Few days back, after finishing my dinner at home, I walked to the wash basin to wash my hands. As I stood by the wash basin, I noticed that the bathroom light was on though there was no one inside to reap its benefit. I realized that it had been that way for quite some time and I tried remembering who had been the last person to visit the bathroom. Since I couldn't, I asked my grandmother if she had been the cause for letting the light suffer without company. Before she could reply, my mom admitted that she had been the culprit. Which shook me terribly.
My mom had never left any light unnecessarily switched on before that day. Never.
I slowly switched off the bathroom light and walked away hoping that the miss from my mom's side was just a one-timer.
The next day, at around afternoon, I heard water dripping from the kitchen tap. Seeing that there was no one in the kitchen, I went to close the tap. I noticed that the curry on the stove was on its way to completion and I understood that my mom had been in the kitchen few minutes earlier. Which shook me again.
My mom had never let the kitchen tap shed unnecessary water drops before that day. Never.
I have spent significant time thinking about my future self but I had not really given thought about my old age. "It's just a part and parcel of life", I had told myself. But the realization that my mom is growing older seemed very hard to come to terms with. It felt like a medical condition that would have caused lesser pain if it had not been diagnosed.
That night, as I waved my mom goodbye for my return to Bangalore, I noticed that the number of grey hair strands on my mom's head had increased. My heart sank.
For the past two days, I have been observing more hair strands of mine turning grey.
Perhaps, a mother's ageing process tends to have immense impact on her child's ageing too.
My mom had never left any light unnecessarily switched on before that day. Never.
I slowly switched off the bathroom light and walked away hoping that the miss from my mom's side was just a one-timer.
The next day, at around afternoon, I heard water dripping from the kitchen tap. Seeing that there was no one in the kitchen, I went to close the tap. I noticed that the curry on the stove was on its way to completion and I understood that my mom had been in the kitchen few minutes earlier. Which shook me again.
My mom had never let the kitchen tap shed unnecessary water drops before that day. Never.
I have spent significant time thinking about my future self but I had not really given thought about my old age. "It's just a part and parcel of life", I had told myself. But the realization that my mom is growing older seemed very hard to come to terms with. It felt like a medical condition that would have caused lesser pain if it had not been diagnosed.
That night, as I waved my mom goodbye for my return to Bangalore, I noticed that the number of grey hair strands on my mom's head had increased. My heart sank.
For the past two days, I have been observing more hair strands of mine turning grey.
Perhaps, a mother's ageing process tends to have immense impact on her child's ageing too.
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