The Very Unpredictability Of Daily Life As A Young Mom Makes Me Cherish My Me-Time

Life changes irrevocably for a young mom, and so much of daily time gets assigned to taking care of the baby. But should we lose out on our ‘self’ in this?

I have been writing articles the last few months on my experiences of being a working mother, the confusion, the dilemmas, joys and frustrations, guilt which are all a part of the package deal. This time, I want to use this space to write about what does a day look like for me as a new mother, how it has also morphed into being a celebration of my womanhood and the narration is not as obvious as one might think.

Daily life became more unpredictable as a new mom

Before having my son, my daily life was split into three major chunks- work chunk, home chunk and a hobbies chunk. Life was predictable, I knew that if I get tired working too hard or enjoying too hard, I have a cozy bed wanting to have me for the next 8 hours. I did appreciate life in this phase, but come Sunday evening there was this feeling of boredom and gloom waiting for the Monday morning rush.

No, I am not talking about the obvious cherish-able moments like my son talking or hugging me. I don’t want to undermine these moments that I share with him, which are priceless, but I also don’t want to forget a piece called ‘me’ in all this swirl of motherhood delight. I am learning to cherish those minuscule moments I get every day, just to focus on my body and mind and this narration is to celebrate those moments, which would have swept passed me if not for being a mother.

Savouring me-time

The most beautiful moment for me starts at the beginning of the weekend day when I wake to savour the taste of good Indian coffee. I look forward to this time where the whole house is fast asleep except my son and me who are wide awake. The hot cup of coffee, a serial playing on television (which I can actually watch undisturbed by elders!) and my son playing by himself in the background on the family room floor. I can’t begin to explain the sense of peace that accompanies this moment even though it is 6am in the morning.

Next comes meditation time for which I can only spare a few minutes, but it is so precious that I actually push away all distractions, this is just enough time in space to recharge my batteries.

On weekdays, it is hour long drive to work where I can’t do anything else, but drive. I never thought what a great opportunity this is for me to enjoy listening to music, podcasts and have a good laugh or cry without inhibitions.

Never miss real stories from India's women.

Register Now

A win-win situation

The experience that makes me live and experience every second of my life and be completely aware of my body is when I am back from the gym, and I am off to bed knowing that my son is also fast asleep. The fact that my body by that point in time is screaming for some rest and I can actually give it that break is an irreplaceable feeling.

I never for one thought that these mundane things or grabbing opportunities here and there during the day just to be myself would be so enjoyable. I am happy to admit that I don’t sacrifice all my interests now so I can only focus on being a ‘mother type’ of person. I am proud to say that I am trying to find and enjoy woman-mother balance within my own life. The contentment of enjoying my womanhood feeds into the happiness of being a mother and the positive-ness of motherly love that pours out of me makes me feel like a beautiful woman.

Both parts of me are in a win-win situation and I really couldn’t have asked for more.

Image source: unsplash

Comments