It was all about getting wet and playing in the muddy puddles

As soon as the summer used to settle down with its fist downpour, the child within me used to rise beyond measure. A July born, I used to love the rains and how. It’s needless to go back to childhood and describe my feelings then because I guess each and every child loves the rain. Getting wet, going out with their own tiny umbrella’s, wearing their gum boots, jumping in the muddy puddles; well which kid doesn’t like rain?

As I started working in a place away from home, this feeling still stayed within me. The morning shower would leave me a little exhausted and would make me walk with an umbrella and with an office bag to find an auto/taxi to reach work on time. I would crib about this and that in front of the bosses but I didn’t have any hard feelings from within. I enjoyed getting drenched, reaching late at work and joining the conversation of how we all fought like great warriors to reach at work on time.

But now the feelings have changed; just because I am a mom now. A sudden outburst of rain or even a slight change in climate drives me nut. It’s my 3^rd monsoon with Pahi and this has been the best one so far as compared to the last two. Not going out in public places, not letting her mingle with kids with running nose, not letting her step out without wearing full sleeve clothes, not letting the mom in me sneeze, taking antibiotics to suppress the cold so that the infection does not pass on to her and all those crazy precautions.

It feels like ages that I have enjoyed getting wet in the rain; that I have enjoyed smiling at the onset of monsoon; that I have danced in the first downpour; that I have jumped in the muddy puddles. Now the fist thought that creeps in instantly is whether Pahi is dressed up properly; whether she should be sent to school or not; whether she should be given a bath or not and how to prepare myself for the cold and cough if by any chance she gets an infection. In short we mommy’s get so concerned that we forget to enjoy the beautiful happenings around us.

So, yesterday I was enjoying an episode of Peppa Pig on You Tube with Pahi. We lately got addicted to it and I must tell that it’s a must watch for all the toddlers. We saw Peppa Pig and her family enjoying jumping in the muddy puddles. Pahi got up from her tiny red chair and asked “ Mumma, why can’t we too jump on the puddles? Why do we not do this? Look, they are having so much fun”, and I was astonished at her thoughts. I said yes why not, we can also start doing this. And so the next morning it rained and in peppa pig inspired moment Pahi decided to jump on one of the puddle while going to school. Thank God the puddle was not muddy or else I would have had to take her back home to change her uniform.

Such small joys!

I now wonder how sometimes so ordinary and naïve things become so narrative and change our perspective all of a sudden.