This cough has completely drained me. So much so that for two days I was totally (almost) invalid. Mothers are not supposed to be ill, they should always be bouncing around so that their kids’ needs are attended to without any obstruction.

When you board a plane, one of the instructions that the air hostess gives you in the mime act of theirs is how to use the oxygen mask. Either as part of that demo, or separately I do not recall (when we are travelling with babies) they guide us to use it on ourselves first, and then on the baby, in case an emergency arises. On my first flight with my three-month old son, when I heard it, I wondered why it was so, my baby would need oxygen, doesn’t he deserve to get it first? Then it dawned on me that if I collapse by the time he takes in oxygen, then it is inevitable that he collapse as well. I should take good care of myself so that I am around when he needs me. But I have often seen Mothers around me put their babies before themselves in everything. (So do I, very often.) They skip their food, forget their medicines, miss their friends’ parties and lose much of their sleep so that their children can have their food, medicines, sleep and parties.

Isn’t this in accordance with the rule of Leadership which says, in an event of the highest crisis, the Leader should not be too gallant and sacrifice his life, because if he is gone, the Fate of his scattered people without a rudder to direct them, is also doomed?