Mom Skills-I

Long before reskilling and picking alternative skills became the buzzwords, all Moms have been doing it. I may take a shot on a compounder’s (the guy who used to scrape wounds with stingy, smelly stuff and tie bandages-remember?) job.

Yeah not one to cringe at gory sights, I have dressed enough different types of wounds of my own (driving a two wheeler since you are twelve teaches you a lot about life) to qualify.

I now react to my kids’ cuts and bruises, nosebleeds and bangs on the head with the same degree of equanimity as I would to a project manager’s email about an imminent deadline- a part of life!

I have learnt to diagnose which are the wounds that need scraping, a comfort Band-Aid, a stern rap or just a jadu ki jhappi! 

I have held babies through those routine vaccinations, tetanus injections and even stitches on the younger one's forehead (and managed not to hit the Surgeon who took so long to do it).

And with a kid who complaints of throat pain to explain her unfinished lunch box (stomach ache results in "no junk food" for the next seven days so it is not a common ailment), I also learnt to check for tonsils. 

However, I did have to rush a kid to the Dentist when her milk tooth refused to budge inspite a very painful, newer one, growing in its place. 

When I told my neighbor (a mom with two boys) about the visit-she was genuinely puzzled: Why do you need a Dentist for pulling out a tooth? I could have done it ………

Oh! 

And I thought I was the smart one…