Mirror Mirror on the wall!

Yesterday I read a news article about a group started online for a movement called "Mirror fasting". Its a group of women who have decided to not to look into the mirror whether it is at home or in malls or any other public places to improve their self esteem.
Suddenly I realized that I have never had a full length mirror or for that matter a dressing table either in my parent's place or now in my own set up. we have been busy buying all other necessary furniture for the house, but never thought of buying a dressing table and never did I insist on it! Come to think of it, I always feel better without a full length mirror to look at myself every now and then and trust me, it is lot of time saved. Never have I worried about whether a particular dress or particular colour suited me or not and whenever there was a function in the family and I had access to full length mirrors I was more than embarrassed to check myself out. I am comfortable in my skin and don't need the reassurance through a mirror. I think I am decently dressed when I step out of the house and that is enough to give me the necessary boost to my confidence.
Now, after reading this article I do realize that there are scores of women who are obsessed at looking at themselves and adjusting their attire and accessories all the time and I sometimes pity the women who miss out the actual occasion for which they are dressed up and end up checking only their own appearance. I am also blessed to have kids who have not insisted so far on having a full length mirror despite the peer pressure to maintain good looks. But one thing I am sure is that I might not feel comfortable to enter their room which might later on have a full length mirror!

Our own Mary Kom!

Winning a medal in Olympics! That too being an Indian and also mother of not one but twins. Great feat Mary! Of all the sports icons who won the medals for India at the Olympics (not that we can boast of too many), Mary has really stolen our hearts.
I salute her more since I realize how difficult it is to raise , leave alone twins , even one child. There are thousands of Indian housewives who hire full time maids much younger than them to handle their kids. Here is a sports icon who takes care of her twins (one of them is a heart patient!) and also keeps her drive to be good at her chosen sport fighting not only the opponents but all other social pressures too.
Her husband says that she had to face the wrath of her in laws as a newly wed to pursue her dreams. Of course, now they would be the first ones to celebrate her victory.
As middle class Indians we still have to fight the system to achieve something we believe in. It is all the more difficult for a married woman as many a times she has to fight the family too . Mary Kom is a winner every way and she is blessed to have a supportive husband who doesn't have a huge ego to stop his wife from pursuing her dreams. May his tribe increase and lets have more of such Mary (Humari) Koms!

Growing up with kids

Last week, I was travelling in a bus and passing through a school around mid-morning. I noticed a group of parents anxiously waiting at the gate and just when the bell rang , all the nursery kids ran out to their respective parent with so much happiness. Couple of them started crying when they didn't find their guardian. Just a few years back, I was one of those anxious mothers waiting at the gate. How time flies and how the attitude of these kids change when they grow up.
My daughter who used to cry during nursery even if I was only a couple of minutes late to pick her up, now in her teens, doesn't want me to come to the school unless the school insists. Do we parents actually realize when it is time to stop holding them and stop pampering them? There are times when my daughters are more matured than me in handling a situation and I am sheepish to admit so. Today's kids are far more matured and have greater clarity of thinking than us. They want to be out of our protective shadows earlier than we wanted to be out of our parents' control.

Very soon, they would be out of the house and on their own in this world. They are well equipped to handle the situation with advanced communication and far better education and exposure. But the question is, are we parents ready to accept that they are independent, are we ready to accept a situation when we are going to live a long, lonely life? At least , its time for me to grow up with my kids and plan for my own independent life.