When Routine becomes Special!

How are you doing? What's up? Kya chal raha hai ? Sundry polite queries and chitchat begin with the above. My humble, slightly sheepish response is ..."Oh! just the routine" where the routine implies...home management, looking after the needs of hubby and kids, maintaining a functional, thriving family life interspersed with a paltry social life and other obligations. 

As a woman, and an Indian woman in particular, especially who is a homemaker/ stay-at-home mum/ non-career, female member of the household...at times I do find myself trapped in the monotonous routine. 

The routine of daily chores, the routine of performing upto the expected standards, the routine of being held responsible if something goes amiss, the routine of being a pillar of strength even in times when you need a shoulder to lean on. 

This routine of waking up to the shrill alarm bell to get the kids ready for school till the time when you hit the bed, exhausted and spent has its fair share of moments. The sense of fulfilment at being the centre of universe and the fulcrum of your home, to being the indispensable entity in the lives of your loved ones, gives an immeasurable high and joy.

But despite all the accolades and love which is showered upon a woman for all that she does for her family, a part of her craves for something more, a tangible, concrete evidence of her self worth and unexplored potential.

This craving gives way to wanting to do something more than the mundane, something more worthwhile than the 'routine'.

I look around and find lot of women staying abreast of the routine by doing stuff which is for their own pleasure. Developing hobbies and pursuing them with full gusto and dedication is an option being widely explored. Then there are the kitty parties! Often housewives go on a guilt trip if they indulge their time and money in seemingly frivolous stuff like shopping or kitty parties, both looked disdainfully at by their families. 

There has to be a life beyond these necessary outlets of pent up emotions which women need to tap at the right time and place in life. How she manages her 'routine life' depends on her skills and temperament. 
Each woman has her own family graph and unique set of circumstances which may dictate her actions and choices accordingly. 

Now choice is the key word here. The 'choice' to make her decisions regarding her home, family and financial matters, social life etc. is what makes her routine special. 

 From the 'The big choices' of being a stay-at-home mum or a working mum, the choice to live in a nuclear family or joint, the choice to have 1 or 2 kids etc to the small choices like deciding the family menu, holiday trips, planning get-togethers, shopping trips etc, all of the above make the monotonous, humdrum routine life of a woman truly special. This is what makes her feel relevant in the family structure.

And this power of choice emboldens her to make her routine very 'special and unique' in its own fulfilling ways.