Sleeping beauty

Once upon a time there was a little girl who would love to sleep for hours - unconscious of the world around her she would remain in her bliss. Her school was far away in the woods so she would have to get up very early in the morning to catch a bus lest she would miss the school for the day. Waking her up was an arduous task for her folks - some days her dad would flinch to wake up the sleeping beauty which used to make the mom angry. Invariably, the little girl would mostly end-up standing in the 'late-comers' line in the school along with her elder sister. Elder sister for many years used her 'Prefect' of the school status and managed to get the little girl out of trouble.

As the little girl grew up, the burden of studies started taking a toll on her sleep - she would end-up finishing her course till the last minute and eventually burn the midnight oil. Her love for sleep for always there - but alas the want to be an educated, smart girl took over. As the little girl - now in her teens- moved towards college, she loved nights for the solitude where she would study, surf the Internet, chat with friends etc. She would only sleep when she was exhausted!

As time went by, the grown-up girl fell in love, got married, had her children and in the entire razzmatazz of life, her beauty sleep was lost. She would feel lucky if she could sleep through one night peacefully without being worried about an intruder, anxious about kids, thinking about what to cook for the next meal, preparing her thoughts for the next day's meeting and her brain doing a flash back of the entire day. She would wake up all groggy wondering why would the sun shine so early and so bright. She would miss the days when she would sleep like a baby as a little girl!

One day a fairy came into her dreams and told her "Woman, sleep follows a cycle, you would have it in abundance towards the beginning and end of your life. The time in between is to enjoy your sleepless nights - after all you are lucky to have so many things which require your attention that you would need both day and night to look after."

The girl felt good - she doesn't crave for sleep anymore...she sleeps whenever she can with a smile.

Run...

There is a rather interesting person in my office who keeps preaching that running is good for me and that he runs everyday, that running keeps him and everyone fit, he runs despite an injury, he runs to support a charity, he runs a marathon and he keeps running...I could not agree with him more that if there was 'the best thing you could do with your two legs' - it would be running!! Then why do I squirm or get irritated at the mention of exercise? Can't I take out just half hour from my daily schedule and exercise? Problem is that I am not able to - at least not consistently.

Our days are so packed that whenever I have sometime to myself I prefer reading, checking mails, watching little bit of TV, catching up with friends etc. So either I do what I love to do putting my feet up or sweat it out in the gym. And then there are some for whom exercise is a way of life but such inspiring stories are not good enough to push me to the gym - then what will?

- A highly motivated husband who is incredibly regular about his workout and keeps comparing our weights?
- A new gymming wardrobe?
- A handsome trainer?
- A female friend for company?
- A son who says "mama have you become fat"?
- A favorite jeans/dress that I am unable to fit into?
- A colleague who goes to Aerobics before coming to office?
- A whole bunch of other ladies who are working out while I am chatting away in the park?
- A friend who is aiming for size zero?
- A couple of prying eyes which are measuring you from head to toe to conclude that you have indeed put on weight?
- A thought of how a slice of cheese is getting deposited somewhere under the skin and not getting burned?

Gosh, all of them. Am off to a walk - if not running. Are you running the next marathon??

10 ways to keep your sanity as a working mom (in random order)

1. Shout; take out your frustrations at hubby, kid, maid, driver, mom (sometimes), friends (if they let you)...you will feel good but in most cases you will have to watch out for long term repurcussions

2. Trust; everyone. You should be trusting enough to leave your brand new maid with your son; trust that after locking themselves out of the house once they will not do that again

3. Delegate; to colleagues, neighbours, driver, cook etc. The more hands you have to work the better and obviously you have to Trust them all to get your presentations, veggies, fruits, flowers, grocery etc. delivered

4. Listen; everyone has questions - S has many (some 100 per 30 mins); some have issues - colleagues have them, maids have them, family has them; while hubby just wants you to listen. Period.

5. Alert; keep your ears and eyes open ALL the time - at home, work, car, shops; Regard Sherlock Holmes as your guru

6. Stand; no, you cannot sit when you are a working mom. Run around in your office so you are visible to all the bosses, stand for networking, run behind S, stand up for yourself, stand as a rock behind your family - so no one really likes it when you sit down, even to watch TV

7. Energy; Bring out the energy in you - after a long day at work with some inane and inconclusive meetings, dealing with some crisis at home, you should still have the energy to go for dinner with hubby - life's pleasures

8. Breathe; Inhale all the stress and exhale warmth and compassion; otherwise just regular inhale and exhale exercises should help. A Smile will also do a great deal of benefit

9. Dream - for you and your world; Something's gotta kick you out of your bed everyday even if you slept an hour ago

10. Be Proud - of your world that you created!!