. Begin now.
Divya Vallabhaneni