Living a balanced life equally caring for grandparents and kids

The Lady of justice holding a balance with a blindfold portrays the justice system being blind about a person’s wealth, power, gender, and race. On the other hand, maintaining a balance between grandparents on one weigh scale and kids on the other with eyes wide open is what a balanced life is all about.

When kids are growing they need love and care before they step into the world of struggle. Proper education and a strong value system help them establish a strong foothold in a world where the fittest survives. The grandparents on the other hand have passed on their values and learning to their next generation. As they grow old, they also need the same love and care to help them tide over the old age.

In the journey of life, parents have to maintain a balance in their life ensuring that neither the kids nor the grandparents get neglected. When parents are young kids are the priority while as they grow the grandparents become a priority. Both need love and care. It’s not easy handling them. Giving instructions and making kids follow is a challenging job. Similarly, giving instructions to old parents and making them understand is not an easy job.

Kids are like a sapling that needs extra care by their gardener

When you plant a young sapling, it needs extra care. It needs water for survival and manure for nourishment. It requires proper sunlight for photosynthesis. As the sapling grows it is tied to a wooden stick for support. The same is the case with growing children. They need the support of parents to grow.

The day a family is blessed with a newborn the house is filled with happiness. If the newborn is a girl then the family is blessed with the Goddess of wealth and if it is a boy then you can hear the music of the flute from the one and only Lord Krishna. The parents while celebrating the arrival of the kid also realise that along with the newborn comes great responsibility.

The initial couple of years are all about caring and feeding. A lot of doctor visits are required for vaccinations as well as health check-ups. As the kid moves higher up on the ladder the focus changes to proper nourishment, primary education, and recreational activities through games and sports. Education becomes the sunlight that helps the sapling grow. On the other hand, the value system imparted by parents helps the sapling flower one day.

A separate room for kids

A time comes when kids graduate from the parent’s room to a new bedroom especially created for them. This will be their base station from now onwards till they are ready to leave the nest. Parents take a lot of interest in decorating the kid’s bedroom. There are baby posters pasted over the wall with a small study table in one corner. A glass cabinet full of stuffed toys and a wardrobe full of fancy dresses are other occupants of the room. In one corner is the doll-house and on the other corner is a cricket set with a bat, wickets, helmet, and ball.

Two mini-bicycles with support wheels are waiting to enter the bedroom but the paucity of space forces them to rest under the staircase.

A lesson to kids on leading a balanced life

As kids grow to move into adolescence the bedroom gets a new makeover. The study table gets bigger with a laptop lying on it. The Dollhouse disappears in the storage and gets replaced by a new wardrobe full of daughter’s dresses. The cricket set gets replaced by a football and roller skates. The wall posters have been replaced by wall hanging photo frames to refresh childhood memories. The electricity sockets in the room are gasping for breath as they all have been smothered by a laptop or a mobile charger. The overstuffed wardrobe and the footwear floating all over the room adds to the chaos.

Once in a while, the room is invaded by mom and all hell breaks loose. The commotion makes dad also join the argument and parents end up giving lessons on how to maintain a balanced life between studies and recreational activities. Getting early in the morning, having meals on time, prioritizing time between studies, and socialising are a few of the lessons of a balanced life.

A balanced life is incomplete without taking care of parents

Another room in the house is occupied by the grandparents. This room is in chaos right from day one. It is the chaos that makes grandparents happy. It shows that they can lead a life of freedom without anybody giving them instructions. Parents are not very happy with the present state of affairs in the room but try to restrict themselves.

The room has a study table with books by Premchand and Stephen Hawking standing vertically against wall support. As the books gather dust their spine bents and the cover is worn out maybe because of the age. The grandparent’s situation is somewhat similar. A walking stick stands in a corner to give support to the grandfather.

A balanced diet for a healthy life

Grandmother has recently gone through a knee replacement surgery and uses the support of a four-legged walker. She gets a lot of attention from mom and everybody in the family post her operation. She is served cornflakes and poha along with a cup of milk for breakfast. A simple diet of chapati, rice, dal, a vegetable is served for lunch. The dinner menu includes a mix of soup, khichdi, and curd. She leaves the meal half-way through saying she is not hungry but mom firmly tells her that the doctor has advised a healthy diet for fast recovery.

The room looks more like an extension counter of a hospital room. The table is full of medicines and a folder full of doctor’s prescription. A separate table has been provided for the water bottle and a glass. Grandfather despite his limited mobility tries helping grandma in every way possible way. He will give her medicines on time, pour water in the glass, and wipe her face with a wet towel after every meal. He will play her favourite soap on television sacrificing his news and IPL matches. This made for each other couple is a big inspiration not only for the parents but also for the grandkids.

A lot of love and care is needed to live a balanced life

Parents realise that a balanced life is all about taking care of kids and grandparents at the same time. Both bedrooms need equal attention. It’s all about loving the kids and at the same time caring for the adults too. Within their heart parents have a realisation that a time will come when both the bedrooms will get vacant. The kids will fly out of the nest and grandparents will leave for destiny.

Parents play the role of a gardener nourishing young saplings with manure and watering them regularly and ensuring that they receive the sunlight regularly.  In the same garden, the gardener also has to take care of the grow-up trees that are shedding their bark and have borne enough fruits in their lifetime. Life actually for parents means living a balanced life taking care of kids as well as grandparents.

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The Grandparents and their walking stick standing in a corner

Love and respect your parents but also make them feel wanted