I was never a baby person. Babies and I never mixed. They didn’t like me and the feeling was sort of mutual. With Kavitha I didn’t have a choice. Everything changed once the little one arrived.
On Tuesday I go to pick her up for a day of babysitting duties. She was just returning from a walk to the park with her dad. As soon as she sees me she gets excited and couldn’t wait to get out of her pram. She runs past her mum, who she hasn’t seen all day with outstretched arms towards me. She is quite happy to leave her home without a second glance back.
That night she wouldn’t settle in her cot and we share her mum’s old bed. This guarantees that I also get ten hours of much needed sleep that I haven’t had for a very long time.
The relentless rain the next day makes sure we stay indoors all day. We read story books, listen to all sorts of music, and play some games. As I try some salsa moves to ‘despacito’, she laughs heartily and I could see her thinking ‘you are not coming to any parties with me when I grow up’. If I am working she makes me carry her around as I do my chores. Sometimes I catch her looking at me intently with a smile on her face waiting for me to smile back. There is a joy in everything that she does. The whole world seem to explode with happiness when you see her smile. There is no room for sadness.
The twenty four hours pass too quickly and it is time to take her back. As we reach her home, she runs into her mum’s arms with not a look back. That is how it should be and so till next Wednesday I say my goodbyes and leave.
