#MommyTalks | No Time For Love After Becoming Parents?

 

What happens to love after becoming parents? What happens to a couple after having a baby?

 

11 years. It has been 11 long years that my husband and I have been together. As not so innocent college going students, we fell in love and the first chapter was written. We had no idea that what we were feeling then wasn’t even scratching the surface of love. We embarked on this journey together through a series of SMSs on a warm July evening and after almost a dozen years, are now parents to a beautiful but very naughty little girl. And through all these years together, our understanding and expression of love have changed, evolved is what I’d like to believe. But one thing has remained constant, the love.

 

Like everything else in life, our love has matured over the years. Today, we hardly get any time together what with our jobs and a little one who not only needs our love but has first dibs on our energies as well. But does that mean we have no time for love, to love or that love is just a thing of the past for us now? No.

 

There is only one pre-requisite for sustaining love over the years, love. Not time, just love.Β And not the kind the movies would like you to believe in.

 

When you are in a relationship with someone for so long your love evolves as do you. For us, there was a time when messaging each other was love. Then there was the phase of lying to our parents to meet each other on weekends. And then how can I forget the time when we fought for us, stood by each other to get married? That was perhaps one of the biggest victories of our love. Then our epic fights. How can I forget those? Those contributed as much to our relationship as anything else. There were even times of video chats, phone calls, dinner dates, anniversary and birthday celebrations. That was a phase when we had so much time for each other or rather it was easier to make time for each other. But now we literally need to fight to find time to spend with each other without being distracted by our commitments and responsibilities. The phase before and after parenthood for our love, so different yet both equally special.

 

However, if you ask me, it is today that I’m at my favourite phase of our relationship. I don’t have to fight with anyone anymore to be with him. Nobody can question why we are together and I cannot tell you how happy that makes me. We have been us for so long that I don’t have to worry about all that anymore. It’s like a monkey is off my back. The lack of time doesn’t bother me because I know we can work our way around it. Today, there is the comfort of being together without having to do or prove anything. Yes, I do miss those days when we had the time and luxury to be carefree lovers but I love the present phase the most. Love is kind of like wine and friendship. Always gets better with time.

 

The paucity of time is a reality of our relationship now. But even that one hour of conversation or sharing a meal at the end of the day after our daughter goes to sleep is special. It is comforting in a way I can’t quite describe. It is something we look forward to every day. And the best part is we don’t even have to talk. We can just be two very tired individuals sitting on the couch, one reading a book and the other playing a game but still together, still very much in love. Just being in each other’s company, watching a SITCOM or a part of a movie (because let’s face it, it takes days for us now to completely watch a movie), is an expression of love for us, one that we can’t do without.

 

The definitions of love changes with time. The expressions too. But the underlying emotions remain more or less the same. It’s about comfort, ease and the need to be together. And it certainly doesn’t depend on time or the lack of it. In fact, when it’s the latter, making time, however less, speaks of love.

 

There is only one pre-requisite for sustaining love over the years, love. Not time, just love. #Relationship Click To Tweet

 

As we celebrate our anniversary this year, working from home, attending meetings and taking care of a toddler, our love is in the unspoken decision of trying to spend the day together in any way we can. It may be in making some tea for the other who is going to be on a three-hour long call or getting the cook to make his favourite dish. It could be anything. So, no, there is always time for love, even after you become parents. You just need to be sure you were already in love before that.

 

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13 thoughts on “#MommyTalks | No Time For Love After Becoming Parents?”

  1. My first read for the morning and for the week. I always wonder what happens to the love part between the couples after marriage, after interference of in-laws, after the baby or kids, after say 12 years of time and I cannot reach the answer I want to understand. Then posts like this, reading it with a fresh mind early in the morning makes me feel optimistic about the existence of love. Nabanita, you are a lucky one.
    Anamika Agnihotri recently posted…7 things not to do when doing Bar-A-Thon #BarAThon 2017 Day 7My Profile

  2. It’s almost like our story as well. We complete 10 years if being together, and now parents to a lil girl the only difference being that his job requires him to travel a lot, and we hardly get to spend time together. But even now, the distance does make the heart grow fonder

  3. Oh yes, Naba, love completely changes its dimensions over the years as you go from young lovers to companions and nurtures. I remember the two of us sneaking out for lunch dates or movies when the kids were younger. My mil used to babysit and sometimes even friends. Just holding hands and enjoying a movie together was so relaxing and we felt connected. Just grab these moments. As the kids get older, you will get more time to spend together. Like wine, cheese and chocolate, love gets mature and deeper. God bless you both!

  4. Such a beautiful place to be in Nabanita. It’s wonderful how both of you always find time for each other instead of citing work and stress as a reason not to.

    May this relation get stronger in years to come.

  5. This was such a heartwarming post, Naba. Happy Anniversary to you both. πŸ™‚

    I can relate to this post on many many levels, and I found myself nodding my head all along.
    From taking many days to complete a single movie to the evolution of love with the passing years.

    Wishing you both many more years of love and togetherness. <3
    Shantala recently posted…Reading Goals 2017 – Mid-Year Update | #ChattyBlogs July LinkyMy Profile

  6. I sail in the same boat Naba and yes eleven years later today we don’t need verbal affirmations of love from each other. Could relate to every ounce of your post. Happy Anniversary!

  7. The continuous journey of ‘ever-evolving’ love.
    Could relate to quite a few parts of the post, Nabanita. It all comes down to how well you know each other and how much you are willing to give and take too.
    Happy Anniversary πŸ™‚
    Sid recently posted…Have you ever felt like an imposter? I have.My Profile

  8. Very heartwarming post and all of it rings true. It’s exactly as you say. Love gets better with time. We move on from expressions of affection to understanding that love just is. It doesn’t need grand gestures, just the comfort of being together is enough.

    Wishing you a happy anniversary and many many more years together Naba. Stay blessed and always happy.
    Shailaja Vishwanath recently posted…Parenting during the Social media era: ReflectionsMy Profile

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