She Carries Both

Dr. Shanno Tiwari

A mother's life is a promise

written in quiet sacrifice —

child care and a mother's career

walking side by side, together.

On one hand, she holds

her child's tiny fingers;

on the other, a keyboard,

a mobile, a computer —

love and labour balanced

in the same breath.

It becomes harder

when both roles are new —

a first time mother,

a beginner at work

inexperienced in both worlds

yet expected to master each.

People say,

"Leave the job,

Take care of your health and beauty,"

She listens, she understands —

yet she knows

Both work and health matter.

Still, she decides,

Her child becomes her first priority.

For him she continues —

often ignoring her own rest

her body,

her fading reflection.

She remembers herself—

Once, soft, melodious, graceful,

Now her voice sound firm,

disciplined, tired.

Her awards are no longer

for beauty or elegance,

but for endurance and survival.

Somewhere between

office files and kitchen flames,

her health begins to ache —

Obesity, blood pressure, sugar, arthritis,

Silent companions of her routine life.

She leaves home every morning

not chasing luxury or praise,

but protecting her child's future.

She does not work for wealth

She works for bread,

for dignity, for survival.

While the world sleeps

she builds dreams strong enough

to carry both

She measures success

in her child's steady breath.

She keeps her own dreams quiet

just to see her child's lovely —

turn into a smile —

a happiness that lights her

A career asks for time

for focus, for ambition.

Motherhood asks for the soul

without a resume,

without preparation.

Both are heavy,

Yet she carries them together.

She walks two roads at once—

heels of duty; arms of love,

balancing deadlines

with lullabies.

From a girl to a mother

is the hardest, bravest promotion—

earned without applause,

yet worn with pride.

Employed mothers

do double duty.

They run from kitchen to keyboard,

from meetings to midnight prayers.

She never announces

the battles she wins alone.

She moves between

office work and home duties,

between meetings

and bedtime stories.

She does not complain

about the dreams she delays

or the strength she spends everyday.

She simply continues—

quiet, steady, unseen.

Because carrying both

has become her way of life

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