My mom, the Expert

Like a candle, for her loved ones she burns,

The light on happy faces she earns

For herself, she will settle for less,

But for her children, she will grab the best

As the newborn comes in her lap,

She gives the first lesson of affection

Holding her child’s finger, she teaches her to walk,

She will forego her much desired dress and buy the child her favorite frock

Child’s exams are her own, & she happily burns the midnight oil,

And when the moment of triumph comes, she knows it was worth the toil

With dreams of her happy children in eyes,

She gives in selflessly as time flies

No matter how many applauds celebrate your success,

The credit goes to that first expert who shaped your life to finesse.

As I prepare myself for motherhood, I am reminded of a famous saying, “With power comes responsibility.” With motherhood, God gifts a woman the power to bring a new life and shape it to face the world. As a mother, one aspires to do the best for her children, so the power to shape the little one’s life also brings the responsibility of doing it the right way.

“Will I be able to do even an inch of what mom did for me?” I often ask myself, as goose bumps make their presence felt.  She was and always will be my ultimate expert – the one and only who taught me the way my life should be.

Thinking of qualities of an ideal mom, the benchmark always will be my mom, who managed everything so perfectly; I am often reminded of the great values she inculcated almost effortlessly in us, values that go a long way in making us better human beings –

Compassion

To love our family is one thing, but compassion for society was something my mother devoted her life to. A doctor, she would treat poor patients for free, even sponsoring their medicines. As a kid, I would often be irritated with her penchant to embrace anybody anytime in trouble. But, if I feel my responsibilities as a citizen of this country, its due to the expert mentor-ship of my mom.

Me v/s my best

While most parents burden their children with unnecessary comparison with their peers, my mom was always clear in her definition of competition – it was always Me v/s My best; for it always ensured I raised the benchmark and strived for the best. It always helped me focus on my abilities and weed out unnecessary trivial rivalries.

Hope against hope

Life is not always a series of hits, but a winner is the one who carries the torch of optimism. The best value mom taught me, optimism always saved me from the whirlpool of frustration in tough times. No matter how big would be the disappointment, mom would always tell me, “To an optimist, the glass is always half full.”

Honesty

Mom would often say, “The one who is honest with self is the one who can be honest with others.” All my formative years, my struggle was never burdened with the pressure of doing something to please my parents; rather it was always about finding and following my own path and learning from my instincts. In tough times, when I felt it all crumbling down, her guiding light ensured I never deviated from the right path.

To every child, her mom is the fairy God Mother. But for me, my mom was my mentor, friend and savior who would read the unspoken me and always ensured perfection in whatever she gave me. The epitome of perfection, my mom will always inspire me to be an expert mother to my kids. Even if I am able to be an iota of a mom that she was, perhaps years later my kids would reflect the same perfection she passed on to me.

I am participating in the My First Expert contest by Godrej Expert & Indiblogger.