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.
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!
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.
♥
Children definitely leaves a person bliss. Having a younger bro, his in numerous friends their siblings and adding to that my own niece n nephews, I too find my scoop if happiness with lil ones…
The lil ones above look so adorable. Esp the first one. Teddy hugs to her <3
Thank you, Sheethal! Happiness is truly in the little things!
What a little cutie that girl is! She’s going to grow up to one heart-breaker! 🙂
I love watching kids too. The other day a little procession was walking in front of me on their way back from school. One of the chaps, egged another to ring a bell on the gate of a house. For fun, I cleared my throat very loudly before he did it and enjoyed watching the mixture expressions on their faces!
Little scoops of joy, indeed! Nicely topped off with that teeny dictionary! 🙂
This was just such a beautiful heartwarming post with all those cute lil pictures of those kids and descriptions of their antics. Given that my little one and her mother have been away for 10+ days now and are back only two days later, I am missing them a lot after reading this post.
Thanks for sharing the warmth Vidya, truly appreciate it.
what a way to capture the innocent spirit of children! Loved it- Thanks for sharing 🙂
Awww…those were scoops one could die for. Childhood, innocence and mischief are worth your time any day. Lovely kids and lovely pics. 🙂
Thank you for this post.
I was feeling a bit blue and this cheered me up 🙂
Hi Vidya,
Lovely post! I love how children seem to find joy and laughter in everything…their innocence and naughtiness is so refreshing 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Gaori! Yes, I am constantly enthralled by their ability to inspire me. Absolute stress zappers 🙂 Thank you for commenting!
Vidya – you look for scoops of joy and you find them everyday! What a beautiful practice of joy. This brightened my day beyond words!! I look for joy in people’s smiles…today I am going to look for that joy everywhere I go. When someone breaks into a smile it is like the heavens opening to reveal a rainbow for a moment – it is pure magic! 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing your joy today!! hugs, Karen
Hi Vidya
A small child’s laughter especially over the silliest things can’t help but make you laugh.
Don’t see many small children where I am at. But you are so right they have this great ideal world in which they live in their imagination. If only things were so simple as when we were children.
I guess my scoops of joy are my cats. Life is so grand for them and they make me laugh everyday.
Mary
I adore your “little scoops of joy.”
Vidya, you are a prayer in this world.
I thank God for you. Xx
How beautifully joyful Vidya. Love your pics as always. Those little faces are so very dear.
Thanks for the mention dear friend.
e-hugs
Vidya,
I love your scoops of joy! I receive little scoops of joy daily from my preschoolers. I also find joy in flowers and the beautiful colors in nature. I also receive great joy from my family and friends.
Thanks for sharing your joy with me!!
Lovely post!
I fully agree that enjoying the company of young children is the best way to stay young. It helps one to remain childlike (NOT childish).
If a child is not around at the moment, reading a Billy Bunter or William book or Tinkle is a decent substitute.
“A child can teach an adult three things: to be happy for no reason, to always be busy with something, and to know how to demand with all his might that which he desires.” – Paulo Coelho
I’ve said this before but I’ll say it again…. I love the positivity of your posts, that you find happiness in such small things. Always inspires me. Have a good day.
A cute post Vidya:) Children are bundles of joy and one can spend any amount of time in their company!
these little ones are always a joy thanks for sharing and reitirating that innocence is bliss.why do we leave it behind as we grow with the mundane bogging us down that at times we forget to smile.
hugs
gita
Hi Vidya,
Litle scoops of joy they are all right.And you’ve caught a scoopful of good pics there.
You’re lucky that you get along so well with kids.No wonder they catch your vibes,and reciprocate.The bset thing about kids is their Total-Presence-in-The-Moment attitude to life.
Have been missing your post for some time now.thanks you posted in time.
Thanks
Mona
Such a gem of a post! Thanks a lot for spreading cheer and positivity and inspiring too! Hugs Vidya 🙂
u sound so much like my mom…if i learnt anything about how to behave with kids, its all due to her…
a lovely bunch of cheery pics..and yea that little dictionary..i have one copy of it too!
Vidya, your post reminds me so much of my great Aunt. I never knew someone who got so much joy from us kids. Now that I have my own, I can see through her eyes even better. People who deeply love and appreciate children and animals are truly happy!! Thanks for sharing such a sweet post. The pictures of the children were wonderful!
Thank you, Rae! 🙂 I have always loved children, but I think I’ve started noticing them more minutely after my son started school – 13 years ago. Oh they are such a joy! And solid stress-relievers with their amazing talk!
It is nice that you have the time in today’s rat race world to observe these angels & have the the kindness & initiative to share with all of us so that we may also be happy & joyful
Thank you so much!
Thank you Rajeev! I love the little things around me!
I just shared this on Facebook….little scoops of joy! I love your conversation about the pencil…I mean, pen. “simply”.
Vidyaji, children are a source of immense joy.and you have a smiling neighbourhood.
You are simply surrounded by adorable children! It sounds like that makes your days so much happier to have these little rays of sunlight bouncing about bursting with laughter. ♥
Lovely post Vidya. I can related to all this now. 🙂
Thank you Amit! I am still laughing, thinking of your post about the assassin who tried to kill your family! 😀 I hope Anika gets well soon!
This post was full of all sorts of contagious joys.
Thanks Claudya. And I am so blessed to enjoy this every day!
Loved the pictures and narrative about the children you encountered in your day. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we never lost that resilience? I had two aunts who didn’t have children. They brought so much joy to their nieces’ and nephews’ lives, and looking back, I imagine we brought the same to theirs.
Thank you, Dorothy! You know, I can relate to what you are saying. My uncles did not have children and they simply showered their nieces and nephews with affection.:-)