A matter of perspective!

I'm thinking Octomom. 
How on earth does she do it??? 
Manage EIGHT toddlers while still managing to stay sane and not to mention fit and in shape! And to top it she has half a dozen older ones I hear! I even saw some program somewhere which claimed that she exercises for 3hrs each night after the kids go to bed! 


Respect!!!! 
That woman must have the patience of Mother Teresa and the strength of Hercules!

Here I am, after 48 hours with 2 sick boys who have been constantly shedding large drops of tears every 48seconds, accompanied by ear splitting screams and howls. I have barely slept 3hrs in these last 48 hrs and not managed to finish a single meal, without having to rush from the table as one or the other has woken and started howling for me! I have had the quickest showers of my life, have forgotten what bathroom breaks are and in an instance, come back from the swimming pool, soaked to the skin, proceeded to wrap myself in towels and then sit near V2 and pat him to sleep as he refused to be with the nanny or the daddy! 

This afternoon after 36hrs of being in the epicentre of a tsunami called 2 sick Vs and not losing my mind and not hitting the refrigerator to look for comfort, I applaud myself on my ability to keep Zen like calm. I even don't flinch when the Vs rub ice-cream all over the carpet and on the walls. Atleast they ate something, I say.  

Then comes evening, and all hell breaks loose! The newly discovered Zen like self quickly beats a hasty retreat as I try to put both Vs to bed. V1 wants to be carried. V2, high on sugar and mischief, decides he wants to throw his pillows and make me play fetch like a pet dog. I say "Cut it out" in my firmest tone, one that would get instant obedience from friends and family who would know that tone means business. Instead, V2 takes offence and starts howling in his highest pitch till I apologise! Finally giving in, I carry both crying babies, one in each arm and attempt to rock them both to sleep without inconveniencing either quick-to-take-offence toddler. 

At this juncture V1 decides to combine crying with singing in what can only be described as a non-stop monotonous drone with no change in tone or timber. V2 on the other hand, decides to poke his brother's face to refresh his memory about body parts that he has learnt. And then both join in to howl in perfect harmony with Raag Bhairav playing on the iPad. Except unlike the Raga, there is nothing calm or serene about our situation!

Nothing I say, makes any difference. I rock myself back and forth like a human rocking chair. I attempt singing in my tone deaf voice. I try to explain in my most rational voice to the Vs, the need to stay calm and go to sleep. Nothing works! I begin to empathise with the helplessness of a little ant I flushed down the drain the other day.

And as I struggle to keep my eardrums and my sanity intact and stop myself from crying out like a little girl for my own Mommy, I calm my nerves by telling myself, "Think Octomom! There she goes managing 8, apparently quite successfully, if one were to believe reality TV, while here you are, wilting under the pressure of a mere twosome!"

I try to remember the video of her household on Oprah and try imagine a day in her life - of the chaos, babies screaming, crying, howling, fighting; of the lack of sleep, of the constant running around, of the exhaustion..... In under 5 minutes I am shuddering with terror and feeling relieved. I like my life. I am glad I am managing just 2 whiny kids even if they have been whining for the past 2 days. It could have been worse. It could have been 8!! :)

Or I could be in Vj's shoes. The guy is the best dad I have ever seen, and yet every time he comes back from one of his endless trips, he has to start all over again, from somewhere near scratch - to get the Vs to want him to rock them to sleep at night or carry them around when they are sick. And he patiently does it each time, till another trip comes along and they forget him and look for Mamma and Mamma alone. That can't be very complimentary!

My sis, now overflowing with the sudden outpouring of wisdom that comes with motherhood, says it's all a matter of perspective. We are so busy looking at greener grass on the other side and feeling sorry for ourselves that we tend to forget that looking at not so green grass on the other side of the fence is sometimes far more important for our sanity!