P.S- afterthoughts on the kids situation.

Now I have this boss who is the epitome of being organised, planned and entirely predictable. Patricia has never veered from the straight and the narrow all her life. You can just see that in her every move. From the rolling of eyes with impatience when someone is being, in her opinion, daft, to the sneer of derision she reserves for the softies, the imperfect people of this world who let emotions rule their decisions.
She hardly ever wastes words. Just looks through you if she thinks your question doesn’t merit a response. And when she does speak its always measured, precise. When she does smile, its always within half an inch of the corners of her mouth. No one at the workplace has seen her laugh out loud. She must be, if I can hazard a guess, late thirties with a style of dressing that definitely belongs in the late sixties to seventies. Loose tops or shirts, severe, always below the knee skirts in shades of beige or gray – you get the picture. Now I had so far conveniently slotted Patricia in the ‘slightly elderly spinster’ category. When yesterday, the bombshell dropped and we found out she actually has two adorable sons. Just like Patricia, grunted one of the blokes, bloody perfect. So, she’s managed two pregnancies, without taking any leave beyond what’s absolutely essential.
I can see how she would have just carried on, ‘business as usual style’ during her pregnancy, have the most well coordinated and timely delivery and the most disciplined brood in town. Does this inspire me to achieve what she has, without compromising her career? God, no.
I would want my children to be full of mischief! I would want the whole plethora of emotions, uncertainties, unpredictabilities that come with raising kids. I can’t be mechanical. I cant be a robot and still pretend to be happy. So, sadly for Pratima, plans to have kids have been shelved once again.