Empty Nest

Do we ever wonder what occupies our parents' thoughts most of the times....I can safely bet that parents whose family is now an empty nest (with grown up children living separately--studying or working) are constantly thinking about their children...wondering what they are doing at the moment...about their next visit....

Before me and my sister went home last week, my mother (Maa) was counting days to our arrival..and as the day came nearer, she sounded happier and merrier...before we are home, she makes a schedule list of delicacies for each day she will be preparing and keep the ingredients stocked.

My father (Deta) never used to voice his affections for us openly..but he changed and became increasingly vocal when we sisters left home after 12th standard for higher studies....ever since we could be home only every six months, that is, in semester breaks....how eagerly they wait for that....

We often tease our Maa saying that she should have got used to our absence..after all it has been seven years since we have practically left home...my sister goes to the extent of saying that daughters are 'Paraya Dhan'!! But still today Maa weeps secretly on the day we leave....Deta says the house has become empty and silent....

Today I am working and so my half yearly trips to home have ended too....Now I depend on the holiday list of the organization I work for and it's leave policy...My sister is in her final month of masters and soon she will be working too....

Now I call Maa-Deta every single day..and if I don't, they will!!! Maa updates me on all family issues, relatives and family friends...Deta now freely says that he misses me...He would call us even if he has a small tiff with Maa. He doesn't talk much over phone but he needs to hear us everyday...

And this is not unique of my parents alone...this is an universal phenomenon! Parents' world revolve around their children...and at times I really feel that we children become selfish as we grow up...but this is a cycle..someday we will be in their shoes and will understand the purest relation of all...that of parents with their child....and the agony of an empty nest...

Labels: , , ,