Few days ago I was discussing with my friend that parenting has become so unfair now. We, parents, make our babies, nurture them, raise them and one day they leave us either for higher studies or for pursuing their careers, or they want to settle down somewhere else. In fact, for parents of a girl child, life has always been mean. With society's convention, girls leave their parents after certain time, no matter how hard this departure is. But soon we realized that it's a natural process. Be it animals, birds or any other creature of the earth, we all are designed to follow this process. And example can be seen around us only. Let me tell you one that inspired me and made me stronger for coming days of my parenthood.
Delhi is full of pigeons and even the place, where my 2 rooms flat is , is also full of pigeons. You can see them flying around buildings and sitting over sun shades. They keep on visiting balconies of different buildings and many times they make their nests in any of them. People are now getting annoyed of them. These birds not only visit houses untimely but also make mess there. They bring mud, twigs, leaves and sticks for making their nests. Being not so mannered , they can shit anywhere and anytime. People even break their nests intentionally and indifferently. I must admit that I'm an nature admirer and I love birds, butterflies and bugs, but after living with hundreds of pigeons for more than 3 years. I'm also sick of them.
2 Years ago (when I first came to know about my pregnancy), a pigeon built her nest in my balcony. We both, the pigeon and me, were in same situation, we were expecting. As I was having a poppy seed sized baby inside me, my husband decided to let the 'mother bird' be in our balcony until she left by herself. About a month later, I saw two tiny beaks poking out of the nest. I watched the mother feed the babies. All day the mother bird was back and forth to the nest with food for her babies. I watched those two yellowish birds get bigger. Soon, they stretched their wings, flapping, and I knew what was coming. One day, the nest was empty. I looked out into my balcony and saw little ones dashing between walls, zipping high and low. I couldn't find mother bird around. May be she had left wishing her nearly grown-up babies good luck.
It was emotional, exciting and inspiring to see baby birds fly. I kept telling myself that I wasn't watching the empty nest. I was witnessing a natural process. In their sweet chirping, I could understand them saying "I'm flying! I'm flying! I'm flying!". It's sad yet beautiful reality of parenthood that we raise our kids with the possibility of getting separated from them. Girls get married and settle in a new family. Boys leave for higher studies and may sometimes decide to settle in a new and bigger city/town ( or even in a new country). We, parents, should actually let them go, independent and self sufficient.It's a natural process that we should allow to happen. After experiencing the bird's life closely, I admitted that this separation can happen to me as well. And I need to stretch my heart for that. But when I ask myself, "What is the best gift I can give to my son for the future?" I have just one answer: I say, "Go! Fly SON!"
Delhi is full of pigeons and even the place, where my 2 rooms flat is , is also full of pigeons. You can see them flying around buildings and sitting over sun shades. They keep on visiting balconies of different buildings and many times they make their nests in any of them. People are now getting annoyed of them. These birds not only visit houses untimely but also make mess there. They bring mud, twigs, leaves and sticks for making their nests. Being not so mannered , they can shit anywhere and anytime. People even break their nests intentionally and indifferently. I must admit that I'm an nature admirer and I love birds, butterflies and bugs, but after living with hundreds of pigeons for more than 3 years. I'm also sick of them.
2 Years ago (when I first came to know about my pregnancy), a pigeon built her nest in my balcony. We both, the pigeon and me, were in same situation, we were expecting. As I was having a poppy seed sized baby inside me, my husband decided to let the 'mother bird' be in our balcony until she left by herself. About a month later, I saw two tiny beaks poking out of the nest. I watched the mother feed the babies. All day the mother bird was back and forth to the nest with food for her babies. I watched those two yellowish birds get bigger. Soon, they stretched their wings, flapping, and I knew what was coming. One day, the nest was empty. I looked out into my balcony and saw little ones dashing between walls, zipping high and low. I couldn't find mother bird around. May be she had left wishing her nearly grown-up babies good luck.
It was emotional, exciting and inspiring to see baby birds fly. I kept telling myself that I wasn't watching the empty nest. I was witnessing a natural process. In their sweet chirping, I could understand them saying "I'm flying! I'm flying! I'm flying!". It's sad yet beautiful reality of parenthood that we raise our kids with the possibility of getting separated from them. Girls get married and settle in a new family. Boys leave for higher studies and may sometimes decide to settle in a new and bigger city/town ( or even in a new country). We, parents, should actually let them go, independent and self sufficient.It's a natural process that we should allow to happen. After experiencing the bird's life closely, I admitted that this separation can happen to me as well. And I need to stretch my heart for that. But when I ask myself, "What is the best gift I can give to my son for the future?" I have just one answer: I say, "Go! Fly SON!"
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