It was my son Avyan's vaccination day. Once you are a mother, more than your birthdays and anniversaries, it is important to remember the vaccination dates.

By 10 AM, we had to reach the hospital and it was already 9.00 AM. And me being a supermom (at least I would like to believe that) achieved all my targets on time like packing Avyan's milk bottle, his meals, his extra clothes, his toys, diapers and most importantly the little man was all dressed up to go on time. So in the next 15 minutes I had to just get ready and we were ready to roll by 9.15 AM.

As soon as I picked up my dress to get ready, I saw Avyan making a grumpy face and I immediately understood, the poop was on its way. By then my husband had already left for the parking lot to get the car so I rushed Avyan to the bathroom, cleaned him and dressed him back and by then it was already 9.20AM. I realised we did not have a minute to spare and had to leave immediately for the hospital or else we would miss the appointment.

In my pajamas and uncombed hair, I sat in the car. I thought I would at least comb my hair, put on some kajal and lipstick on the way but the restless little boy made it impossible for me to even take a deep breath. The anxious wonder wanted to explore the little car world around him. He wanted to understand how the music system works, why his daddy is rotating the wheel and why is he changing gears. If given a chance that day, my little wonder would have even ended up driving. The next 40 minutes ended up in just controlling him and allowing his daddy to drive safely and peacefully.
Luckily we reached the hospital just on time and the doctor was attending an emergency so we had to wait for sometime. I kept complaining to my husband that at least I should have changed the dress. I looked fat in this t-shirt and pajama...at least I should have put on a little kajal, the dark circles would have not been so prominent. My husband just smiled and said you look perfect and you are the most beautiful woman that I know.

I looked at him angrily and said his cheesy lines don't impress me anymore. Meanwhile waiting there I started closely observing other mothers who were waiting along with me. The lady next to me had groggy eyes, dark circles and kept yawning. I smiled at her and thought she has been awake for many nights so that her child can sleep peacefully. There was one lady who had a belly fat peeping out of her jeans and was full of stretch marks. I smiled at her too and thought she must have carried a heavy baby in her tummy.

Then there was one who had just delivered a baby through C section 10 days back and could not even sit or walk properly.

One by one I looked at all the ladies around me, almost all of them had dark eyes, big tummies, unkempt hair wearing large sized comfortable clothes, yet each one of them looked beautiful. Each one of them had a unique glow on their face. This glow was coming from the happy, healthy faces of babies that they were raising. This made me smile and realise why my husband keeps saying to me that I am the most beautiful woman that he knows of.. Every mother is beautiful!!

- By Shringi Shrivastava

Source: indiatimes.com