It’s strange how we sometimes open up to the world!

In the first twenty five years of my life, I always saw my mom as a serious and devoted person. Always very conscious of herself and her surroundings.

She would always want to ensure she was at her best in whatever she did. But what others think of her mattered a lot to her. So her behaviour, when in public, was in some form and shape guarded.

Then, as me and my brother settled down into a life of our own during college days, I saw her get out of her focused shell that was built around us. She started doing a few more things freely.

Later, as life progressed, the instances when she would prioritize herself went up. We started seeing her less worried about others.

Over the last ten odd years, I have observed how she has come out of that cocoon. And be herself more often.

The most surprising thing about it is the form she has chosen. Dance!

I never thought she was interested in dancing earlier. But over the last few years, that has given her a chance to express herself and do it with a feeling of abandon that I hadn’t experienced.

Today, as she performed at a cousin’s wedding, in the middle of some great performers, she held onto her own. And delivered an amazing rendition of a popular song. With just a couple of hours of practice!

I am still stunned. Both because she was able to pull this off and because I could sense that she was really enjoying performing.

As I mentally saluted her and appreciated her dance in person, I couldn’t help but think about some of those things that I am living with, not yet able to express myself as freely on those aspects.

Maybe, another post on those some other time…