Apart from being just a mother

 “Mom, what was your aim in life?”

Did you ever consider asking this question to your mother? Or are you guys too busy in achieving your own?

Being a mother is never a woman’s ‘only’ dream. But no one cares what their dream was anyway. We don’t, do we?

Neesa also wanted to be ‘something’ in life, apart from being “Just a Mother”.

She wanted to be one of the best news readers of the country. While studying Psychology at Dhaka University, she used to anchor different programs in BTV, joyfully participate in Poetry Recitation Competitions and win prizes. She would amaze the audience with her melodious voice on the stage. When she sang, everyone present in the room used to be struck in awe at the simplicity and glamour of her voice. As a woman with such diverse literary and cultural talents, she never ever thought that she would end up being ‘Only a Mother.’ After graduating from Dhaka University, she started working as a News Reader in Bangladesh Betar. She was a happy woman on the journey towards achieving her dream. However, not every journey has a happy ending.

It was only a few years after marriage when things started to change. The same ambitious woman who never thought of giving up on her dreams and goals was facing a really difficult choice. She had to choose between her career and raising her children. She kept thinking about it. Tiresome days and sleepless nights passed as she came to a conclusion. She decided to make a sacrifice. For the sake of molding two pieces of clay just the way she wanted them to be.

It has been 24 years since Neesa took that decision. Those two pieces of clay have turned into fine sculptures. One of them is known by the name ‘Amreen’ and the other one by ‘Sabik’ .They are doing great in their respective fields by the grace of Almighty Allah and the relentless efforts of Neesa, who left no stone unturned to make sure they had a good life.

Sabik and Amreen have a good life today.

But what did their mother get in return?

She sacrificed her entire life for her children .But today when her ‘busy’ children can’t manage enough time for her from their busy schedule; the question pops up into her mind. “Whom was the sacrifice for?” She has spent almost her entire life behind them, sacrificed her dreams for them. And all she wants now is her children to stand beside her and gossip in the kitchen when she cooks food, to give her a tight hug from behind and say, “I love you mom”.

“Is it too much to ask for in return?”

I first realized it when I entered Mirzapur Cadet College in 2015. I had to live apart from my parents in a hostel where I had to do all my works by myself. When I was in class 7, I used to cry incessantly seeing the picture of my mother and my father, every day. 5 years have passed till now. Today I am a cadet of class 11. Cadet College has already taught me a lot of things in these 5 years. But I believe the most important of them all was the fact that we do realize how important our parents are when we don’t find them beside us. So as long as we do, we should ask them the questions no one ever did for years. On Mother’s Day, other than giving Mother’s Day Cards to our mothers we should ask them what they wanted to be in life, other than being “Just a Mother.” Maybe we are the only reason they couldn’t achieve it. So, if you have done something wrong with your mom today and you are justifying it by the fact that you have your priorities, then do remember that your mother also had her priorities years ago, before you came to this world.

So, in this Quarantine, instead of locking your room and making yourself busy with your priorities, spend at least 30 minutes every day with your mom when she cooks food in the kitchen .Ask her about her unfulfilled dreams and goals .When she is making your favorite dish, hug her from behind and say that “I love you mom”. Maybe a tight hug can make her feel that the sacrifice she made didn’t go in vain.