How Do You Recharge? #together

Enough of the snuggly memories. I'm just going to put it out there - Being a Stay-at-Home-Mom can get tough for your intellect. The main reason is that when "Mom" is tagged on to your identity, it means that you spend a lot of your time with little beings who for the first few years speak in sentences of 5 words or less ;). The toughest question that you need to answer might be "Why was that poo green today?". And the answer to that is close at hand what with Google and Babycenter being literally at finger's reach.

When D was young, I think I hardly stepped out of home until she was a year old. During that time, it was just a whole lot of all the things that babies are known for, including an endless loop of feeding-burping-putting to sleep. It was close to when I was at the end of my tether, when we tried our first family vacation to a place called Poovar. The holiday had a whole lot of other complications thanks to first-time travel with a baby, not knowing a lot of the logistics that we should have checked earlier, and what not. But to a mom who had been interacting solely in baby language, it was a breath of fresh air nonetheless.

A couple of years passed and S came along. I was more adventurous now, after all we had done it once before ;). Our first vacation was when he was about 7-8 months old. I was a lot better prepared, from figuring out how to sterilize baby bottles to bringing along any baby food that we needed. We also had both sets of grandparents along this time, so it was a really nice opportunity for everyone to unwind and relax.

At least one vacation a year #together as a family- that has become a norm now. Though it's partly to do with us having bought into a timeshare, it has evolved into much more than that. Regular readers of my blog would have come across my elaborate travelogues every time we go on holiday ;), the last one was really long and spread over many posts as we were away for a month - I tried an A-Z though I wasn't completely successful! Here's one of the posts from our last vacation.

In between vacations, if I feel like I need a change of scene, it's great that I have friends to reach out to - for a coffee, a lunch or even just a FB chat #together. Any of these can cheer me up and set me back on track, ready to tackle the next parenting challenge that might come along :).

I am also thrilled that I am planning my first ever all-girls trip #together- I am really looking forward to that and I'm sure it's going to be a rejuvenating and memorable experience. I love being a mom, but thinking only about myself for a week - I could use that once in a while ;).

This post has been written for #together for Housing.com. 

Stepping Into the Unknown #startanewlife

I used to be a techie. Yes. I always say "used to" when I tell somebody this, because for me it feels as good as a past life and very very far away from my present. When I occasionally meet ex-colleagues, they often tell me "I never imagined YOU would make this move!". I was very happy at my workplace, competent at my work, on the way to a reasonable amount of recognition and raises and all that comes with it.

Even when I got pregnant, I planned it as a seamless "short" break from my work. I would take my maternity leave, add a couple of months of annual leave, and come back part time for a couple more months before getting back for good. The scene was set - I had a workforce in place at home as well. And I don't use that term in jest - part-time maid, full-time help for babycare, driver - everyone was trained in their role and ready to take over when I needed them to. My parents also were close by to oversee things when I wasn't around.

My little one decided to come out only at her own pace, so it was the full term of 40 weeks plus a couple of days when I first saw her face. The first weeks were a blur, full of bawling and feeding and cleaning up and need I mention - a lack of sleep like I never could have imagined! And before I knew it, my 5 months were up - it was time to get back to work.

And then it happened. I looked at her face. REALLY looked at it. It might have helped the mood that it was a peaceful moment, and she was well fed and burped and content at the time ;). But it finally struck me - I couldn't do it. I just couldn't go back to work as planned! It was like a switch turned on in my mind - I was completely at peace with my decision as well. It was funny to think back to the days when I was worried if I had a maternal instinct :).

It was time to move to a new phase of life. Thanks to a supportive family who never raised the slightest bit of doubt about my decision, I could #startanewlife and a very happy and content one at that. Three years after that, my second one came along and cemented my decision further - D is now nearly 10, and S just turned 7 a few days ago :). Along the way, I've moved from Stay-at-Home-Mom to a Work-from-Home Freelance Writer, and of course I also play many other roles including exam-prep-helper, preparer-of-tiffin-boxes, awaiter-at-bus-stops and answerer-to-all-questions. But I wouldn't have it any other way :).

This post has been written for Housing.com for the topic #startanewlife. Do check out their ad here: