Life Now and Then

Fizz asked me what I'd like to do over the weekend.... "Let's go to Brigade Road.." to which I said "Naah, it's completely open, we can take Zoe to some mall". He then said let us go and watch KungFu Panda2, and my answer "Are you kidding me? What about Zoe"... "Accha let us go to BBQ Nation for lunch..." "Faizan... that is time for Zoe afternoon nap." And, we welcomed another weekend where we ate at home, went to a mall for 2 - 3 hours, bought stuff for Zoe and got back home.

Where has my life bought me?

Couple of months back, my daily schedule was fixed. I got up, got dressed, went to office after a quick breakfast. I didn't worry about my lunch and dinner, knew we will have something or the other. I didn't have to rush back home and leave my work half done.

Me and Fizz are movie buffs. We didn't miss a single movie and watched at least a movie per week... at times two. Now I don't remember how fresh popcorn smells.

Since school, I loved reading. I used to have a new book to read every month, there was no night where I slept without reading. Now my reading is limited to fairy tales. I make sure I read to Zoe before she goes to bed. I read stories which I have read nth number of times... Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Goldilocks...

Couple of months back, I was very regular with my exercise, but now I hardly get time. If I take out 15 mins a day for my exercise, I feel like an achiever.

Sometime back, I loved pampering myself, spas, haircuts, etc. Now taking a bath also means a 'rush bath' because I have to take a bath when my baby sleeps and hurry back as I'm scared 'what if Zoe gets up?'

Weekends meant trying out new restaurants just a few months back. Now the situation is such that a very popular Bangalore eatary is just a stone's throw from our place... but we can't even think of going there.

I used to shop for my house and bought whatever I liked, but now I have to make sure stuff I buy for my house doesn't have sharp corners... As it is just a matter of couple of weeks before Zoe starts crawling Inshallah.

But then, just a few months back I didn't know how nice I'd feel after small little fingers wrap around my fingers.
I didn't know how my heart would ache when my baby cries...
I did not realize I'm excellent at making new stories and turning hindi songs into lullabies...
I did not know someone can not only eat but love mashed banana with milk and mashed papaya.
I didn't realize I can laugh out loud and make fun of myself to just get a glimpse of the 2 little teeth...
I didn't know how painful it would be to see my new born in the low birth rate group, and how happy I would feel to see her Mashallah doing great in a matter of couple of months.
I didn't know anything but a movie can make me awake all night. Now I can stay awake without a blink just looking at and kissing my baccha.
I never realized I would stop (read shout at) Zefy (my nephew) from doing anything, until he shocked Zoe's rocker.
Just some months back I did not imagine I would clean someone's potty.

I just never knew all this and so much more... I didn't realize what I was missing out on...

I didn't know all this coz I wasn't a mom then which I'm now...