Generation X to Generation Z

Homeworks, Projects, Report cards, Field trips, Assessments, Extra-curricular activities……Phew! All I hear is STRESS, STRESS, and more STRESS. I belong to the 70’s; even though we did all of the above, we always had time to play out in the street – cricket, hide-and-seek, hopscotch, badminton, tag and many more, when our favorite food was from road-side push carts, our favorite candy was Parle Poppins, our “only” TV channel was Doordarshan which we watched diligently, when friendship was pure and unadulterated. Yes, this how we grew up. Sweet memories!

Times have changed, kids are of a different breed now. They sit, stand, eat, laugh Iphone, IPad, Ipod, while dad is IPaid and Mom is IMaid. Sad but very true. Is technology to be blamed or the lack of parenting skills? I am not sure, however, I would agree that it is our responsibility to steer kids in the right direction. Let me reiterate IMaid- Cooking, cleaning, laundry-ing, disciplining all doing while Blogging, Facebooking and Whatsapping.  <Wink> We are in fact more spoiled by technology than our children.

It has been a conscious effort from my end to turn off all electronic devices until my kids go to bed. Kids learn from parents, they emulate and want to occupy their lack of attention from us on some device.  Such a wasted and unrequited love it is, isn’t it?

I don’t say I am a perfect parent, but I am doing the best I can. As I kneel in prayer, I ask God for His guidance, I pray he teaches me patience, persistence and perseverance. Can we encourage ourselves to be present for our children and ourselves! 

A mother's precious gift...

The joy of cooking for your family is priceless!!! For everything else, there is a Master/Visa card.

I am an individual, who hasn't been too passionate about cooking from a very young age. It has been more a chore, the-duty-of-a-good-wife, rather than a passion. Perhaps the aversion to cooking came from watching my mother – a working woman then (she is now 75 years), spend all her spare time in the kitchen without any help, motivation, or acknowledgement day after day, which only triggered more frustration and intense moodiness.

As I blossomed into a young woman, she started to prep me with the culinary skills that she had developed over the years by watching numerous Sanjeev Kapoor's Khana Khazana cooking shows and recipes shared from family and friends all compiled into that one book she wrote for me as part of my wedding present. I took utmost pleasure in trying out all her recipes as a new bride; Oh how I treasure that book even now! It is filled with some very unique recipes, tons of advice and a heart full of blessings. 

After almost 11 years of blissful marriage and two kids, I think I can say, I have made my mother proud by being a good cook. How do I know? I rarely take a peek at the recipe book now for ingredients and I cook some fantastic meals-Ask my hubby dear. I must confess, the book did go through some serious brutality of cooking catastrophes during this phase. It has sat on hot stove-rack leaving its imprint on the page, but it is still very close to my heart; after all, my mother wrote it for me -A gift, a legacy that she passed on to me.

She is the epitome of strength and determination. It is her ‘My way or the highway’ mantra that has shaped me to be a strong woman today. Like the scriptures says in  Proverbs 1:8-9 Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching.  They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.

 

Dear Friends – Do we give our due respect to our mothers? Do we realize her sacrifices in our lives? Shall we, on this day, give our mother a hug and thank her for her unconditional love.