Becoming Parent

I am going to start with this: ‘It is NOT easy to be a parent’. It is not a piece of cake for girls to become a parent (it is at the least Ok for husband); you only know the fact and realize when you are walking here and there through the alleys of hospital.  Salute to all the mothers and girls, who have brought in beautiful souls to this beautiful world with so much pain and hardships.

On the other hand, it is always a bundle of joy to be parent, the amount of happiness it brings with far exceeds the petty burdens it comes with. Every new day, seeing your kid grow up makes you smile, it keeps you at bay from the stress of a day’s work. By the way kids today grow so fast! It is nice to learn a lot of new things; we do learn a lot after becoming parent. It is a transition period where you suddenly steps from a carefree land into the one full of responsibilities, duties and care. There is this sudden change of priorities and perception. You become lot more matured and know-everything, careful and alert. You get to check a lot of things for yourself, change for the good of yourself and that little soul if need be, because once you become parent, you are everything to that little soul who looks upon and it hardly matters if that soul is just a month old or so. It is beautiful and wonderful experience.

But it isn’t easy as I told; firstly to accept and adapt (for first timers) the fact that you are now a parent yourself. Just yesterday you were but a carefree and careless kid who never gave a thought about all those responsibilities like upbringing another soul, when you can’t even take care of yourself. Being mindful, showing love or being tender doesn’t come easily. The facts that you have to consider all these make you don’t wanna accept all. But the time heals all and in fact such awareness only makes you a better human if not a better parent.

To become parent, it isn’t enough to be ready just physically; you ought to be ready emotionally and be mentally prepared. Financial security is another you gotta think about.  Like a colleague of mine says, in today’s world, deciding to have child is like buying an expensive commodity. And I believe he isn’t wrong after all.

Being Bhutanese and living in Bhutan is another blessing. With free medical services, thanks to successive kings of our country and the government of the day, it’s so very easy for couples to get their babies born. The nurses at the hospital are very courteous, kind, dedicated and helpful.  So thank you. To the nurses, you really are the backbone of a hospital the society at large, so thank you.

To my wife, thank you so much for coming thus far. Thank you for all the sacrifices. You have been a wonderful mother and to our little wonderful soul, welcome to this beautiful world.