THE DIARY OF A HOUSEWIFE

Nirja, here's a poem I wrote many years ago in praise of the Indian housewife. We had never met before but when I proposed, you consented to be mine. We had to spend a lifetime together and you knew me not but, you consented to take the plunge.  You were among strangers when I got you home, yet you consented to hang on. I could not arrange a honey moon for us,  but you consented to remain home to share  your personal space with us, the family. My folks wanted me for themselves, they  exluded you, yet you gladly consented to be  part of us.  You have no demands, no needs, and have consented to be mine forever and ever in this and many more lives - oh! thank you my love, I'm so grateful. In return I pray to God to choose you and you alone always and every time in our after life. I can only hope that you will consent when he asks of you.   

Author: Elizabeth Spoor Found this lovely poem on the net. As an Air Force wife can't help but identify with it.  i sit here and think of you day after day trying to find the right words to say i know things are hard, i know things are rough when duty calls, times on our family are tough its so hard to comfort you so far away when it feels like our lives are in such disarray it kills me to watch you walk out the door knowing your going to a far distant shore i fear for your safety, i fear for your life guess that's part of being an army wife just a bit selfish i may seem to be but all i want is you home with me you provide for our family, you keep us from harm risking your own life, your weapon in arm you never have any concern for yourself putting you own fears aside on a shelf you fight for our country, our freedom, our lives   while still making sure that our family thrives you always call home every chance that you can j...

I have very few friends, blame it on my upbringing, or the fact that my father was in the Air Force and we never stayed in one place long enough to make many friends. We have always been a close knit family preferring to keep to ourselves, thus the lack of ability to make long lasting friends. This lack of ability has always nagged me and I have tried to go the extra mile for people I liked. That of course is another topic altogether. My search for my best friend ended when I met my husband. I talk to him about everything, sharing my innermost sometimes even what may be considered shameful secrets, thoughts and troubles. I am the most comfortable when I am with him and we have a great relationship. He has been a guide and a teacher. He has encouraged me especially through the dark and hopeless times. He has always been there for me through the thick and thin of it all, through all the travails of life, putting me above all else. I am not the easiest person to live with...

As a parent   struggling with the challenges of parenthood, this story is truly inspiring. I have always believed that hitting children can never teach them what is good and what is bad. Violence is always a short cut resorted to by most of us to lighten the onerous but very satisfying task of parenting. On the other hand shouting and screaming is also a violent method of controlling children and that is one thing I as a parent have not been able to control. Being firm and shouting at the kids are two very different things. This incident yet again proves that I have so much to learn as a parent. Dr. Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and founder of the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Non-violence, in his June 9 lecture at the University of Puerto Rico , shared the following story as an example of "non-violence in parenting":  "I was 16 years old and living with my parents at the institute my grandfather had founded 18 miles outside of Durban ,...