Dating : Mom’s and daughters- a short story

Mother’s and daughters have always shared a unique bond. A daughter is an image of her mother, she carries the weight of having to carry forward the goodness she is bestowed with and yet shine as an individual. Are children necessarily a chip of the old block? Not necessarily, they could be different blocks molded from the same wood.

Case in point young Sarala and her mom.

Sarala was a spitting image of her mom. The curve of her lips, the twinkle in her eyes, the naughty curl that danced on her forehead were all genetic imprints that was hard to go unnoticed. Mom was in her mid-forties; having had a successful career and overcome hurdles she was now enjoying a content phase in her life. Sarala on the other hand, was never fond of anything that was monotonous. Even brushing teeth meant a new flavor of toothpaste every couple of months. Sarala a smart and determined teen, had all the wonderful qualities her mom had and some of her own too. She had inherited her grandfather’s tinkering skills and her parent’s brains, yet her creativity was vehemently hers. For example, she was always curious about how things work, as a child she spent hours setting up elaborate Lego sets and working on monstrous jigsaw puzzles. She was a content child, not particularly fond of attention or dresses. Boys and looking beautiful had to wait, she had big dreams and didn’t believe that a lipstick or spending time in front of a mirror would support her endeavor. She was beautiful though, the tiny frown on her brow when she tinkered away in her personal lab, or the flush of pink on her cheeks after completing an assignment was always a delight.

Mom was meticulous and routine was her mantra. Mom always had her meals prepped an hour before, clothes neatly ironed, the finances and her health in place. She clearly believed that these were the skills that made her a successful woman. Her husband well mannered, healthy and happy was always proud of his wife and her work ethos. Sarala, the only child was always a little disorganized and impatient. She believed that she had so much on her mind, that it was hard to keep up, many books lay side by side , pages randomly scribbled and highlighted, food was never a priority, she ate to live and never was fussy save for an occasional cheesecake. She was a natural leader, encouraging other girls to follow suit, to be independent in thought and action oriented. She had no time for frills or thrills.

A young major in robotics, Sarala believed that there was nothing that one cannot build given a few electronic components, hard wood and sufficient time. An occasion did arise when mom decided to take Sarala to buy a fitness monitor. Clearly, Sarala was unimpressed and followed her to the store with a sullen mood, her lips tightly clasped and irritated, she waited rather impatiently as mom carefully worked her way through the aisles to find one that met her needs. Mom asked Sarala what she thought of it, and Sarala said, “I can make one for you!”. Mom, slightly exasperated initially, decided to let her daughter take over, she told her to go ahead.

Sarala without wasting a minute got to work, her room akin to a hacker’s station, had all sorts of electronic trinkets. In fact, Sarala was even putting a book together on DIY gadgets. She slaved for couple of days, kept it going all night. A fine Sunday morning, whilst at breakfast, mom heard Sarala say, “you are doing great, keep going?”, she was pleasantly surprised to hear her beautiful daughter voice and went to find where she was. She was making her way to her room and noticed that Sarala wasn’t in there. She noticed a beautifully crafted little fitness band, and the voice emanated from the device. Mom was elated. Her eyes welled up with tears, little did she know her daughter was a genius in the making. Sarala stood in the corner watching all the while, exclaimed “how do you like it mum!”. Mom and daughter embrace in a dance of love and relief. Mom was extremely proud of her daughter; she knew she had given birth to an innovator. Sarala now enjoys shopping trips with mom, it adds more chapters to the book she is working on.

Fast forward a handful of years Sarala now heads a robotics division while mom has let life takeover, she enjoys luxurious warm baths and banter filled evenings with a close-knit circle of friends. Sarala never had time for men, her father now no more, she was content with mom and has dedicated her life to finding innovative solutions to complex problems.