Mother's Day 3

Look at you! Six years ago who’d have thought of you like this. A mother of not one but two children. Over the years, you seem to have come into your own as a mother. No, it has not been easy. Far, far from it. This motherhood thing is complicated. Full of guilt and full of love. Constantly reminding you of your own mortality. And forever leaving you worried – about everything from the environment to rising levels of crime. What kind of a world will they inherit?

Will they ever get to see the snow-capped mountains of Kilimanjaro like you once did? Or will it have melted by the time they become young people? Should you be spending less on plastic gifts and more on second-hand books because books can teach them more and plastic can take a thousand years to degrade? Not to mention the landfills they create. Should you limit the time they spend in front of tv? Should you return to working full-time? But did you not read the findings from a recent research that revealed that under-5s who spend their days at a crèche have impaired development? But what about the other study that was conducted the other day about how 90% mothers who quit their careers to take care of children suffer from a debilitating lack of self-esteem? See how inherently twisted motherhood is? Pulling you in opposing directions. Twisting and tossing and kneading you about as if you were chapati atta. But look at the kids now. Sitting wide-eyed in front of some rubbish gun-toting cartoon character on tv which you know they shouldn’t be watching. Would you have it any other way? Hmm?