Leave the "break" out- Maternity leave (1)

When my mother said 'wait till you become a mother yourself' with a smirk, I, in true daughter fashion, returned the smirk with a pooh-pooh and a shrug. Of course, I see the immense sense in that statement only after I became a mother myself. Still not a fan of the smirk though.

I'm a fairly new mom- having embarked on this journey 6 months back but even in this short span, the changes I see in myself and the life I lead, are honestly, shocking. Recounting my top 5.

1. Fast and furious- Though a type A personality who spoke, walked and typed fast, when it came to matters more mundane, I set a more leisurely pace for myself. Put on a nice playlist and then shower to soulful music. Enjoy every morsel while watching TV. Stay curled up in bed with a book. Taking 20 minutes to decide what earrings to wear with that dress. Hah. If the me of 2011 could only see the me of late 2012. My teeny tiny employer only takes so many naps in a day, so every break needs to be gainfully employed between must-dos (shower, loo, eat, pump milk) and can-also-do's (read newspaper, send messages, return calls) and since the break could last anywhere between 30 mins to an hour, clearly the must-do's have to be prioritized. So if someone asks me if I enjoyed the slow pace of life during the maternity leave, I would like them to be assured of the breakneck speed with which I operate, while I mentally break their neck.

2. Social circle or lack thereof- Parties with loud music are a thing of the past. My wine cabinet stands forlorn and neglected. It's been a while since I had long conversations with friends. Yes, I do continue to spend time on FB and whatsapp but real conversations with friends and family have been put on hold. Calls get returned every now and then but it is just really hard to synchronise my life with folks who are working because they feel they might be disturbing the baby and I feel their work needs to be disturbed anyway. So much so, my own mother has hung up on me a couple of times because I was describing her grandson's antics while a patient was being just that on her examination table. However, this change is not all bad. When you have limited time and mindspace, you tend to prioritize and you separate the chaff from the grain, the acquaintances from the friends from the really close friends who you can trust with your baby's diaper. Some people just fall off the radar. And from where I stand (from the head of my baby's crib, in case you are wondering), that's for good reason.

To be continued...