Lalita Iyer is the author of two books – I am pregnant, not terminally ill, you idiot! and The boy who swallowed a nail and other stories. And after reading her answers to the questions that I emailed her, I am having trouble deciding as to who is more eccentric and offbeat – her books, or she herself.

I’ll take a guess. It is SHE.

So, with that established, the fact that this mother of 3 (2 cats, 1 human) is, in fact, the most difficult child in the lot (2 cats, 1 human baby, 1 adult), shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.

(I am not the one saying that. She says so! You’ll read ahead.)

However, other than being a cool author, a cat slave, and an awesome mother (I’m sure!), she is also the founder of a blog called mommygolightly which started out as an unplanned means to do away with the boredom and lonely days of being a stay-at-home mom. 

Having said all that, allow me to redirect you to my crisp conversation with this interesting persona. Read:

Me: Describe the woman that you were before being a mother.

Lalita: I was a get up and go girl. I did what my heart told me to do. When it failed, I picked myself up and did something else. I kept walking.

Me: Tell us about the weirdest realization you had after a few days into motherhood?

Lalita: That I had to stand still. That I had to, from now until a long long time, always factor this tiny person in. Even after he stops being tiny.

Me: Was starting a blog as a stay-at-home mom a sort of therapy for you?

Lalita: It was and it wasn’t. It also introduced new scabs that were picked. People are not as kind in the online world. In real life, there is always choice. But once you put yourself out there virtually, people are always judging you. Not always in kind ways. Although I did meet a lot of nice people and eventually there was a circle of love around Re and me.

Me: Before mommygolightly, describe mommygocrazy.

Lalita: Well, I would be seriously baffled by the sameness of my days. Some mornings I would wake up and imagine, what if I had my singledom back?

I’m sure every mother has harbored that thought at least once in her life!

Me: Your Facebook intro reads ‘Internship’ at mommygolightly. And we thought you were the founder. Clear our confusion.

Lalita: Haha, I am the founder in the sense that I created the blog and the page. But I am constantly learning on-the-job so that technically makes me an intern. For life.

What sorcery is this!?

Me: Adding the post of a ‘Mother’ to your professional resume must have replaced certain other posts. Tell us about this shift.

Lalita: You know I wouldn’t kid myself and say that it was/is the most important job and it makes up for everything else that it replaced. God, no! But it did teach me to reinvent myself. It’s all about staying relevant, really. And I am enjoying that bit of the shift. I am doing things I never imagined doing before.

Me: Suggest how women can travel the journey of motherhood in a guilt-free manner?

Lalita: First of all, tell yourself that it’s not a career in martyrdom. Learn to simplify. Lose control. Trust people. Take it one year at a time.

Me: Who is a more difficult child for you? The human version or the feline versions?

Lalita: They are all fine. I am the most difficult child really. I never know what I want. My cats and Re are very focused.

See? She said that! I didn’t make it up!

Me: If you were to tweet a picture with the hashtag #MomsOfTwitter, which one would it be?

Lalita: Nothing comes to mind. I don’t enjoy twitter. Too much negativity and ranting.

Me: If your cats were to blog about you, what do you think would have been the title?

Lalita: Work in progress

The cats these days, I tell you!

Me: The stupidest advice you received during your pregnancy that inspired you to write a book?

Lalita: So many. It’s all in the book. Read it.

Okay. Getting a copy asap.

Me: Give us some technology-free parenting tips.

Lalita: Don’t do it. Talk. Read. Go for a walk. Dance. Swim. Cook. Draw. Paint. Do anything that doesn’t require a button (except to switch on the light or fan maybe). These are hard. Technology is easy. It’s also alienating.

Me: Which bed-time stories do you read to your kids (baby + cats)?

Lalita: I must have read a thousand stories so far. We read every night since he was born. Some I have read on loop.

Me: One parenting lesson that your child taught you?

Lalita: Walk the talk. Always.

Me: Talk about shared parenting experience.

Lalita: My parents seemed to have cracked it. I haven’t. I think things are regressing, although dads are posting more selfies with kids. How many dads do you know who decide menus for their family every day? Who know the kids’ schedules? Who are truly useful in the mundane, on-loop tasks, not the photo-opp moments? We have to raise our sons well if we want to reverse this. I am working on it.

Me: How financially satisfying is running a parenting blog?

Lalita: It’s not. I never chased money through the blog, though. There have been a few good collaborations, a fair bit of travel, and I like that. I didn’t raise the bar because I don’t want to be staring at a screen 24/7; I would rather make eye contact with my loved ones. I don’t want it to control my life. It’s emotionally satisfying, though.

Me: Give us an insight into your next book.

Lalita: There are three in progress. One on unparenting (OM books). One an anthology of granny stories (Scholastic). One a memoir of sorts (Bloomsbury).

Me: What is your ultimate life lalitude?

Psst! Did I mention she goes by the name ‘Lalitude‘ on twitter? 

Lalita: To go to bed every night feeling that no matter what gets done or what remains undone, I am enough.

I guess, that is one ‘latitude’ all of us need to have in life. The feeling that ‘I am enough’.