To assert yourself is a fundamental right

Dear readers… To assert yourself is a fundamental right is a fictional story for the prompt on affirmation. Most homemakers find it difficult to take a tough stand hoping not to annoy anyone, and therefore they stay quiet many of the times. But it is for their benefit and others too, that it's important to say the right thing at the right time.
assert yourself
To assert yourself is a fundamental right

Swati is a middle-aged homemaker, who always thought that being satisfied is more than enough. Until one day, when she got a jolt out of the blue.

One fine evening in the living room, her husband, two children, a daughter aged 18 years and a 15-year-old son, and her mother-in-law, were planning a trip, during the summer holidays. Except for Swati, all four of them were discussing vigorously.

Swati’s presence was limited to bringing snacks and cool lime juice for all. After serving each one of them, Swati too sat down for a while to gulp her glass of juice. Then, she got up, put the empty glasses on the tray, and left the living room.

Nobody noticed her exit. Throughout the talk, Swati had kept mum. She let everyone voice their opinions. As it is, she loved everyone dearly and did not wish to go against anyone’s beliefs. In the kitchen sink, she quietly washed up the glasses, while still hearing their voices outside.

Swati, instead of going back to her family members, went straight to her bedroom and sat on a rocking chair. Something had hurt her deeply, as nobody had bothered to ask her opinion of the trip. She closed her eyes, pondered for a while, and got up to prepare dinner in the kitchen.

While cooking, Swati’s mind was still engrossed over the attitude of the rest of her near and dear ones during the evening. Hence, she had a plan on how to confront them before the meantime.

At the dinner table, while Swati laid out the dishes and the plates, almost everyone quickly grabbed the chairs and again started talking about the same trip. At this point, Swati thumped on the table. Everyone looked at her with disbelief.

“Hello everyone… Do you care about what my views are? Anil is talking about driving down to the destination in eight hours. Isha thinks of booking the flight tickets and Maa Ji believes to reserve the luxury bus travel. While Rohit will take sides on the final decision, listening to the pros and cons.”

Swati continued, “Considering the road situations of the route, and the bad weather conditions for the air travel, I suggest you go for the comfortable AC train journey. What do you think, guys?”

There was silence in the air. Finally, Swati’s hubby Anil clapped to her declaration and looked at her with admiration. And said with a smile and thumbs up. 

“I was also mulling over the train travel. But I wanted to experience some adventure, hence I wished to drive my new SUV all by myself, taking all of you along in the vehicle. Now that plan is canceled, I will book train tickets right away.”

“Yay… Mumma’s suggestion has been approved and I’m so happy!” Swati’s son Rohit said delightedly, as he hugged her.

Now her daughter Isha and mother-in-law also nodded their heads in appreciation. Post dinner while Swati was winding up the kitchen, she felt immensely glad to have raised her voice after a long time, sharing her opinion.

-Shashi Thakur

About The Author

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Shopping Cart
Scroll to Top