Every time I babysit little Lakshmi, I notice the differences. She is running around now and likes to climb up the stairs. If you try to follow her, the speed multiplies. As she bounced up the stairs, I wondered if she could come down in a similar manner. She was fearless when she attempted to throw herself down the stairs. It was as if the height of the steps didn’t matter. And yet when she was attempting to just cross the tiny step she encountered when moving from one room to the other she would wait and call for help. I wonder how little minds worked.
The weather was too warm to stay indoors. I got my hammock out and we ended up having our afternoon kip on it. The rain luckily stayed away till we woke up.
I understand the little one much more than I did her mother when she was her age. We didn’t do much today, but I still get exhausted towards the end of the day. She let me watch Roger Moore perform his 007 act while she entertained herself and in between watched the film with me.
As she entertains herself by telling stories and then in between tries to engage me by smiling and pulling faces, I can’t but help feel myself being enveloped in the happiness and the serenity that exudes from the innocence that only a child can experience. I write this as I watch her sleep. Seeing the peacefulness, the ‘not a care in the world’ expression, I wonder if I can steal a bit of that feeling and lock it away in the corners of my mind from where I can access it from time to time when I have the need for it. I hope that feeling will stay with her forever and guide her in everything she does.