Growing up as an only child in Muscat, the closest I came to sibling love was through my relationship with my cousin sister. I loved my dog like I loved a sister too but I believe that she loved me a lot more and that too unconditionally than a human ever could.

Today as a mother of two, I have the opportunity to see this up close and believe me it both amuses and intrigued me.

My children are almost 4 years apart. My eldest says she has no memories of a life without her brother.

When my husband and I decided to have another child, in my head the future was full of unending cuddles, happy giggles, impassioned whispers and the possibility of some me-time as my children played together. A future, my husband, an elder sibling himself rolled his eyes at.

 

The reality, as most mothers of more than one know, is so much messier than that. Yes, there are cuddles but there are also quarrels that interrupt every hour or so.

There are giggles followed by accusatory tears.

There are whispers and also loud and aggressive rows.

And my me-time is mostly the break between mediating whatever argument has sprung up.

 

My social media mostly has photos of them playing and getting along but that’s also because when they are fighting the last thing on my mind is to document it for posterity. The more I connect with other mothers of more than one, the more I learn how normal this is.

How this push and pull and indifference and intense love leads to a bond that is in most cases, quite strong. It is this that helps them develop their conflict resolution skills and helps them stay relatively screen-free and engaged in a world where screens often take the place of companionship.

 

As I write this my children have just made up after an epic battle over some building blocks. There were tears, yes but now the smiles are bright.

As for me, I sip my coffee, take a deep breath and try to live in the moment. There is no telling how long it will last. “

 

 

About Shweta

Shweta Ganesh Kumar is a Writer, Parenting columnist and Founder-Editor of The Times Of Amma, a blog, and community dedicated to inspiring mothers one day at a time, featuring real-life stories on honest parenting and interviews with inspirational Indian mothers and Mompreneurs. Her blog has been listed amongst the ‘Top Ten Indian Mom Blogs to follow’ on multiple Indian parenting sites. Indian Moms Connect ranked the Times of Amma Instagram profile as the Number One Indian Mom account to follow on the platform. Her latest book, ‘The Beginner’s Guide to the Indian Mom Blogger Universe’ hit Amazon bestseller lists within hours of its release.

Shweta is also the bestselling author of two novels on the Indian Broadcast News Industry. Her last worldwide release ‘A Newlywed’s Adventures in Married Land,’ a modern take on Alice In Wonderland got rave reviews from critics and readers alike and has been consistently ranked high in Amazon India’s 100 bestsellers in Indian writing list since 2014. 
Her travel columns have been featured in Travel and Flavours, Venture, The New Indian Express, One Philippines, and Geo. Her non-fiction pieces have appeared in multiple Indian editions of the Chicken Soup series. Her short fiction and poetry have been published in more than twenty anthologies and online literary magazines in more than four continents.  
You can read more about her life and work at http://www.shwetaganeshkumar.com “