Ohhhhhhhh…..To Be A Housewife !!!!!

How I hate it when women describe themselves as just a housewife ! ! ! Often accompanied by an apologetic smile….. as if they were feeling sorry for them selves…

This is not a piece of writing aimed at broadcasting the greatness of homemakers or advocating women’s lib. This out pouring has been spurred on after reading a recent survey, which stated that, if only the unused potential of the section of population called ‘Housewives’ were to be used, India would be a Super power in no time! It’s a simple expression on why I think women – housewives in particular- often underrate their capacity to achieve greater heights in life.

Being a housewife is perhaps the toughest job in the world! Definitely akin to that of an MD or CEO of a big organization without the trimmings of board meetings, perks and accompanying extra fittings. Administration [running the house], Finance [monthly budgets], Targets [every day is a deadline] Labor problems [servants/ staff], HR [maintaining smooth relationships], PR [putting her best foot forward at all times] – you name it and she does everything and all on her own too!!

Tackling the daily menu could be the toughest part of the day, especially when you have people with taste buds that hardly match, especially on a busy Monday morning when everyone is so grouchy about starting a new week. It’s the unwritten rule that you ought to know how to cook the yummiest of dishes like the best of chefs.

By the time everyone leaves the house in the morning rush hour, the place literally looks like a tornado hit area. Clearing the after math requires all the patience in the world, especially if you have kids and certainly deserves no less than a Nobel Prize!!!

What have you…. Piles of clothes, books, CD’s, newspapers to be searched and retrieved from as far as from the toilets, innumerable pens with either the top or bottom missing, a mysterious single sock staring at you …and if you don’t watch your step you’ll have ‘Hot Wheels’ transporting you free of cost to another destination!

Where are the servants, one might ask?

Well, you have to be at your diplomatic best with them…. Pamper them, cajole them, be nice to them, scold them lovingly [??] only to find that you are better off doing most of the work your self!!! One harsh word and what have you ….loads of vessels and clothes staring back at you the next day because she has taken off !!!

….not to mention the numerous phone calls, innumerable door bells, birthdays to be remembered, sudden guests to be tackled…. A slight slip on your part to mention a call and you have the most exasperating question thrown at you “what do you do the whole day ?”
And don’t forget you need to look nice and bright to greet your little ones in the evening or very sweetly be asked, ‘why aren’t you like the mom in the noodles ad ? ‘

In the ultimate analysis it goes without saying that housewives are the finest of people tackling the toughest of jobs…only that is has been taken for granted for so long that people hardly realize their importance until a broken marriage elsewhere shakes them up!

Plus of course, modesty prevents us from bragging about it !

So all you housewives out there, sit up and feel proud of what you are doing…add that extra pep in your step because you are doing a wonderful job! If you are also managing a career then hats off to you!!!! But if family situation/constraints do not allow you to pursue one, don’t get bogged down by it. Just remember you chose to give up that option for a bigger gain….the happiness of your family !!!! How many would do it ???

So three cheers to you and go all out and have fun…….hehehe…everyone else in your house is LOST WITHOUT YOU, if even for a day !!!!

MY ORKUT BIRTHDAY ! ! ! 8 th Jan, 2007 !!!

Mindblowing would be an insufficient word to describe the feelings that I experienced on my Birthday this year! When I joined Orkut I never expected that I would befriend so many beautiful people from such amazingly varied backgrounds. …. And when all of them start to wish you well…woooooooowwww… you got to experience it man!!!!!!

I have wished so many friends in Orkut on their birthdays and have often wondered if it was necessary for them to scrap me back thanking me for my wishes… but only this year I realized that it was not a verbal exercise but something from the depth of your heart that had to be expressed...... Because all those wishes struck an emotional chord deep down, giving you a feeling of overwhelming happiness!!!

Before I start getting sentimental [ hehe… did someone tell me yesterday that I was getting older?? }and go sob sob about the public display { Orkut is public , aint it !!] of affection I was showered with, I must confess that it was great fun too!!!

It all started with messages and calls coming in on the dot of midnight … I was told that if my friends could lose sleep in the process of wishing me, then the receiver – yours truly – had no right to crib about lost sleep and better feel blessed ........

And blessed I felt till the wee hours of the morning as I sat half dazed in bed trying to figure out the alphabets on my mobile [I was told in no uncertain terms that I had to acknowledge the messages or they would keep coming!!!!] to acknowledge the messages I was getting , throwing sheepish glances at a puzzled husband – who by the way is no friend of Orkut – who by then had his suspicions confirmed that I had indeed gone bonkers ever since I entered Orkut!

....... tried to switch off my mobile only to have the landline screaming waking the entire household!! And lo behold...... before I got the marching orders to go and sit next to the telephone, I switched on my mobile for dear life and it went on and on and on.....

Morning dawned with my scrapbook loaded with birthday messages from the nocturnal beings in Orkut!!! And as I sat down to thank them along came loads of messages from other dear friends.... I soon found out that I lagged behind by a good 30 scraps in replying…...for every scrap I sent I got two new ones…my scrap rate touched an all time high of 200!!! I certainly hadn’t bargained for this kind of attention on Orkut…and it was so humbling…

It was marathon session on Orkut through out the day …hehehe…guess my typing skills improved by leaps n bounds!!! And it wasn’t just scraps that filled my day !!!!!…had a blown up computerized picture of my own sweet face [ hehehe….i have no claims to modesty ] sent to me as a gift by a good friend Kannan; then there was this really cute friend of mine, Vijay, who came speeding up to my place on his way to office just to wish me with loads of my favorite sweet ; and of course another friend – dearest PC - who insisted that I buy myself a nice gift on his behalf ; and others who were all behind me to have their share of the cake !!! And.....lol...of course some others who insisted that I parcel their share to their respective destinations!!!! Not to forget some beautiful bouquets and loads of E - cards I received !!!!

The best part of the day were the wishes I received from my little young friends..{..lol.... I do have quite a number of school kids in my friends list ! ! ! }.... who, once back home from school, stealthily sneaked into Orkut without their parents knowledge, to wish their ‘Aunty’ happy birthday!!! I was so touched .....

Gosh !!!!!!!.. I never had a birthday like this in my entire life and am I glad I got into Orkut !!!!!!!…coz where else would I have so many good souls – most of whom I haven’t even met – blessing me with the choicest of good wishes!!!!! Thanks guys, I’ll always remember you people for making my day extra special in every possible way. Hats off to all of you !!!

Hieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee........

Hey.... I am no great writer but would love to become one and this is my first step towards that journey. If at all i got this blog started, the full credit goes to my dear friend Mamatha who had more confidence in my wr1ting skills than me !!!She was constantly behind me to have a go ...and here i am !!!

Heee...heeee... thanx for being here and hope you dont get bored reading my blogs!!! Anyway do let me know what you think ........