The Paw Mom Diaries

Not just another Paw Mom

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A Company Secretary by profession, sports enthusiast, passionate writer and a Paw Mom

  • Rediscovering Yourself

    For the last few months, I have found myself on a strange kind of autopilot, sadly moving in the wrong direction, at an alarming rate. I recently entered my 30s and I thought life would be no different than it has always been. The 20s, were as most of you would have experienced, one of the most defining periods of my life. I got my first job, earned my professional degree, bought a house, got married and also became a paw mom. When I look back at the decade that has passed by, it seems exciting, thrilling, and absolutely enthralling.

    Before I knew it, I turned 30 and suddenly, I found myself standing at the precipice of a very different arena, that was totally new to me. Increased responsibilities, the battle to start a family amidst various health challenges and the ever-increasing demands of work and health seemed like a Tsunami that hit me out of nowhere. I found myself feeling more and more listless and lethargic, discouraged easily and somehow dependent on my partner a lot, who was already neck-deep with his own challenges with work and health. This period of time which should be full of life and excitement, was suddenly turning into something like a prison cell. What changed? My perspective of life maybe or the fact that I didn’t feel like myself anymore.

    Thats when I realised that I needed to rediscover myself. I had lost myself in juggling all my various roles and responsibilities, that I have forgotten what it is to really live life.

    A few take-a-ways from this self realisation, which I hope to implement:
    1. Time is a gift, use it wisely.
    2. Family is a blessing, don’t take it for granted.
    3. You are unique, don’t lose yourself trying to imitate others.

    The next time you feel like spending some time for yourself, take it, your mind needs to recharge and sometimes reboot. The next time you want to go for a movie, or go to a fancy restaurant or just go for a leisure walk, but there’s no company, go anyway, you are your best company. The next time you make a mistake and feel like digging a hole in the ground and disappearing, forgive yourself and move on to finding solutions, people are waiting to extract a pound of flesh, but you be kind to yourself. Be patient and really take the time to understand your areas of strength and also your weaknesses. You will be surprised to know that your strengths do indeed outweigh your weaknesses.

    Taking the time to rediscover yourself is the only thing that will prevent the whole Circus called LIFE from imploding. Yes, you read that right, Circus, because we are juggling more things than our minds can imagine.

    I know you might have read many articles, blogs and other write ups on this very topic, but i have found that constantly reminding myself of this, is the best way I can help myself go through challenging situations. Our minds and bodies are capable of great things, don’t settle for mediocre.

    Take care and rediscover yourself!

  • Beyond the ordinary

    Last year I had the opportunity to visit another country on work for a few days. In the off hours, I along with my colleague accompanying me were able to visit some prominent places and experience things I had only seen in pictures. It felt so enthralling. Since it was my first trip abroad, I was nervous and anxious about almost everything. But thankfully, things went well.

    One of the key takeaways was that I went beyond the ordinary. I always imagined my first foreign trip to be with my spouse. But due to numerous reasons, it was not happening. Then life presented me with an opportunity and I took it. Best decision ever.

    Have you ever imagined your life beyond the ordinary? Have you tried to go beyond the boundaries of your own thoughts? I find it very difficult to do that as I always tend to overanalyse people’s reactions, circumstances and how it would be viewed, rather than focusing on what’s important; which is “what would you like for a change?” I’m not referring to giving in to every selfish desire on an impulse, but once in a while, what if we go beyond the ordinary? Would it put many noses out of joint? What would the world think? If it does, maybe you are doing something right! Bottom line, I don’t think it really matters, when you look at the whole gambit of things. Life is meant to be lived not endured.

    Sometimes, making bold choices for yourself can be life-saving rather than therapeutic. It could be travel, pursuing a hobby, taking up a class or just spending time with yourself. Life isn’t only meant to be just a set of rules or confines within which you need to live. Do what brings you joy. Make the decision to be happy today.

    You are responsible for your own happiness. Go beyond the ordinary and for once just live life for yourself. You will make many mistakes along the way, but don’t make the mistake of not living life to the fullest.

    Happy Weekend!

  • Twinkle, Twinkle my little ❤️

    They say, Time is the best healer… It’s been a whole year round the sun since the day we said goodbye to our darling dog, “Coffee”.

    Since the day he entered our home, he became a very integral and important member of the family. He was calm, friendly and very particular about his space. He loved ice-cream and bananas and the minute he saw us enter the house, he would rush to greet us with a wagging tail and expectant eyes. August, 2016, the day I also passed my exams and qualified as a Company Secretary still holds a very special place in my heart.

    I still remember the little tippy-tap toes across the floor of the store running around me as my then-boyfriend and now husband was filling out the necessary paperwork . I was the first to ever hold and cuddle him. He was so full of life, joy and happiness, all the 7&1/2 years of his life with us. He had a lot of genetic physical ailments but he never failed to greet us with a wagging tail. It was his love language. He was so full of joy he just wanted to share it with us.

    After a long and painful battle with pancreatitis and hip and joint pain, he crossed the rainbow bridge and became our very own shining star.

    Since the day he passed, I am always left teary-eyed when I hear “Sky full of stars” by Coldplay because I am always reminded of our shining star Twinkling from above.

    To anyone reading my blog who has experienced the loss of a beloved pet, I know how agonising and heart wrenching their passing can be… but when you look up to the sky, I hope you find your twinkling star up above.

    In fond memory of my Coffee… Twinkle, Twinkle my little ❤️

  • WHY

    I recently faced a setback in an important part of life which made me question a lot of my beliefs. I pored over every aspect, but could not understand why things had not worked out. I was upset, cranky and most of all I felt cheated. After a while, I began experiencing a strange sense of peace emerging from within.

    And while I marvelled at this new-found peace, I was intrigued. How could I possibly be so cool? After much thought, I realised that I was outgrowing my need to obsess over a single aspect of my life. Haven’t we all been there? We try to break down every little detail of our life and it yields nothing. No answers, no solutions or a sense of satisfaction in understanding the most important question, “WHY?”. And life teaches us in different ways that the more time we invest on analysing problems or questions that are out of our hands, the harder it gets to focus on the other important tasks at hand.

    My solution was simple and it was staring at me, right in the face. I simply had to pick myself up from the situation that was once seemingly unsurmountable and move on. It did bring me peace and it helped me realise that life is often going to throw us curveballs, inevitably causing us to ask the question “WHY” and then micro-analyse it. However, the solution, most of the times is just to pick ourself up and move on. Even if the problem doesn’t go away, we have won half the battle, i.e. in our mind.

    Outgrowing things is not necessarily a bad thing, since most of the times, it makes way for better things.

    P.S.: This blog conveys my personal opinion, based on personal experiences and is in no way intended to offend or hurt or belittle anyone’s feelings or situation.

  • Breathe

    Daily writing prompt
    What do you wish you could do more every day?
    View all responses

    Some days can seem absolutely chaotic, while others can be extremely lazy. As we navigate life, graduate school, college, join the workforce or start a new venture, we often set into a rhythm for the profile we are set in. Often in the flow, we are passionate about meeting our targets, completing household chores or completing the endless things that we have set out to achieve. We have created lists, schedules, alarms and every other organizer to help us set right our busy lives.

    I, being a working professional and a Paw Mom have a schedule for the Weekdays, just like you all. Weekends are packed with chores and itineraries that cannot be tackled on the weekdays. And while, I feel a sense of satisfaction and joy at having ticked every single task for the day, I find myself exhausted and completed expended just waiting to hit the bed.

    The one thing I wish I can do more every day is “JUST BREATHE”. While completing every task might be important, what I have learned is to feel the need to be grounded, to feel like I can hear myself think. All the endless, mindless scrolling on social media which can sometimes prove distracting from the chaos around, but it doesn’t bring you the satisfaction that only time alone with yourself can bring.

    I want to Breathe more everyday, allow myself to be a person and not just all the roles that I have to fulfill everyday. I want to breathe in life and just be myself.

    What do you wish you could do more everyday?

  • Pilot

    Have you ever wondered how different your life is from what you imagined it would be, 5 years ago? We achieved some goals, barely scraped through whilst achieving some of our desires and feel like we’re still miles away from achieving some of our dreams.

    For those of us who endured work, school or college through the ghastly Covid-19 pandemic, find ourselves on the other end of a very different world. We are the first of its kind; a hybrid world. A world in which technology boomed and interpersonal relations slumped. The once social butterflies, have discovered a new-found peace in solidarity; and the ones who cherished their solitude, now crave to socialize.

    I, for one, have found myself fitting into many shoes during these last 5 years and have realized my true potential as I fulfill, at times even struggle to fulfill all the responsibilities of the new roles unlocked. One of the most important roles I have blended into is being a Paw Mom, but more on that in my further blogs. For many of us, change does not come easily. We struggle to cope and feel overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of it all. But the hard truth remains “Change is the only Constant”. Sometimes, our judgement may be clouded and we feel like we’re drowning in a sea of “what is going on with me?”, but the good news is that we are well equipped to battle change and not just battle it but eventually easing into it, our New Normal. We need to find our groove, our footing and dig deep to make a positive impact on ourselves. When we help ourselves embrace change, we can help others too.

    As I keep posting, I hope it resonates the peace and calm I find when I share my thoughts through this blog.

    No part of this blog is plagiarized, but include my personal opinions and thoughts. In no way, do I intend to hurt or offend anyone’s feelings or beliefs. Happy Reading!

    Regards,
    Paw Mom

    Pilot