Star Mom : Neethu Nambiar
Neethu Nambiar is a mother with a lot of passion and exuberance. I stumbled upon her vibrant account on Instagram and was inspired by how she breathes life and joy into even the most mundane of experiences. A content writer by profession and a jewellery maker by passion, Neethu is currently a full-time mother to her preschooler daughter. She is based with her family in Minneapolis. In this time and age where we are all in the hot pursuit of happiness and fulfilment, I believe that Neethu will be able to give us all inspiration on how she juggles her life, work and passions with a smile firmly in place.
1. Apart from your family, what would you define as your passion?
I am a passionate jewellery maker. When I get time, I love to experiment with beads and other jewellery stuff. Apart from that I love photography and travel too. 2.Has Motherhood affected your career decisions?
Both me and my husband have decided that we don't want to send our kid to any child care till she is 4. And I was more than happy to stay at home full time taking care of her. I have enjoyed every moment of my stay at home mom life. And I often feel blessed to have got an opportunity to spend my time with my kid during her precious early years.
3.How do you balance your career/passion with your parenting?
I am a night owl and most of my creative work happens at night after my family is asleep. From the beginning I have paid attention to develop a stable sleeping pattern for my kid. I put her to bed at the same time every day no matter what...this helped me alot in finding time for myself and my passion. It worked out well for me all these years. 4. How has being an expat influenced your parenting?
It has given us immense opportunities to get to know people from different parts of the world. And needless to say, it gave us a chance to understand the parenting styles of various places and eventually figuring out what are the best practices. 5. Do you think it is harder being an expat mother than an expat dad?
Well not really. My husband has been a very involved parent from the beginning. He makes sure that he spends a lot of time with our kid. But sometimes when he gets really busy with his assignment, I take over and try to spend more time with her. We make it a point to spend a lot of quality time together. And I must say my husband has more work life balance here than back home in India, as he doesn't have to deal with things like heavy traffic and prolonged work hours.
6. What are the three things you love about being an expat mother?
1. Opportunities
2. More quality time for family together
3. Cultural diversity
7. Do you celebrate cultural occasions with your daughter? Yes/No and how/why not?
Yes. We celebrate almost all cultural occasions like Onam, Vishu, Christmas, Diwali etc..I want my daughter to understand those traditions and to be a part of those celebrations. It makes childhood more colourful and exciting. And it helps them to imbibe certain values.
8. Do you have any tips for new expat mothers?
You should try to make the most out of being an expat mother. There are so many fun things around you to explore and do with your kids. Provide them opportunities to interact with people and children from different parts of the world and it will surely boost their as well as your confidence and courage. 9. What is one piece of advice that you wish you had received as an expat mother?
Things will eventually fall in place. Even if you find it harder initially to cope with a different place, people,environment, weather anything for that matter. You will get adapted sooner or later and you have to embrace the change with optimism and confidence. ~ Thank you, Neetu for taking the time out to talk to the Times Of Amma. We wish you and your family much joy and happiness. For more conversations with mindful and joyous mothers like Neethu, follow the Times of Amma on Facebook and Instagram.
