My Daddy - Strongest

Sitting on the hospital bed staring out of the window,
Prior to his heart operation feeling anxious and low,
Is the man I grew up admiring as a hero,
Who now looks so pale and has a dull glow,
He fought hard and emerged victorious from the operation,
The doctor said he is fine now and will be ready in three months for a vacation,
His heartbeat is normal and he is able to take a walk,
He wants to meet people and have a cheerful talk,
While I see him improve with every passing day,
I realize how much he did for our family every single day,
I stop my tears and feel grateful for having a Dad like You,
Who kept us cheerful and happy even on days when he felt blue,
For every little girl her Dad means all,
Thats why when I am in distress it is my Dad who I call,
My Daddy maybe old but he is so brave and bold and doesn't like to rest,
That is why I tell all that no matter what life throws at us, My Daddy is the Strongest

Me And You, Just Us Two!

Life happens in phases. When we are growing up, we go to school, then to college, then we think about the career to opt for and then we get hitched/married. Different people have different priorities and some choose a career, while some choose love. Most people choose both career and love. Once a couple gets hitched, the next phase of their lives is having a baby. Here comes the dilemma. In Indian society, even the most modern families and relatives start enquiring with a married couple about the good news (i.e. whether they are pregnant?) within the first few months of their marriage. These days the new generation of married couples are career-oriented and they also want to enjoy their life by engaging in travelling or other hobbies. Usually, having babies soon after marriage is seldom a priority for thenew-generation couples. That brings me to the question which we rarely ever read about, i.e. whether the couple really wants to have a baby or is it just a choice opted for due to different types of pressures.

In previous generations, the only pressure that a couple used to have for making a choice to have a baby was that of the family. However, these days there are other type of pressures such as pressure to fit in the society, pressure of being judged, pressure of friends, etc. Some parents insist that their sons and daughters should have a baby soon as they are worried that they may not live to see their grandson or granddaughter. This is so unreasonable and unfair to the couple who has to ultimately make the choice.

One of my friends was quite clear that they didn’t want to have any children and after a few months they told me they were having a baby. I was confused and baffled by this news as I didn’t understand how the sudden shift happened in their priorities. I was then told that most of their friends and business associates were having children, so to fit in that society they needed to have a baby. 

Another couple decided to have a baby because they thought that if they didn’t have a baby, they would be looked at as someone with whom “something is wrong” health-wise or financially.

Many people decide to get pregnant simply because all their friends have a baby and the only thing being discussed at the dinner table is pampers or the milestones which the baby achieves when it becomes X months old or the baby clothes, etc.  During such conversations, the childless couple feels left out and thinks that if they too have a baby, they will still have friends.

The above pressures are merely some types of pressures that the childless couple has to deal with while they are deciding what they really want. So many couples who have a young child are always complaining about sleepless nights and how difficult their lives have become due to this new addition to their family. They make pregnancy such a big affair, almost like a disease. If you chose to have a child, didn’t you know the things you would have to undergo as new parents? I believe the only reason for arriving at a decision of when to have a baby is when the wife and the husband actually want the baby. Have a baby because you really want it and not because of the societal or family pressures. Everyone has different challenges to meet in their lives. Don’t try to be like someone else. If you have a medical situation which complicates the process of conception, please don’t look at it as your weakness. The stress that one goes through, while sitting in the long queues outside a gynaecologist’s office is not worth it if you are not happy and if you are choosing to have a baby due to external pressures. Find out what makes you happy first. If you are happy, you will have a happy child. Don’t bring a life on Earth, if that life is only a means to meet some of your materialistic ends or to give you company when you get old. A child is a big responsibility and can add a new beautiful meaning to your life and your identity. Ask yourself whether you are ready to love unconditionally? Are you ready to sacrifice and change your priorities? Are you ready for letting the child go and allow him or her to make his or her own life choices when they grow up?

Having a baby is a wonderful process and when the baby is growing, the parents are learning and growing too. The decision to have a child or not to have a child should be the decision of the parents and not due to the pressures from the family or society. People who don’t have children are as normal as those who have children. It is only a matter of what life you choose for yourself.

Strangers

Sometimes some strangers walk into your lives,

And change the meaning of tears and smiles,

You start discovering something in you,

Which was there before but you simply didn't knew,

The beautiful moments that you shared were so dear,

Coz they are still fresh in your mind although they are not near,

But, just like the weather changes memories fade away,

And what appears like night today may tomorrow seem like a day,

Time moves on and so do we,

What remains behind is just the memory,

In the bitterness and the tears,

There is also sweetness and cheer,

As every dark night is followed by a new day,

And somewhere on the road you trudge there will always be hope's sunray