For the love of children

One of my favorite activities is taking my son to the playground. It's joyful to watch him play, explore, try different equipments, mingle with other kids. It's amazing to see him play in the mud, splash in the little pool of rainwater, smell the flowers, touch the leaves, talk to the birds and lie on the grass.

It's a wonder to see him ask me so many curious questions whenever he is outdoors. It's funny to see how he tries to copy older kids, how he tries to do more challenging play. And then there is another side of him which is so amazing to witness. If any kid gets hurt especially the younger ones, he soothes them, runs to me to ask for water and band aids. Oh yes! mom is his first aid kit. I am grateful he shows empathy for other kids. 

Some of the younger kids come to the playground with caretakers who would be busy chatting amongst themselves. I started helping those kids actively on the playground, on the slides and other equipments. They squealed with happiness and that kept me going. But something else was happening. I didn't notice it at first. A few older kids started coming to me to ask for small helps. It started with - "What's the time aunty?" or "Aunty can I use your phone to call my mom?" Maybe they saw me as a safe adult from whom they can expect help. 

Slowly they started to mingle with me more. It started with me helping them with little stuff like offering them water, soothing their small hurts. I am always particular that I carry fruits and snacks for my son. Soon I started to pack a little extra for the other kids. And a bigger bottle of water of course. The other kids started to count on me. "Oh aunty always has a big bottle of water. We don't need to worry if we get thirsty." That's what they say. And my bag of goodies. Oh My, it gets finished soon! These little things have started meaning so much to all of us. They also started asking me for guidance if they fought with each other. and started cherishing a little help for their BIG feelings. I just love the trust and confidence with which they walk up to me.

Seeing my caring nature some of them even started messing with me. "Aunty do you know I fractured my hand once. But don't worry aunty it healed very soon. I am ok now." 

"Aunty I broke my tooth and swallowed it"

Seeing my worried expressions soon became their favorite.

Some of the older kids have started writing stories and they love narrating their stories to me. I love their natural story telling abilities. I try to be an attentive listener and understand their imaginary world. If I am distracted even for a little while they throw comments like.."Oh she is not interested, she doesn't care about our stories." And I have to reassure them that it's not true. They laugh hard "Aunty we wanted that reaction from you."

I hope our conversations, play and laughter keep flowing like this. Around them, I forget hesitation. I feel so free. I sing, dance, listen and tell stories with an ease that surprises even me. Children have a beautiful way of opening forgotten doors within us. What an experience it has been!

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