Four Clover Life- By Namrata Shailendra Singh

HELPING HIM LEARN THE ART OF PERSISTENCE Every failure can be turned around with hard work and persistence. This is my favorite. For being a writer, I know how important it is to learn perseverance. What does it mean to persevere? In layman’s term, it ‘NOT GIVING UP DESPITE ODDS”. It’s easy to give up and difficult to hang on. How do we do that? Wait before you praise and reward the child- We have a tendency to shoot a GOOD JOB the moment the baby took his first step, the toddler scribbled for the first time, the preschooler did a jig, or the kindergartner built a Lego structure. Don’t you think the child can become immune to it? He will expect it for every little thing he does and then looks up and wonder- where is my  'good job?' There is no harm in saying a good job, but what is the point in blurting it out at every twist and turn?   Click to read- Go beyond just 'GOOD JOB.' Do not praise your child for being smart. Try to look for what went in

...for there isn't any MUST in life, And if there are...they MUST NOT be. I MUST do well every time, each time, and win the approval of everyone, each one, H owever hard I try, I do not get it right. But why do I try so hard? THEY MUST treat me kind and fair, They need to be flogged and whipped for not liking 'ME.' I try in desperation, just how do I manage? T o hold people by leash and command them to like me. To MUST get my want, to not get what I don't want, I scurry  like a rat between the two ends, happy in one and sad in other, lively in one and dying in other, See- Saw I play, See-Saw I play. T o believe that life MUST go MY WAY or MY WAY, T o conclude that there isn't any other way, To suspect every different path that shows up, Such restlessness and discontentment paralyze me. These MUST's have crippled me, For years, I contort my existence,  T o fit into the design others have made, except that I forget my own frame e

Yes, career breaks are a concern. Why? Because you tend to RUST out, and why should anyone buy rust? Besides, there is fresh talent waiting with degrees in one hand and infectious enthusiasm in the other. You are 35. You left at 29. That is a long break. But a respectable one. So walk in with your head held high. If you walk around sheepishly thinking you are no more 'the same,' trust, it’s difficult not to disappoint the interviewers. But, on the other hand, if you face them with an aura of confidence and aplomb, they shall be infected too. Why should they see value in you when you don’t see much worth in you? Do not settle for less, if not more, just because you have returned after a career break. If they see worth in you and the value you can bring, you will be their safe bet. So how do you ensure 'worth' after a career break? One step is to be a smart- at-home- mom. Is it a safe bet? Will you get the job? NO. There are no safe bets in this world. However, you are

Yes! You do. No, you do not. Perplexed? Your second chance is directly proportional to your hunger, your appetite for the second chance. Only if it is your choice, for you know the best. Because SAHM is not a dumb housewife as people tend to perceive. Just because your majority of time is spent in domestic chores and child-centric activities, that does not make you dumb. Possibly, at any point in time, if you want to launch yourself on the career track again, you would be LOST. And mind you, once the kids are grown up, you tend to have TIME on your hand. So many SAHM moms who were previously working women start looking around, wondering, and getting depressed. The world has changed in manifold ways. My father was in a 9-5 job, a stable and lifelong one. My mother was a SAHM, and so were all others around her. Choices were limited, aspirations uncomplicated, and we still had STD booths. Bad things did happen but less televised and served on our plates. It isn&

A refreshing read of the Harvard Business Review recent article dilated my pupil. What? Are the stores going to disappear? Will the landscape of shopping change forever? Will there be no more shopping centers? Why? I haven't been more intrigued, fascinated, and skeptical (yeah! all at the same time) about technology than right now. Possibilities are endless; advantages are primarily twofold- saving time and saving effort, making you more effective, efficient, and adding convenience to life. Cliche, but technology has transformed our lives in ways we had never imagined. Interestingly, we are cashing it all. Also, being without it is neither feasible nor desirable. It's embedded in the world we inhabit. Our sensory experiences are vacating life to make room for virtual reality. And shopping is just one of them. The landscape of shopping has changed. The article reveals new advents and how our lives are going to be further revolutionized. From Amazon to Ikea to Sep

It is the way some evenings welcome themselves into our life. Some are enveloped in the shade of deep orange and some in clear blue sky with white clouds floating like cotton balls; some are wrapped in darkness with no stars to twinkle and a pale dark blue blanket all over. And, some are washed in the moonlight, shining so bright that it becomes difficult to differentiate the day from the night. In every way, evenings are my favorite. The day is too bright for me and the nights too dark. What makes me feel comfortable are the silken evenings. Or maybe there is something more to that. Evenings I guess, symbolize 'return.' It's reassuring to see the birds fly back to their nest as we wait to get back to ours. The children, gleefully playing in the green parks, bathed in sweat, look forward to going back to their homes where their mothers wait with bated breath. They shall be washed and scrubbed and made to sit and study in their warm beds. Somewhere, ol

Maa, I am just so upset, irritated. This is not done. I am just so not into Mother's Day. One day this father-son duo will make me breakfast- the humble, effortless bread and omelet( no grand, sumptuous aloo parathas),  present me pink Lillies, take me out for shopping, and rest of 364 days, I keep chasing them for everything. Huh. From riches to rag story all in a day. This is what it is. Unbelievable. What is the use of Mother's day?  The little grandson of yours is making me demented day by day. He thinks I am his Google in life. Maa, he is just four and has 400 questions every day. That makes 400*364 to answer. Now you see my plight. And I can't even ask him to go to Daddy. That brings to another big problem in my life- His Daddy, his calls, his work. I tell you Maa, this man is forever on his phone. The adage - 'and they lived happily eve after' is most suitable for this man and his phone. He just doesn't have time. Either he is on his daily st