Mommy withdrawal symptoms!

Yesterday was mother's day and for the first time since I became a mom, I got to celebrate it without my little one! I thought I would quite enjoy my time alone at home (strictly speaking I am not alone ..but we are quite a houseful) ....or spend my evenings after work doing things I have always wanted to do but never had the chance to....watch TV mindlessly, read the day's newspaper without any interruptions and there's no hurry to hit the kitchen to fix Abhay's dinner! Well, I must admit....I am doing all that...but you know what the catch is? I'm not enjoying it as much....I miss my mommy duties.....I am having what can be called "withdrawal symptoms!" I cant stop myself from calling my parents to check on Abhay every now and then; I cant stop thinking of Abhay as I serve freshly fermented curds for dinner ( something we make for Abhay for each of his meals). I cant stop talking about what Abhay would be doing at this very hour in Dharmasthala! Abhay has had sleepovers at his grandparents' house in Bangalore before.....but this somehow feels different! I almost feel homesick without him around and  it is Abhay who is away from home! Oh God...look what being a mommy does to you!

This time around on the occasion of mother's day, I couldn't read to Abhay as he was in grandparents' farm house in Dharmasthala, which is an overnight journey from Bangalore. But while I was there last week, I had read an exerpt by Leela Ramaswamy in Open Sesame ( The Deccan Herald's children supplement) on Abraham Lincoln's mother titled "Angel-mother". This is a story of how Abraham Lincoln lost his mom at the age of 10 and was brought up his step mom Sarah. Little Abe and his sister lived in abject poverty along with their father Thomas Lincoln when he married Sarah, Sarah who had inital misgivings about stepping in as the wife of Thomas Lincoln, accepted his children as her own. She loved them and worked hard at transforming their home and their childhood into a happy one. Sarah was the force behind Abraham's education and success and for all that he had this angel-mother to thank! I guess Abhay is a little too young to appreciate a story a like this, but it definitely makes an interesting read! We all have our angel mothers to thank ...dont we? I have my mom to thank...specially now...since she has given me some time off from being a mom! Happy Mother's day to all you moms!