Little Scoops Of Joy

I have an unlimited supply of joy. They come in scoops from little angels.. When I don’t see one of these angels I get all worked up. Remember this post where I mentioned a little girl, a second grader I meet often? Well, I felt a little sad when I didn’t see her for almost a week.  I started worrying about her, wondering if she was okay.

Then, two days ago, there she was, skipping towards me, grinning, with her customary “Auntiee”.

I said “hey! I haven’t seen you for a week! didn’t you come to school?”

She said: “sometimes I didn’t come, Auntieee”. Hmm. Whatever that meant. But I was mesmerized by her smile.

She held up something and said “Pencil!”

I looked at it. “Looks like a pen to me!”

She said, “Okay! pen!” and laughed uncontrollably. I had no choice but to respond. So funny.

Then I asked her, “Why do you have that paper around it?”

She frowns for a nanosecond, then says “Simply!” and bursts into fresh laughter.

As if to say, who needs a reason to do these things?

Not to be outdone, I ask “What’s on that paper?”

She says, “Nothing!” and tries to take it off the pen. The moment it comes off, she puts it back around the pen.

I say, “I can see something written on it!”

She says, soothingly, “Its okay, Auntiee”! Why should that worry me, right?

Then, curious, I ask her, “Where did you get the pen?”

Pens are allowed only from Grade 6.

She said, reverently, “Teacher’s pen! It is a red pen! I brought it for her for corrections!”

Wow, I thought. Then we just stood there grinning at each other.

Then I asked her, “So where do you live? How do you go home?”

She said, “I walk” pointing to her feet. So sweet. And continued, “My house is there”, pointing randomly, arm raised above her head.

I asked, “What you do after you reach home?”

She said, “I wash my hand, my leg and my face with soap. Then I change my dress. Then I watch Cartoon Network or Pogo on TV”

I asked, “What about food? Do you eat after you go home?”

She said, “Yes! My Mother will give me on a plate”. How specific!

I asked, “Which is your favorite program?”

She said, “Chota Bheem, Ganesha, Krishna”

Then I had a brainwave! I immediately grabbed my phone and asked her if I could take a picture of her. She said “wait” and adjusted her posture,  and smiling, said out of the corner of her mouth, without changing her expression, “take now”.

Here she is, my little friend. Who knew that friendship band I tied around her wrist would bring so much fun into my life?

Then she wanted to see her photo. I showed it to her. She said “nice!”. I said “thank you!” and, twirling around once, she said “see you tomorrow, ‘bye!” and skipped away. She looked back to wave every few steps and I loved it. I am a sucker for the waving-until-out-of-sight practice! What I loved even more was the sound of her singing loudly, joyously! I followed her all the way to the gate a few steps behind her.

Little scoops of joy!

Now, the next little “flower”. Look at this little girl. She can’t talk yet. She wobbles when she walks, but refuses help, the independent little thing. She took off her little bonnet every few seconds, only to put it on again. I had a delightful ten minutes of her tripping all over the place.

Face off eh?

Love the way she’s preening!

Yesterday, I went to the supermarket to shop. And see what I brought back! What a hyperactive child! His Grandma had her hands full keeping him attached to her hand! I can’t help laughing when I think of the tray of eggs saved from his grip! First he wanted to explore the dustbin. Then he grabbed a tray of eggs, was nabbed in time and dragged away!

That rack on his left
had egg trays stacked in it

Now, here’s a pic of another highly energetic child I see regularly. Don’t be fooled by that butter-wont-melt-in-my-mouth look. My head spins watching her jump around, on and off that slab of stone, picking up stones and throwing it on the wall and laughing! What did I do to get this look? Just said “shhhh”. And she instantly went and sat down and looked at me with that sad expression!

Then, I saw this on the bus. Made my heart melt. The bus conductor was yelling at someone, people were talking on their phones or conversing – yet this Mother and child were in their own world. The child was fascinated by the moving scenery. The Mother was laughing in delight at her gurgling child. I know where her scoops of joy come from!

And since we are talking of wee things, let me show you something from my box of memories. My tiniest book. The Little Webster dictionary.

It is a legit dictionary and I’ve carried it in my school uniform pocket for years.

I’ve always gotten along well with children. I adore them. And I am gratified they seem to like me too. I always marvel at how joyful they are.

♥

I love how they…

bloom when they’re encouraged.

don’t let fear stop them from forging ahead

bounce back quickly, when they’re disappointed

seem to sense, to  know so many things  instinctively

sing like no one’s listening, dance like no one’s watching

talk to themselves, telling themselves what they want to hear

take what they hear at face value without digging for a deeper meaning

marvel at everything, showing a fresh view of the world

accept love without worrying about appearances

show off even the littlest things with pride

are ready to hug and show their love

live in the moment

don’t worry

are happy

♥

I always feel that as long as I continue to enjoy the company of children, I’ll have an abundant and continuous supply of scoops of joy. And? Their fun and laughter is my favorite way to stay young!

Here is one of my favorite messages…

Where do you find your scoops of joy?

Have a wonderful week ahead!

Linking up with the delightful Unknown Mami,  who hosts Sundays In My City. World travel is a perk especially when we enjoy it via our keyboards.

♥