Oh Mother!

We remain kids, despite our age, till we have a mother around. Once she leaves, we are forced to grow up and believe you me, it's tough and heart-wrenching! My mother traveled with me even when I left home for work. No no not literally travelled.. But she was there, always, whether I went on TDs, exercises, postings... till I came home, back to her. I could have picked up the phone and called her up for the silliest of things or for nothing at all. Just to ask- kya chal raha hai? A conversation as simple as that could stretch into hours-long talks... We could discuss anything and everything under the sun. And not just once but many times a day. I got teased playfully by my friends about her being my 'first boyfriend/love'. Well, the man in my life knew that and being the absolute sweetheart that he is, he had no problems with that. He's one of the rare breeds. A story on him demands an entire set of chapters though. My mother was the first friend I had in my life. She was always that to me. In fact my very few first memories of life have her conversing with me, not the usual baby talk, but how two friends talk to each other. And talk we did a lot. Always sharing things and opinions and secrets. Well, it was tough to keep secrets from her. Even of falling in love. Not telling her of stolen dates and secret meetings gave me serious pangs of guilt! And when the time came to tell her about it all, I practised it like how they do it in the movies. Though I never had to give out that dialogue. Just a "Mumma aapko kuch batana hai" sufficed. She knew, she just knew and smiled and was reassured in her own self. Life was easy with her. Life was actually life with her around. She kept showering her blessings on me, many times in a single day. Mothers, you see, are such simple creatures, they just make you feel the centre of their universe. And you carry on in such a confident daze..in a kind of a bubble which engulfs and protects you from all what is negative around, not caring a damn! Mothers are such sweet beings. They have a life before their child is born, very different to what they live after becoming mothers. And then they transcend the barriers of being and become Godlike creatures to their child. There is an innocence all mothers carry and it's unmissable. What would I not give to get touched by her once again, to see that innocent smile once more. In one single caress, she'd bless me, love me and soothe my pain!