MIL- THE BRAND NEW STATUS

With this new found status, I ought to feel all hoity. There should be a certain swish and arrogance in the way I walk after all I am a mother- in- law of a “soni kudi” both literally and metaphorically due to her Punjabi origins. Like my friends advise me, I should start wearing trail blazing sarees with complicated designer bindis and when I call out to my DIL…..well even the nature should stand in suspended animation waiting for the commanding diktat of the MIL !!!!

Now….this is where the huge disconnect sets in. I have begun to have serious doubts about myself…am I really a misfit in the society?

To begin with I was warned that I have lost my son forever…..well, instead of feeling bad I am rather happy about it. I used to feel a pang of regret every time he left home as I used to wonder how he would cope with loneliness as all moments alone are not solitude. This time when my son left, I was happy that he will not have to return from work to an empty home…he will have the company that he has chosen to be with. I have always felt that the most precious claim is the claim of the heart and to recognize that my son has actually found a soul mate is indeed a very liberating and elevating feeling. It’s as if I have one more person to share that emotional responsibility. Other material things have never mattered to me anyway.


I was told about how my DIL would slowly take control of my son and then my home. WOW …..I have been looking so much forward to retire from mundane chores at home so that I can spend the rest of my life writing and reading ….take long walks in the solitude of early morning Bangalore mist….. I would in fact say cheers to this fear and pray fervently that this come true. Imagine being free of the usual mundane shopping , cooking, cleaning, entertaining routine? What can be more heavenly than that?


My reaction to having a DIL is to have a friend with whom I can share some girlie moments. I can share so many things with her that I cannot share with “guys”. Whether it is sharing a unique dish called “paani puri cornflakes” or if it is sharing little asides and digs on the “guy” behavior and attitudes…I am doing things that I have never done. Sorrounded by boys all the time, it’s as if that girlie part in me was dead and buried. My first shopping sojourn with her was so much of fun. We actually went berserk trying anything and everything. It was so much fun when she would try something and step out for a second opinion. The thrill of bitching about dress sense, hairstyles and tacky colours. It’s so much fun to have a co-conspirator against the “guys” where we share a knowing laugh and leave them mad at their unimaginative wild guesses.


Well, as of now having a DIL has done wonders……it has actually awakened a girlie teenager in me!