Living the moments

First scene: "How old are you little one?" the kind old man asked little Alyssa at the park.
Little Alyssa pulled her little self up and stood tall and replied "I am not a little girl,I'm a big girl now,I'm 8 and a quarter you know"

Second Scene:"So how old are you going to be come next birthday" one of the friend asked *A* when we met after a long time
"Shh..do you have to spoil this conversation by asking this?I am not going even one day beyond 26 right now" *A* replied feeling a little flushed
"Come on *A*,you are already 26 and half,I guess 27 would be more like it" there was then a guffaw among the friends circle and someone did get punched and I received a big kick on the toes for being a loud mouth.

2 Scenes with almost the same question but the answers completely different.I guess as kids we were always in the hurry to grow up. As a kid the age is never a whole number,every little fraction matters. Alyssa is my neighbor's adorable little girl,but you call her little girl anymore and she will surely scowl and correct you saying she is now a big girl. She is seen walking around in her Mum's heels and trying to pretend applying make up and doing up her hair and opting to imitate her elder teenage sister in everyway possible much to her annoyance. Yesterday when she walked in with her mom's handbag and imitating her mom's walking style it crossed my mind as to how in childhood we are so much eager to grow up and explore,be adults.I remember when I used to be told to go to sleep and not allowed to watch tv beyond a certain hour,I would think "how much fun the grown ups have,I just can't wait to grow up and do things at my will".But its a bone of contention amongst my family members and friends whether I ever would truly grow up but hey on one hand I don't think I ever want to grow up at all. Like the Bryan Adam's song "18 till I die" I think everyone needs to keep that child inside them just a little bit longer. I can't imagine right now how even Ina has grown. No longer that whimpering little baby who would fit into the nook of my arms now is constantly on the move and stands tall holding her own,runs around the house pulling things off the shelves and creating a rukus,her curious little hands are always exploring,constantly taking in her wonderful little world, tries to feed herself with the spoon and ends up making such a mess all over her bib and face, takes her tottering steps with big wide brown eyes full of excitement trying to reach that new toy,comes around babbling in her own baby language telling me a million things ,breaking into pearls of laughter when her dad does all the goofy faces or lifts her up and twirls her around,such a whole load of innocence and sometimes I wish I could just tell her to take her time growing up. I guess like Alyssa's mom one day I would also wonder where that little baby has gone and when did she get replaced by a little girl wanting to grow up and put on the make up. We adults lack their energy and their sense of wonder,I guess our world becomes more cynical as we become adults. I always felt if we were to see the world through Alyssa's eyes she would perhaps wonder "Why are they never happy when they get to enjoy such a whole lot of stuff" and we wonder "Why are they always in a hurry to grow up and not enjoy the sweet innocence a lot longer" Sometimes I feel we adults are always in a search,we are never happy with what we have.We always feel happiness would be if we had a little more of something,maybe time,maybe age,maybe wealth,maybe wisdom,why does happiness become equated to something we don't or can't have? I wish I could tell Alyssa how cynical we become as adults and how sometimes being an adult is no fun at all. I hope she and Ina take their time to grow up,play a lot more in the sand,run around the garden with sprinklers in bare feet,build a lot more sand castles at the beach, read a lot of stories of magical adventures, laugh at the simpler things in life, enjoy swinging in the swing and play hide and seek or peek a boos a lot more, dance with a sense of abandon, climb trees,jump with joy,take time to smell the roses and give a lot more smiles to strangers and warm their hearts. Lot many times we end up making them grow up faster and teaching them how good they ought to be in Math,how important it is to know their tables,their history,language and everything but we perhaps forget to tell them the most important thing that they are a marvel and they have the capability to spread their wings and fly and be what they want to be. Something we also ought to remind ourselves how to live and enjoy life for what it is and how happiness comes from within. Let's remember the moment we have today is something we might look back on forty years down the lane,how we had lot of choices and oppurtunities to smile and love,maybe this today might become a nostalgic memory soon. We perhaps have to relearn how to enjoy the small moments and how life is perhaps living moment by moments.

As of now little Alyssa is busy showing Ina how to build those blocks together and how she can grow up and learn to make cookies with mom:) I just told her they could build it together,eat their cookies and perhaps go chase some squirrels at the park,Alyssa's mom chipped in telling there are going to be whole lot of bubbles to blow too. Growing up is more fun when it is in the process and its perhaps not the destination but the journey which counts. As of now however I wish they take it slow and have loads of fun sprinkled generously with laughter,love and innocence.

"When the first baby laughed for the first time, the laugh broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies." -James Mathew Barrie in Peter Pan