For a mother, the best ‘Road Trip’ is the ‘Journey of Motherhood’. Here is an account from a Mother – her daughter’s journey from her womb into the world and, finally into adulthood and beyond:
The Journey That Was
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| The new born Leena with her mother |
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| New born Leena with her father |
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| The little, inquisitive Leena |
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| Her first birthday |
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| In winter |
Leena showed signs of being a bookworm since she learnt to hold a book and turn its pages. She would spend most of her time immersed in books; any books she could find lying in and around the house. Once she started going to school at the age of 3, she showed signs of being an extremely career-oriented girl but, not selfish (like career-oriented people usually are). She was very caring and kind and, could not see anyone in pain.
She loved to play with kitchen play sets and was never away from books.
My husband and I were not so well off when Leena was born and even during her childhood. We used to regret the fact that we could not buy the huge number or books she wanted to read. But Leena did not let us regret that too. She would borrow books from anyone she knew, would go to libraries with her grandmother to read books - in short, she shaped her own career, followed her passion, all without our help.
In any kind of exam, she would make up her mind that she has to top it and, she would! In her tender years of childhood when probably, she did not understand the meaning of success, she would say – I have to be the topper in this exam. And, she would study even till late night if required.
Once before her entrance for admission into class KG, she told us – "Ma, Deta, I will top this exam and I want a talking doll after this." Believe it or not, she actually topped the entrance and we gifted her a talking doll.
This determination of hers intertwined with her caring nature is what made us proud. We felt blessed to have such an angel in our life.
As she grew up, she was a tomboy, uninterested in anything too girly. She never cared about her looks; surprisingly, not even now.
Our child grew up to be a beautiful, kind, responsible and determined girl. She excelled in her music and dance classes alike, was a connoisseur in swimming, a state level badminton player and a topper in studies too. What more could we wish for!
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| Leena in our traditional dress - Mekhela Chadar |
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| Playing with her doll |
At the age of 5, when she got a younger brother, she cared for him immensely, in fact, no less than a mother. Both my husband and I were working parents and hence, we could not devote as much time as we would like to our children. But our daughter grew up to be a responsible girl and, her care (for her brother) made up for the time we could not spend with our son.
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| Leena with her brother |
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| Leena could never stop caring for him |
Leena has always understood responsibility without us telling/explaining her. One of our very proud and happy moment was when she topped the region in her class 10 board exams. We and her school teachers alike expected a very good result from her but, the top position was the extra amount of happiness we received.
We went on a short trip to Chennai after Leena's class 10 board exams. Even there we could not keep her away from books! She ended up finishing 5 books in 7 days there.
The Journey That Is
Our beautiful daughter fared her class 12th exams well and, has taken up English as her subject for Majors in the University of Delhi. Somehow, I feel that she was destined to study literature. When she used to read the ‘n’ number of books since childhood, I would dream that my daughter would do something related to literature. She never stopped her inquisitiveness regarding a book after reading it but, discuss all the pros and cons with me. Her analyzing power even then was impressive.
My daughter got an internship with the ‘Press Trust of India’ recently, which has another milestone in her career as well in my life.
I cannot seem to stop saying that I am very proud to have a daughter like her.
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| Beautiful Leena |
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| At home |
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| At Domino's |
My son is also growing up to a kind and responsible human being after his sister.
The Journey That Would Be
Like the yesteryears, I believe that Leena keep on climbing on the ladder of success and, will always be a kind and responsible girl.
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| The tomboy Leena at the age of 15 with her family in Shillong |
I am sure she would make her mark in this world.
In this ‘Journey of Motherhood’, I have learnt many lessons. I have learnt that independce is very precious to every human being. Leena is very possessive about her independence. She always follows her intuition, which is surprisingly always the right path for her. As parents, we guided her from childhood into adolescent. But we let her take the main decisions of her life, especially those related to her career. In fact, we learnt a lot about independence and value system from her. Many a times grown-ups forget that the process of learning never stops. And raising a child is one of the best ways to learn more. We usually underestimate the qualities of children but, they will always leave us amazed with their knowledge somehow.
I would like to send out a message to all parents out there by quoting Lisa Wintage...
Your children are the greatest gift God will give to you, and their souls the heaviest responsibility He will place in your hands. Take time with them, teach them to have faith in God. Be a person in whom they can have faith. When you are old, nothing else you've done will have mattered as much.----------
This post is written for "The Perfect Road Trip" contest organised by IndiBlogger and AmbiPur Car. For more information, check out their Facebook page.