Scenes from the park

Scenes from the park

There are times when the neighbourhood park is absolutely deserted, barring its permanent residents- the birds. With the sun strong enough to barbeque the lobsters without any other combustible product being required, the kids are coaxed into staying indoors and watching TV, playing board games, Wii or just do nothing...but sending them out in the sun is clearly not an option. Even the evenings are hot, humid and oxygen-free!

I look through my window and wonder where has the cheeriness and the laughter disappeared, even though i know fully well where!

And then there are days, the blissful days when the park is full. I can see young moms, old grannies, coming-home-early-to-spend-quality-time-with-kids dads, cousins, visiting friends and relatives, and the old gangs of friends too. While the new babies are in their strollers; lulling off to sleep while enjoying the breeze, toddlers practise their balancing and walking skills while running after the balls rolled onto the grass by their mommies, the younger kids play a run-and -catch game or share toy-cars and scooters, the preteens invent their super-hero or spy-villain games and the teenagers, oblivious of the world around them, sit on the barbeque grill, smoking away their youth. The moms, grouping together generally according to the age of their kids, discuss their kids' developments, problems, exchange notes on schools and extra-curricular activities while keeping an eye on their kids. Everyone calls everyone else by their first name- filling the whole park with warmth and a sense of community, and without even realising it, we share those moments of life with someone we might only see in the park!

It fills my heart with happiness- to be able to see my kids in the middle of what i believe is normal childhood. A normal childhood- where they have friends; they visit each other's houses as their own, without the fear of child-abuse; they fight, they make-up, they play normal games that kids should play, watch movies together and share popcorn, cookies, fruit and drinks too! A normal childhood, where there is not a worry about tomorrow and where you can play in the park until it gets dark and sometimes even later on! A normal childhood, where moms and dads are a part of their kids' changing life and make it a point to live that very happy moment with them...

It is one of the happienst scenes that i like to see again and again, and again, knowing fully well that like everything else in life, this pleasure will not last forever...and that's what makes it all the more precious!