MOMS

Mother’s Day is such a great day. It’s unifying. For all the disagreements and polarization in the world, Mother’s Day is one of the few days where we kind of get it together. Because even the folks I know who have not always had the greatest blessing of having access to an amazing mom biologically, most have found access to amazing mother figures proximally or otherwise. Because that’s what moms do. They raise … everyone. I benefitted from it as a child. And I didn’t even get it. My mom is amazing. Let’s be clear. The loudest voice in my head is my moms. Even with a wife and a daughter. My moms voice (Renu Bhatt) is loudest — because she’s also telling me and guiding me on how to be with them. There’s something about tenure. But there are so many other “mom figures”. There are so many other people who, though it may not be actually true, who raised me in a way to believe that there were people out in the world who loved me more than I loved myself, and who were willing to do for me more than they did for themselves. That’s what moms do. My Ba. My sis (Anu Kiran) because as Anaiya is showing me, an older sis is as good as the real thing. It’s also the greatest evidence that being maternal and being a mother figure, doesn’t require birthing a child. My Nani Sheth. My Darshana Bhuta Shukla (I love that your profile pic is an and my mom … exactly the point I make here!) My Mamis (Neelu Bhatt, Shanti Mehta, Chet Bhatt, Charu Bhatt). My Kakis (Rakhee Bhatt). My Nani from another Mami (Chet Mehta). My friends moms, too many to name. Even that mom that keeps a falafel ready for you in the fridge when she knows you will be home late as hell and hungry as hell (right Ekata Doshi?) And … my most recent mom, who made it ok to call someone a mom formally and in the purest sense, when there’s no blood or legacy involved. Satinder Chadha. That’s the beauty of moms. They transcend. So many damn boundaries. So many ridiculous assumptions and borders. Moms. And that’s what I love about life. Because just when you think you’ve figured out humility, life slaps you in the face and points back over your shoulder to tell you — there’s more room to grow. That’s my wife. Priya KC Bhatt.

Every other mom I’ve known, I’ve always known as a mom.

But Priya .. is the the first mom I’ve watched intimately grow into a mom. And it’s beautiful and amazing. And humbling. I’ve spent the past few years realizing a lot of my flaws and faults. But the past 3.5 years I’ve also come to grips with my natural limitations. When I watch Priya with the kids it’s different. Her patience is always steps past where mine ends. Here awareness is always steps past where mine ends. Here ability to hear them cry through several walls and floors is always seconds, minutes, hours before mine. And that’s mom. So I guess my point is that the moment I became best equipped to appreciate everything that a mom is … the moment of maximum mom appreciation and celebration … was the moment, I became a dad. #iamgrateful and #iamthankful for all I’ve learned from you all. Happy Mother’s Day. #stronglikemom