A year of strange tidings . At no point in my life have I been as clueless regards my future as I am now . My professional life this year has been full of upheavals and uncertainty . Zero visibility driving , not knowing what lies ahead .To add to it , the brakes have been slammed on by my personal commitments . At times I feel envious of women who have a solid support system of parents /in laws / Helps behind them . I know they also face searing criticisms for their apparent focus on career , but what the hell !! You have but one life . And one owes it to oneself to make the most of it if one can . There is no greater regret than that of a wasted life .
So what do people like me do ? The ones who have to soldier on, on their own . I had often thought in many situations that there are some battles that one has to fight alone . And it is none truer than it is now . So what do we do now .. Do we wallow in self-pity and drown in regret . Or do we bravely put our chin up and say , Take it one day at a time . The dark clouds will part and the sun will shine in all its splendor . Till then just hang in there . One day at a time …
Indra Nooyi was right when she said Women can’t have it all . And then someone said Women can have it all , but not at the same time . Every time I read the interviews of these women achievers who have broken through the glass ceiling I notice there is always a support system –A mother , A mother-in law , Helps , Husband (In some cases) . The ones who ease your struggle a little . Indra Nooyi also says that it will always be you who will be berated for the lapses , like when you miss an event at school , like when your child does not have the appropriate props for the activity at school , like when the child skips his meals ..She says the trick is to not hold these too close to the heart . But it’s not easy .. I know I felt terrible the one day that I was tied up at work . I had left home before he woke up & reached back after he had slept off . I was racked with guilt and felt terrible . And then of course there are those who take sadistic pleasure in rubbing salt into your wounds and never let you live down those days ..
I agree with Indra Nooyi now . No women can’t have it all..At least not all at the same time ….