Yes, I Hope To Nurture A Strong ‘Budhape Ki Lathi’ For Myself

I hope the relationship between my son and myself will be strong enough to sustain me emotionally in my old age, but also to give him a strong anchor in his life.

Whenever I thought of kids, I always hoped for a girl. Especially after marriage, my desire to have a girl increased manifold.

It wasn’t just a fantasy to dress her up or play with her. It was a dream. I wanted to raise a girl who is confident, independent, one who can either find a life partner of her choice or ask us to do the honors for her. A lady who will maintain her identity, stand by it, and defy all the patriarchal norms.

Then I had a son

He gifted me a son and suddenly all my dreams looked frivolous.

I wondered – why? Why was I over assertive on having a confident girl and didn’t care about it when I had a boy? Why had I wanted to raise my girl to take care of me in old age but with a son, I should expect him to lead his own life without worrying about his aging parents? After all, a son isn’t my budhape ki lathi, that’s what everyone says these days. I shouldn’t tie him in my ‘cruel’ expectations and pull down his joys.

The definition of ‘budhape ki lathi’ has changed over the years.

Gone are the days, when aging parents felt financially insecure. Most of us have retirement plans in place, right from the day we start earning. So in all probability, at the time of retirement, we would be financially stronger than our kids (who would still be struggling to finish their masters by then).

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The needs would I want my son to fulfil

So financial needs are taken care of. But what about the emotional needs?

My son is just 4 years old now and I have already started spending time with myself. My son is gradually becoming a little independent, so I have started developing my hobbies and interests (something that I can fall back on in my old age and fight the empty nest syndrome).

I devote a good amount of my time and energy into it. I have places to visit and I have friends to talk to. Yet at the end of the day, I feel tired and exhausted.

That’s when my son jumps in, kisses me good night and hugs me tight to sleep. My eyes with their dark circles sparkle at midnight. The tiredness withers away. The energy for the upcoming day is restored. And most importantly, I am instantly drifted into deep slumber without any sleeping pills or anxiety to sleep with.

Looking at the future

Years down the line, most probably my son would be studying in a different city, separated by time zones. Yet every time I sit down for a meal, I will wonder whether my son had his tummy full khana or not. Every time I go to sleep, I will wonder how many hours of sleep my sonny boy is getting.

I value our relationship and will value it till the last breath. In my old age, all I would expect from my son is a little emotional support and I hope I can nurture a strong budhape ki lathi for myself.

I hope, I can inculcate the right values in my son from the beginning. I hope he grows up to appreciate the relationships and value them. I hope he grows up with a heart full of desires and follows his dreams, but that at the same time has a little space reserved for his relationships.

Relationships that will give him strength through the crests and troughs of life.

Relationships that will support him to achieve his dreams.

And relationships whose warmth will traverse the oceans and cuddle us both to a peaceful sleep.

Image source: shutterstock

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