10 things I’m grateful for in 2025

Tis’ the season to be grateful and so I shall be!

I could’ve written this post a long time ago, but believe me when I say that last week I wasn’t feeling very grateful at all. Aashi was going through a miserable cold and would wake up unhappy every morning due to the congestion. Both B and I had to take time off of work to care for her. We also lost a trusted nanny in the midst of this, due to which I had to shorten my work hours. There was a lot of disappointment and confusion in the house and at work because of this. 

However, this is life. We will all continue to go through such ups and downs every week, especially when it comes to kids. No week or month is perfect, but it is always rich and full! So gratitude, here we go. 

My little family

There’s nothing I look forward to more than seeing Aashi run into my arms while picking her up from Montessori. It’s the sweetest feeling in the world. She will say ‘Mamma’s here!’ and come running. I also love dinner time together when we FaceTime with grandma, bath time, and reading to her before bed. I am always left marveling at how smart she is despite being such a little person. And if B gets home before she goes to bed, I love how we all share a few family snuggles. 

My health 

While this pregnancy has not been the easiest, in some ways it has been better than the first. For starters, I haven’t gained as much weight and don’t have any swollen feet! Last time, I’d had to stop working at 32 weeks because of my swollen feet. Walking around and seeing patients was getting difficult. This time I’ve surprised myself and my team at how well I’ve been able to manage work and home, while running behind a needy toddler. 35 weeks and still going strong! 2 more weeks of work before I can take some time off to build the practice and rest, before baby 2 arrives! Grateful for this. 

Ambition 

I recently met a newer dentist who was just 3 months postpartum from her first born. She was asking if we had any openings. Her hours had been reduced after she came back from maternity leave at her current associateship. She was also considering quitting altogether and working at a peds only clinic. It appeared that she was not happy with the kind of work she was doing and was not sure of her next steps. 

I can only imagine how hard and frustrating this is. Add to her career dissatisfaction, she was also a new mom! The emotional turmoil we go through as young mothers can be very unkind. You never feel good enough as a mom, because you are struggling with feeding and caring for an infant. There’s barely enough sleep so your mental health takes a toll. Add to that, your confusion around your day job. Not fun at all. 

I firmly believe this is one of the most important reasons why women leave their workplace. When they come back from maternity leave and find themselves in an environment that does not appreciate them or do work that doesn’t feel genuine to their heart, they feel even more guilty about leaving a young one at home. Naturally, they decide it is better to be home than at work. And while that’s a great decision for them, the workplace loses yet another excellent working professional. Economists and policymakers have long agreed that there is much value to be gained from women returning to the workplace after having babies. We all lose collectively as a society when they don’t. 

I’m glad that I have the ambition to climb higher at work. I sometimes think I could be doing so much more, and feel anxious about how far I have left to go. Then I remind myself that I have young kids and my life outside of work demands a whole lot more than it does others. There’s a time and place for everything and at this phase of life, I do need to balance things more. 

My team 

I’m truly grateful for a team that loves and respects me. I don’t think I’d love what I do as much if I didn’t have a great team that supports me and ensures my day is as successful as possible. My lead assistant is like a work wife who helps me get better. I am a better dentist because of her. And I’d like to think, it’s the same for her! We are a great team and it shows when we visit patients. They feel like they’re in good hands because they see how well we work together. 

Books 

I’m grateful for some of the books I’ve read this year. And those that I’ve reread. Particularly Naval Ravikant’s Almanack and Peter Thiel’s Zero to One. Both books helped me re-evaluate some critical decisions and provided new ideas. I credit the 5 minutes I get while eating breakfast when I read either of these books. Sometimes re-reading a quote will remind you of an old, forgotten idea. And inspire you into action. 

Inspiration is everything. It is also perishable so we need to act on it while it is there. This is a quote from Nivi, who was Naval’s co-founder. It’s one of the reasons why I built my online course as soon as I felt inspired to do it! 

Technology 

I am not sure I would have been able to build and upload my course on my website in less than 2 weeks if it were not for AI, specifically ChatGPT. I would have figured it out eventually but it would have taken me much longer- possibly a whole week of maternity leave that can now be dedicated to something else. The last time I did something similar was when I first built this very website by myself during the COVID 19 shutdown. Back then, I had all the time in the world and took a whole month to build it. With kids and lots of other responsibilities at the moment, AI is a great assistant to have. It’s not perfect, but no assistant is! 

My patients 

My patients inspire yet also keep me humble. It’s great to be in a profession where we get instant gratification. Patients are so happy after treatment is completed. Such as when a  denture gets delivered or a painful set of teeth are removed. There are also days where you get kicked in the balls and are reminded of how imperfect dentistry and healthcare can be. And how much more we are yet to learn. The more I grow into this career, the more I know I need to learn. 

Using my commutes for education rather than catching up on the news has been the most productive turn around for me this year. The Spear Education App has been fantastic for this purpose. I’ve learned about sleep apnea, occlusion and oral cancer diagnosis in the last month alone. And it’s been great to be able to take this education back to my patients and implement it in their care right away. I love that we are in a profession that grants us the opportunities to keep learning. I can’t imagine living life any other way. 

Gut instinct 

Pregnant women tend to have very intelligent guts! I am not even joking here. I don’t think my gut instinct is usually this precise but when I am pregnant it always is. I’ve had my concerns around some new hires, old team members, and potential nannies that have all turned out to be alarmingly true. I’ve also been able to wait long enough to make a correct decision and make others quickly that have often helped me either save money, or train the right people in the meantime. I’m thankful for the timely arrival of this gut instinct because as a to-be practice owner and soon-to-be mom of two, I need it more than ever. 

Family proximity 

I’m very grateful to have family close by. Both of our sisters are within driving distance and are a huge resource. They both have kids and watching all of our little ones play nicely together is one of our biggest sources of joy. I love being able to call my sister during the middle of my workday to catch up on life. She always ends up offering advice that I am able to use in some way or the other. My sister is one of my greatest role models. 

Teamwork

Luckily, as soon as we lost our previous nanny, we found two other trusted resources to lean on. A mother’s helper who comes daily for 2 hours to help with small chores around the house, and a part-time weekend nanny. Both of these people turned out to be true gems. They’ve afforded us the time to work on our projects, rest and care for Aashi better. But, the most important person in our team is my husband, without whom none of this would be possible.

After we lost our previous nanny, we went through a week of managing Aashi’s needs amongst ourselves. This was hard as we had to juggle pick up, drop offs with busy work schedules. B was able to work from home while I still saw all my patients, without having to reschedule anyone last minute. We were able to split chores at homes and keep the house afloat.

I can’t imagine doing ‘life’ with any other human being. The most important decision a woman can make for her career is finding the right partner to share her life with. This isn’t my quote but a statement made by Sheryl Sandberg, who wrote the iconic Lean In. I couldn’t agree more. For those of you who are looking to get married, pay attention to these wise words. For those of you who are already married and do not find yourselves in a 50/50 partnership, consider leaning on other resources to support yourself. 

What are you grateful for?