Riya finished her first day in the new nursery very happily. Its just a few minutes walk from home compared to her old nursery which was quiet far from home. I had the pleasure of picking her up from the nursery! Lately she had been going to the nursery on her scooter and had abandoned the buggy. Oh what fun !!! for Riya. Not for me. I had to pick her up from the nursery and then walk/run with her while she was scooting along all the way back home. We used to walk past the Wimbledon high street when we walked from her old nursery to our home. She used to stop in front of the shops and ask for things. The 10-12 min walk for me used to last atleast 45 minutes with Riya. I used to be angry sometimes as I was worried about going home and cooking and doing other house chores. I used to be worried about her milk and dinner times. I used to rush her around to reach home soon. I was happy that I didn't have to do that anymore as the new nursery is a short walk from home and very convenient.
As I walked back to her nursery yesterday evening to pick her up I realised what I was missing. I missed the chit chat with Riya on my way back home , I missed my little friend who spoke non stop. I missed all those funny questions like 'why is that boy sleeping in the buggy? 'Why is that girl wearing a blue dress?' , ' Can we go to into this shop, can we buy something?' 'Why is that ajji holding a stick ?' Phew !! I had to think hard to answer her questions as I wanted to reason with her instead of just giving her some funny answers. It was definitely fun. We used to talk about all the things she had done in the nursery, what songs she sang, what dance she did and I was clearly missing all that. It's funny how we understand the value of some things when we don't have it anymore.
I also realised that I should try not to rush her around at times. The kids don't understand the urgency in life. They absorb all their surroundings, enjoy the sun, enjoy the rain, stand in the middle of the road to look around, jump in muddy puddles, enjoy every moment no matter what they are doing. That's how they are happy all the time. We adults spoil their moments sometimes bringing the urgency in our lives onto them. Most of the times we treat the experiences in life like tasks. For ex: Walking home from station for me is a task but for Riya it's an experience though we do it everyday. It's not a good example, I know :). She tries to find joy in it and I am not supposed to spoil it for her. I gave it a thought yesterday and decided to try not to hurry with certain things and give her the time she needs and wants at times. Not always though ;).
