“The child is the father of man” — William Wordsworth
One of the most momentous times in my life would be the day when I first met my baby daughter. Me being my clumsy self was anxiously waiting outside the labor room, fidgeting through my cell phone and glancing across the corridors and trying to absorb the pain and joy of the throng of patients and their bystanders around me.
Bam! Along with the large thud of the door smashing against the wall, I saw the familiar face of a nurse stepping out to say the name of my wife loudly. And after a few seconds, which seemed to be an eternity for me, she announced that we have been blessed with a baby girl. A barrage of emotions was pounding against my heart which was supremely hard to comprehend at that moment. Again, after resuming my presence of mind in a few seconds, I informed the close friends and relatives in my contact sphere.
After some eerily awkward moments, there was a multitude of questions bouncing across my head:
Will I be a good father?
Will I be able to provide quality time to my kid?
Will I be a good human to look up to in her formative years?
Will I be able to satisfy her wishes and needs?
Will I be a good friend to her?
I could feel a cocktail of emotions along with anxiety seeping through my veins thinking about the first time I was going to see my baby daughter. Then, the nurse bought her wrapped in a pink towel. Very weirdly in my mind, I was expecting a crying baby. But there she was lying very blissfully and looking at me.
I always took pride in the fact of being level-headed and able to manage highly stressful situations. But her innocent face casting her gaze at me was a different kind of ecstasy. The nurse’s explanation of hospital procedures slowly blurred to a void.
Everything made sense. Anything could wait. All the throbbing questions pondering over my head minutes ago vanished like magic. I could see the splitting moments of my childhood flashing over. Like a car wiper clearing off a foggy windshield, my vision was being endowed with more clarity.
As an ambitious practicing company secretary and a corporate law consultant, my worldview and outlook were limited to the attainment of professional goals. I took immense pride in building my professional practice and was content in achieving my professional milestones. Many a times, I had to set aside personal matters for climbing the ladder of professional growth. Since the arrival of our baby daughter, I have been setting aside as much time as possible from my professional routine to spend good quality time with her at every possible instance.
I was blessed with parents who believed in me and moreover showed up when I needed them and always motivated me to go with one’s own conviction rather than succumbing to peer pressure.
I hope our baby girl would also hold her ground firmly on all occasions and turn up to be a happy independent individual.