It was the year I became a part of this wonderful, glorious, and kind community of creatures we call "parents". Fellow beings doling out daily doses of humour to survive shitstorms. Yep.
I left so much of myself behind in 2021, it's no joke and no small feat. I went from being a doctor and little girl with big dreams to wham...a MOM!!! Someone solely responsible for a BABY...a crying and wailing and cuddly little human.
Well, it has been transformative, to say the least.
Now I know everyone experiences life differently. I know all my peers are balancing so much on their plates, multitasking, building empires, saving lives, working on their careers, all while being parents.
My experience and my circumstances, somehow, have been different. To look on the positive side of things, 2021 gave me an opportunity to be a totally immersive parent. I am happy to say I've been with my baby every single moment since the time he was born (apart from the time I went for the three covid jabs)😂. I'm so proud of myself for always being there, for dealing with everything, for ticking all the checkboxes. Yes, my career has definitely taken a beating during this time, but hey, I'm still optimistic.
And I'm still a dermatologist, and no one, I mean no one can take that away from me.
I'm so proud of everything I've achieved this year. Raising a little human is no mean feat.
It's been hard. It's also been glorious. It's been life-altering, to put it in simple terms.
Now I suddenly view the world with a brand new outlook. Now I
understand and appreciate my own parents SO much more. I also understand and appreciate my spouse's parents that much more. I'm automatically kinder to everyone. Because hey, the world's a shitty place, and everyone is someone's baby! You gotta step out with some kindness everyday.
When you have a little baby at home, it's suddenly not THAT important to win at life anymore. The only important things are - feed, poop, diapers, nap, sleep, repeat. And letting yourself breathe in between. And enjoy their immense laughter, and their chubby cheeks and their tiny tiny toes. Yes. And yet. All that stuff overtakes everything else.
And yes, I'm not trying to wax glorious without thinking about people who don't have babies, who choose not to, or aren't able to. Hey, I see you. I get you. I have been you.
Just know this, we all have our struggles. Parenthood is hard, very hard. But equally rewarding. Just like life, in general. The grass may always seem greener on the other side, and on everyone else's Instagram, but that isn't always the reality.
The fact is, all of us struggle with something or the other. Because what would life be without some struggles, it would lose all its best parts and moments. Only after you struggle, can you triumph, and that's what I learnt this past year. To embrace the change, to embrace the struggle. And to wait, patiently, for the dawn of a new time, a new phase, and to trust that I will be a phoenix when the time is right for me.
That's all for today folks.
Love,
Aayushi.
Congratulations!
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