H.O.P.E

HOPE is only a four lettered word, but carries a lot of baggage in the worldly sense. Right now everyone in US or mbay be the entire world have their hopes pinned on Obama. I think he got elected because his time had come, considering almost everything was against him; inexperience, race, Hillary as a strong competitor. But destiny wanted him to lead this crisis & I am positive he will bring us all out of this situation. The man has some earthly charisma with his personality, not the Bill Clinton kinda sophistication or Hillary kinda confidence, but something which is very real, which I can relate to. He seems to be a very genuine person, his walk & talk; everything has a sense of common place. I guess that's why he got elected, because he is real person. Mr President I wish you all the best, lets hope we have a bright future ahead. Amen!

Mother's diary I

Ever since I had Subir; my almost 5 month old boy, I have been at home. I wanted to spend time & look after him but at the same time had a million questions popping in my mind. Will I be able to stay home 24/7? will I not get frustrated since I have never really stayed home idly for so long? It has turned out alright since last 3 months of my stay after my maternity leave ended. I am really happy that my Subir got to stay home with his Aai when he needed me the most. I am glad I can have a 4 course meal ready on the dinner table before sanjay gets home. I am happy I am spending some quality time with my family for the first time without having to worry about deadlines & working on the weekends.

However, I have also started realising how much it takes to be a full time mom or a house wife (home maker is the word of the day). I see girls boasting of how they take care of homes & work & what all they have to go through all the time. Yes it is diffcult to work, & look after family. What is more difficult is to leave everything for your kids; your identity, paycheck, ambitions. Sometimes kids might take us for granted & forget what all these homemakers have done for them. But hey, parents are forgiving & they love kids unconditionally.

My Advisor's wife from Grad School had a Phd from Stanford University in Robotics & she quit everything after they had kids. I thought she was silly & how I could/would/should never do anything like that back in the "ambitious days". Today I have realised how wrong I was & how me staying home is the best gift I could have ever given to my little boy.