Embrace the Effort
This morning, D (baby number four) had the biggest meltdown at daycare drop off. Usually, it’s their father who does the daycare drop off and I do the older two at elementary school. Of course the morning we switch for funsies, I get the meltdown! And why did the meltdown ensue you ask? Because I…
Embrace the Tantrum, the Tears, and the Tiny Hand in Yours
Spring break is over! We traveled to visit Dh’s family, in a town he visited almost every summer. We have taken trips before with the kids, and this one felt different. It felt like we were going home. We got showered with love, given the opportunity to drink hot coffee, and enjoyed the fun activities…
Embrace the Family Bathroom
Hello! We’re back. I got on that plane and am so glad we did. We needed a break. I thought about it, in the 7.5 years as parents, we have taken only three weeks off to ourselves. So the trip was very much needed! And I have a lot to say about the trip, mainly…
Embrace the Goodbye at the Door
I want to start off by disclosing that I am no longer using ChatGPT to generate the images for this blog due to the political ties that it has. Bear with me as I try to figure out how best to create images, and I will take any suggestions! ⚬──────────✧──────────⚬ Our bags are packed and…
Embrace the Two Brains
Last night, while the kids were in the bath, I ran downstairs to start a load of laundry. The daily laundry that is always being done in our house. Just one of those ordinary, forgettable moments in the evening routine. Next will be finishing up bath, putting on PJs and drinking our evening smoothies. While…
Embrace the Now
I recently saw a meme that said, “We are one phone call away from a very different life.” Really important for us to remember that a moment can change the whole trajectory of our lives. This also really reminds us to take care of ourselves as much as we can, because no one can control…
Embrace the Tiny Pauses Inside the Marathon
Man. Dropping all four boys off alone is a marathon. Those mornings are not the easy, instagram worthy mornings. Those are the ‘where did you forget your water bottle’ or tripping over a shoelace kind of morning. Some mornings I truly wish I could wear Google or Meta glasses just to record it. As a…
Embrace the Roots That Raised Me
I have been feeling nostalgic, so I want to share a letter that I am writing to my great-grandmother, my dad’s maternal grandmother. She passed away in 2004, when I was in my senior year of high school. Dearest Mataji, Meri pyaari Mataji, tusi kaisi ho? I miss you dearly. I cannot believe it has…
Embrace the Loud
Last Sunday, my husband was upstairs working. It was 4pm, it had been a long day of surviving with the boys, making their meals for today and for the rest of the week, feeding them, putting them down to nap, getting backpacks ready for the week, and putting away laundry. The kids were in the…
Embrace the Healing They Can Feel
I wrote this post back in December and am now adding to it in the wake of recent events. We are human first and we should feel anger at the state of our current affairs, both here in the US and across the world. That anger is not a flaw, instead, it is a signal…
Embrace the Crosswalk
Every morning Monday through Friday, I walk the older two boys across the crosswalk to school. We park across the street, always hoping for a spot close to the corner! I grab their backpacks and they run over to the corner and wait patiently for the crosswalk signal. It’s a small mundane routine, ordinary in…
Embrace the Slip
This week, I slipped. Over the weekend, on Saturday, I felt triggered, and instead of pausing, I reacted. Quickly. Sharply. I thought briefly in my mind to take a pause, ground myself, walk out of the room to take a break, and in that moment, my work in therapy showed up as I knew I…
Embrace the Rainbows
Happy New Year all! Last week, on New Year’s Day, we piled the kids into the car after I finished rounding in the nursery, and off we went to visit two of our best friends and their kids in Las Vegas. That day, it was raining extremely hard, with flash flood warnings going off on…
Embrace the Rest They Need
Sometimes at family gatherings, when we don’t bring the kids because of their naps or bedtime, we are always asked why we are so rigid with their sleep. Then, an aunty or an uncle will bring up how their kids (those in my generation) would fall asleep on someone’s lap at a wedding, how bed…
Embrace the Peace Within
For most of my life, I thought kindness meant saying yes. That the best version of me was the one who could anticipate everyone else’s needs, smooth over awkward moments, and keep the peace at all costs. I told myself it was empathy, it was maturity, and it was love. But lately I’ve realized it…
Embrace the Skin You’re In
I’ve never been someone who loved looking in the mirror. Walking by a mirror, I never felt the need to look over at it. What for? For years, I couldn’t even glance without feeling that familiar pang, that quiet discomfort in my own skin. I never felt happy with what I would see in that…
Embrace the Unmade Meal
Growing up, my grandma and mom were forces in the kitchen. They made all our meals, even if that wasn’t what I wanted. Breakfast? Eggs or cereal. Lunch? Quick vegetable noodles if we were lucky. Dinner? Fresh roti, daal, and some sabzi at minimum. It was like a full-time restaurant that never closed. And me?…
Embrace the Golden Hour
There’s a certain magic in the golden hour, that brief window when the world slows down, the sun softens, and everything seems to be wrapped in a warm light. Lately, my boys have been noticing it too, and to them, every color feels like a discovery. With the time change recently, the sun sets right…
Embrace the Boredom Before the Magic
If you’ve ever heard the words “I’m bored” on repeat (pronounced “I’m booooooooored”), you know it’s both a declaration of war (on you) and a promise of creativity (by the kids). In our house, those two words echo right before something wild happens. Imagine this scenario. You just settle down to sit on the couch…
Embrace the Quiet Light
Diwali is coming up this weekend, and this year, for some reasons related to family, it’s going to be a quiet one in our household. No big celebrations, no over-the-top lights, no matching outfits. As much as I used to enjoy all of that, honestly, it feels nice this year. Life can be overwhelming sometimes,…
Embrace the Creator and Destroyer
Dear Uterus, Though this letter is about my own journey with you, I also want to hold space for all those whose stories with their uterus are different, for those who’ve wanted children but couldn’t, for those who’ve chosen not to, for those whose uterus causes only pain, or for those who have none at…
Embrace the Imperfect Standard
Medicine in general has an objective standard, and although each patient has their nuanced diagnoses, overall there are guidelines and algorithms to base your exams off of. I may not always have the perfect answer, but I know I am practicing to the best of my ability, guided by training, evidence, and mainly, the responsibility…
Embrace yourself
Last week, I traveled to Portugal with my husband for a cousin’s wedding without the kids, and it was exactly what I needed: a chance to recharge. And honestly? I need to do that more often. We fully expected for everyone to give us grief about not bringing the kids to a family wedding, for…
Embrace all the shit
Mornings at our house? Pure chaos. It’s 5 a.m., and D is fussing in bed. I go in to cover him with his blanket, pat his back, and hope he drifts back to sleep. Then A starts crying because he wants a hug (at 515am?!?!) H comes running over, claiming he had a bad dream…
Embrace the Legacy of Love
My grandparents are the reason I am who I am. My paternal grandfather taught me to be kind. My maternal grandfather taught me to be optimistic. My paternal grandmother taught me to love. My maternal grandmother taught me to be patient. Even my husband’s grandparents taught me many lessons. My husband’s paternal grandmother taught me…
Embrace the cheerleader
One day H came running to me, crying, screaming something about V. I paused and let him gather himself, and asked him what happened. H said, ‘V told me that this drawing is ugly!’ Poor kid, he had spent over 15 minutes, which is a LONG time for a 4 year old, trying to draw…
Embrace the Moment
You’ll often hear people say, ‘Savor every moment. You’ll miss these days.’ It’s well-intentioned advice, really meant to encourage gratitude and presence in the midst of our venting sessions. But when you’re in the thick of parenting, while running on fumes, juggling endless tasks, and barely holding it all together, those words can feel more…
Embrace the Mangoes!
I am ready to give up my life for my kids, do anything for those little sweet terrors, except they know one thing: DO NOT EAT MAMA’S MANGOES! The poor kids watch as they eat their measly strawberries or apples, while I slurp up the juices off my mango peels. Beady little eyes watching me…
Embrace the Different Rooms
I once read that every stage of motherhood and childhood is like a different room. Newborn, early toddler, late toddler, grade school, etc. We essentially have four different rooms at our home at all times that we have to keep checking in on. As beautiful of an idea as that is, it also requires my…
Embrace the Hard Work
One day while the kids were eating a snack, the eldest, V, looks at me and asks, “Mama is it a lot of work being a parent?” I stopped eating my mango, and laughed. “Yes, it is a lot of work but it’s the best work ever,” I said to him. He smiled and continued…
Embrace 