Who says a woman can’t have it all, balance a work life and home too?
Brigadier Aruna Menon, found a place for her dreams and for her family, without being the superwoman society wants her to be. She inadvertently proves that being a mother and having a career is no cake-walk, yet one can efficiently manage both. She defied society which told her that a woman is not important enough. That her dreams are secondary. That she is supposed to take care of everything else first. She can only dare to dream again, maybe once everything is taken care of.
Her Story
Ms. Menon got married 2 weeks before her M.B.B.S final exam. Having married an Army officer, she was commissioned into the Medical Corps of the Army. She took a Short Service commission to see how she would fit into the scheme of things. Aruna enjoyed the scope and ethos of the army life both as a professional and as the wife of an officer, which is a job in itself.
She appeared for PG exams, by the time her son was 3. And, while she completed her MD she was blessed with a daughter. Even though she had topped in her course, raising two children was quite the task. She was however, pleasantly surprised when she achieved the 1st rank in Pune university. She did not continue her education any further as she felt it was time to pay heed to her children’s schooling. Aruna had a great tenure and got an opportunity to teach at AFMC and other teaching hospitals, and soon became a professor. Apart from loving her work, she was passionate about reading, writing, painting and also cooking, which was a major stress buster for her, and the best way to connect around the dinner table.
Since her husband’s work as an Artillery officer kept him stationed at different places most of the time, she did most of the parenting on her own. This forms the main reason for the amazing connect they have.
Dreams Fulfilled – Being a Mother And Having A Career
Summing it up, Aruna says, that she followed her dreams with a few compromises and helped her children achieve theirs too. Her son is now an engineer and happily married and her daughter is also a graduate in Mass Media. She shares her mother’s passion for writing.
Seeing her children, she knows she did a good job as a mother. She feels happy and proud that she never had to compromise significantly with either her family or her career. She definitely is an inspiration who believes in being a mom and much more.
Image: File Image
Read more: Restore Your Faith in Humanity
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