A Working mom and her family-oriented thoughts

She was hurriedly walking down the street. Her demeanor seemed very calm from the outside, but hundreds of thoughts ran through her mind. Even though she had just left her office, the stress of office tasks was still dangling over her head. At the same time, her brain was preoccupied with the thought of many household chores awaiting her arrival at her home. But the chores weren’t the only thing waiting for her at home. Her son was also waiting. These days, he was working from home. She was rushing towards, not her home, but a coffee shop. 

A working mother walking down the street

Earlier that evening, her son had called her and asked her to bring home coffee for him from his favourite coffee shop. That’s it. The conversation included only the demand for coffee. He didn’t ask her if she had left the office or how long before she leaves, as if he was not concerned with it, as if the coffee was the only thing that mattered. But after all, she was a mother; she pushed the thoughts away and tried to tell herself that maybe he had a lot of work in front of him, so he didn’t have much time to speak. Amid all this thinking, she pushed in the door of the coffee shop. 

Magic of Coffee

As she entered the coffee shop, she was greeted with a,

“Happy Women’s Day, ma’am!”

The coffee shop doorkeeper greeted her with a smile. She thanked him with a smile, but it wasn’t a thank you that came out of formality. The appreciation had come from the bottom of her heart. The realization suddenly dawned on her. Today was women’s day! How come she didn’t realize it for the whole day? Of course, I didn’t know, she thought to herself, she was so busy the entire day in office work that she didn’t even get a chance to look at her phone. She obviously wouldn’t know unless somebody had wished her in the first place. She felt a bit disheartened to realize that even her son didn’t wish her for Women’s Day, but she quickly brushed that thought away. 

She went up to the counter to place an order for her son’s coffee.

 “Welcome, ma’am, Good evening!”  

The Barista at the order counter welcomed her with a smile. She returned her good evening, and her thought process started running again. She very well knew what was her son's favourite coffee. Even though he had forgotten to wish her on Women’s Day, she couldn’t forget his small habits and likes and dislikes. Suddenly, a thought came to her, 

“Why does it matter that nobody celebrated Women’s Day for me? I could celebrate on my own! I could just order a coffee for myself and make this day special. I don’t have to depend upon someone else to make me happy.” Whilst she was engrossed in her thoughts, she looked at the time on her wristwatch. 

“But it has already been so late.” 

Her thought cycle ended with the voice of the Barista. “Ma’am, please tell me your order”, the Barista said. 

“Yeah, sorry”, she said in reply and proceeded to tell the Barista her son’s coffee order. 

“How much to pay?” She asked the barista. The Barista looked at her with surprised eyes. 

“Ma’am, didn’t you see the board outside the cafe? Today, on the occasion of Women’s Day we are giving one coffee of their choice free to our women customers.”, the Barista told her.

“Oh! That’s a great offer. But I have bought this coffee for my son..”, she said innocently. 

The Barista understood everything. She said to the mother,

 “Ma’am, I have taken the order of your son’s coffee but why don’t you order another coffee for yourself under our offer. Afterall, today is women’s day, celebration toh banata hai (you should celebrate!)” 

“You are right,” the mother told the Barista, “but if I stay now to have coffee, I would reach home late, then the dinner would be late, and all the chores will remain pending…” 

“Exactly, the tasks at home are never-ending for a woman, especially for a mother. You deserve a break from all that. Please have a coffee for yourself and, by default, take out time for yourself, I insist. Let the cup of coffee pour happiness into your heart.”, the Barista said lovingly.

Barista and mother having a conversation

The mother genuinely thought that the Barista was right, but she never did anything for herself, let alone celebration. Her son was also waiting at home for her.. She felt unsure about staying for a coffee at the coffee shop. She started to speak, 

“But I can’t…”

The Barista stopped her, 

“My mother is the same as you, ma’am. I told her, 'Let's celebrate Women’s Day together,' and she replied, 'No, I have a lot of work at home. I am not coming anywhere.' This is how all of you moms behave. You have already come here, please don’t let the moment go. I will not let you go without you having your coffee!” She insisted with a mock seriousness. 

The order counter had many customers standing in front of it now. Everyone was looking at the mother. The mother couldn’t say no again to the Barista’s request. She was ready to order a coffee for herself. 

“Great!” the Barista replied, “Now, which coffee would you like to have?”

Now here came the trouble. What was her favourite coffee? She started to look for her answer on the Menu board. Only, she didn’t have to look for it. 

“Please place an order of Cappuccino for my sweet aai (mom)”, her son told the Barista from behind her. 

Surprise, surprise!

Aai's cappuccino

Her son stood greening in front of her and asked, “So what did you think aai? That I had forgotten Women’s Day? You are the most special woman of my life! How would I ever forget this special day!” 

His mother slowly started to understand everything.

“So you mean…” 

“Yesss”, he interjected, “I had planned all of this. That call I abruptly disconnected this evening, the demand for coffee, everything was a part of my plan. If I had directly told you let’s go out and celebrate, you would have said no to it, giving reasons of your work. So I had to plan a surprise of this kind.” 

Everything was very unexpected to her. But she truly felt proud of the Barista and her son, who were going beyond themselves to think about their respective mothers’ happiness. 

“If everyone started to think on these lines for women around them, the problems that bother women will be easily solved.”, she thought to herself. 

Mother and her son enjoying their coffee together

She sat down at a table with her son, waiting for their coffee. She was admiringly looking at her son. The Barista brought their coffees. The Barista was leaving the table when the mother said to her, “Happy Women’s Day, dear!” 

The selfless happiness spread across the Barista’s face made the mother feel, “Now Women’s Day feels worthwhile!”