Wednesday, March 27, 2013

weSurvive - II

I woke up to an alarm after more than a year.

I was awake way  before the alarm went off. I still waited for the alarm to go off. I dismissed it. There was a message from my mom - wishing me luck and praying for God's benevolence. As always - I did not need anything more.

I started on with prepping the morning coffee and toasts for breakfast. After getting done with all the chores - I had plenty of time in hand. The lil one woke up in sometime. I had thought that I would not have the heart to say goodbye to her. I for all intents and purposes had decided to sneak away. K assured that he would take care and commanded 'No secrets'. I made the goodbye quick and reassuring (for me) and darted off. 

All set, I called the cab and set forth.

It so happens that many a times its very easy to confide in an utter stranger. As I was giving directions to the cab driver I mentioned that I was going back after a year long maternity leave. He asked about the baby and hoped we have more soon (parentsssss- once you become one, you wish it upon everyone) Then he went on to tell about his gorgeous kids, how he sees them once in a while post his divorce, the unfortunate events that led to the divorce and so on. It was genuine conversation - not filling empty spaces with words. Once we reached, we truly meant when we said that it was nice meeting each other.

The previous day I was wondering if I would even find the place I was supposed to sit. K had joked that I could run around the office calling out my manager's name. But in the locker room as I was depositing my coat, I met the lady who was my replacement. She exclaimed 'Gosh! Its been a year already?!!!' I shrugged :) There you have me. 'Finding my location' problem sorted out :P 

My manager had changed. My ex-manager who is a gem of a person and recent dad himself ( his daughter being 10 days elder to Chiyaa) came up and chatted. So did some senior managers and folks. They all seemed to be talking about some of the applications as if I was never away! I am not sure if the year was a blink for them too. Or maybe people come people go - work goes on :P Somehow all the chatting made me feel at ease , at home (err... ). I could not help noticing how some people looked slimmer, some looked bulkier , some looked just the same. Seriously sometimes a year is such a short time to effect any change. Other times its a huge duration to bring about monumental metamorphosis. Everyone - every single person- asked about Chiyaa, whether she was walking, how was she faring, how were her eating habits and all. I felt a tad proud talking about her :) 

Beginner's luck it sure was. The 5 working hours of the day came to an end even before I could realise (I am working part time hence 2.5 hours less than the scheduled time). I literally ran my way back home.

Would the good run last?

6 comments:

I'll try 2 be truthful said...

Seriously dude , where do u work ?
1 year maternity leave and 7.5 working hours (full time wala) . I want that job :D :D :D

I know this is totally off the mark for this post , but the way you write reminds me of some English author, in fact it feels like I am reading some excerpt from a nice novel :)

Sometimes complete strangers can strike up a well formed conversation and give us something to think about.

I don't know how much my prediction will be correct in this , but as chiya is growing up , she will want you to stay home (I know I did) , but then as she grows up understands u as a woman she will respect you and one fine day when she is in the same phase of life as u, she will love respect and honour u for the strong woman you are :)

- All the best :)

Amrita said...

:) Amy
1. 1 year mat leave is govt mandate :) and its loss of pay :)
7.5hrs is also gen norm here ;D

aww eng author ahemmmmmmmmmm wellllllllll i jus wrote some fiction u kno :)

yea.. mebbe what u say turns out to be correct.. cos my frns in US left their kids at 3 mths and said it was not too hard.. and in fact longer u stay with them the harder it becomes :)

yeaa.. hoping she likes me enough as she grows :)

Reflections said...

It's a good thing u said goodbye and left to work and yeah a quick one is usually best;-P.

So who's with her during the day??? Is K working from home???

@previous comment...have hrd from my cousins that in UK working hours are very flexible for mothers and plus all baby hospital bills are taken care of by the govt. Really good.

Amrita said...

Mil is with her and minds her while i am away
yea even i got a feeling, they give a lot of time and space for raising families here

Renu said...

its good to resume work, but difficult to leave the little ones..but the plus point is that she has her granny..

I always feel that everyone should work,it may be part time but sitting home does no good to anyone..

Unknown said...

First time visitor . Your style of writing is very striking. I enjoyed reading it.I was also a working lady and have experienced all the problems associated with it. I am now enjoying retired life with four grand children.