DAY 93

This is an image of my mother that will always be etched in my mind. A visual that hasn't changed from the time I began to recognize things around me as a toddler.

This is my mom in the afternoons, after she's completed her household chores. Very rarely does she nap in the afternoons, even if she did indulge in her 40 winks it wouldn't be before she had spent time reading. It was her `ME' time.

An extremely disciplined person my mother is a voracious reader. She would read anything and everything that she got her hands on. It could be novels to magazines to essays. Ironically she always had to depend on her husband or daughter to get her all the reading material. So she never had a choice there, yet she made the best use of what she got.

She was always a great believer in "Reading should be part of your system -like breathing." She never went to college but her love for reading and knowing and studying about things never abandoned her.

I think I got interested in reading early on because of her. As a child, I would snuggle up to her in the afternoons while she spent time reading, with one hand thrown protectively around me. And I would automatically smile and snuggle up to her even closer. I used to feel loved all the way down to the tip of my toes and I would wriggle them in joy.

Till I learnt how to read I would look at the pictures. Those were some of the most memorable and precious moments of my childhood.

No words spoken. That one or two hours in the afternoon strengthened the bond between mother and child.

Then I grew up. I had a life of my own. My mother continued with hers. And held on to her reading habits.

Today I had the opportunity to be at home in the afternoon and I encountered the familiar scene, which brought back a rush of wonderful childhood memories.

After clicking this picture, I put my camera aside and snuggled up to my mom. Without a word, she automatically put her arm around me, as used to decades and decades ago. It was the most natural thing for her to do. She never forgot and I never forgot the sensation of it. After all these years I could feel the smile on my face and felt my toes wriggle. Though I would love to do it for the rest of my life I know it is like asking for the Moon, so I am glad I snuggled up to her today.

And it was all a result of a mother and daughter spending time all those years ago.
Sometimes, bonding needs no words.