Mindy Kaling shares rare reflections on motherhood: 'Best birthday gift'

On her 44th birthday, Mindy Kaling is reflecting on her journey to parenthood.

The actress and television creator took to Instagram on Saturday to share a rare photo of her two children, Katherine, 5, and Spencer, 2, as she discussed how the two little ones are "the best birthday gift to me, for the rest of my life."

Kaling, who is the creator of The Mindy Project, Never Have I Ever, and The Sex Lives of College Girls, spoke candidly about the unexpected desire to become a mother that took hold of her after her own mother passed away in 2012 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

"I was never a 'kid' person. When my mom passed though, it just clicked in me: I wanted kids with such intense certainty. I bet some of you can relate," Kaling wrote to her 6.5 million Instagram followers, alongside a photo of Katherine and Spencer as they pulled suitcases along the sidewalk.

Kaling went on to explain how she's balancing the needs of her children with those of her own.

"Now I’m just trying to be present for them (hard for me! I’m impatient!), being up for anything (again hard for me, I am not whimsical!), and stay healthy for these two guys (ALSO hard! I just want to eat cheesesteaks every meal in front of the TV) for until I’m an old gray skeleton they’re like 'mom, you gotta go,'" she wrote.

Kaling also noted that her doctor told her this year that she is "the healthiest I’ve been in years." Adding that she's "usually kind of low-level anxious," Kaling said she was going to "take one minute on my birthday to acknowledge that I am happy."

Kaling concluded her post by noting "Man, there are ups and downs in this life!! But my ups seem to be the most important ones right now," she wrote. "Thanks for my birthday love." She added that she may treat herself by buying "that trendy Dior bag that looks like a kidney bean."

Kaling's statements were showered with praise by fans and friends. Padma Lakshmi commented that "kids are a gift and so are you," along with birthday wishes, while Uzo Aduba called Lakshmi a "beautiful amazing lady." The birthday wishes also came from John Legend and Niecy Nash, among others.

This isn't the first time Kaling has opened up about finding her way through life as a parent. Right before she became a mom, she was motivated by “fear and panic” that parenthood wouldn’t happen for her, she previously told Yahoo Life's So Mini Ways. But ultimately, she's found her place as a single mom.

However, Kaling recognizes how much help she's gotten along the way, stating that she is “only able to do it” with the help of a full-time nanny and her dad, she explained at the #WOW2021 event in May of 2021, People reported.

“Being a single mom is not for everyone,” Kaling said in the conversation with UCLA associate professor of psychiatry Dr. Robin Berman. “We have this, like, little strange little house of intergenerational, interracial people that are coming in and out to take care of everything."

Kaling also attributes the timing of when she became a parent for her family's success. In an appearance on Meghan Markle's podcastArchetypes last year, she explained that she was in the right place to become a parent at 38.

"I'm 43. I have two kids. I live with a nanny whom I love," Kaling said. "I have my community that allows me to have that decision, and also I waited until I was in my late thirties to have children, because I knew I needed the resources to be able to do it comfortably."

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