Of Clouds, Storms and Peace

Another conversation (that will carry on) with Raghav while watching one of his games together....

R: I don't know why there is just no peace in Middle Earth! Everywhere you go there is only evil and fighting...no peace!

Me: What is peace? Where do you think you'll find it?

R: Peace I think is when there is no fighting....also, you know that feeling when someone does or keeps saying something that's annoying, and then when that person goes away, you feel relieved and feel that there is finally peace?

Me: Yes...so you think peace is something that happens because of something outside of you...

R: Yes.

Me: Okay...so do you think there is any part or place in a storm that seems or feels peaceful?

R: Yes, clouds feel peaceful.

Me: What about the eye of the storm? How is it?

R: It is where the air is still and everything is calm.

Me: So then, can there be peace even in the middle of a storm?

R: Yes....but the problem is that even that peace does not last...because storms don't last forever!

:)

I thought you were his sister!

Raghav and I were down today as usual, in the evening, to cycle round the block. It is a routine that both of us like now and have gotten into. We usually do a few rounds together, and then when Raghav needs a little break, I do some more while he times me. Then he does a few while I time him, after which I do a few more alone, and then we finish off together with a few more. Raghav loves this routine as it was created by him. And I love it because I am enjoying cycling after many years, and it nourishes my body, mind and soul with some happy hormones!

We had just done a couple of rounds, when a little boy on his cycle stopped me with his question.
"Excuse me....where are you going? Are you going to the park?", he asked me, with an endearing smile.
I smiled back, stopped in my track, and said," No....I am going cycling this way", and pointed the other way.
Raghav had meanwhile made a U turn and came back to see where I was. This little boy immediately asked if Raghav would come and play with him in the park. Raghav promised to play tomorrow with him.
I gently steered the conversation, asking him his name, and if he would like to cycle with us.
He immediately beamed and turned around to join us.

After the next round, Raghav wanted to take a break, and this little boy said he would wait with him. They got talking while I went on cycling. Suddenly, he ran up to me and said he wanted to race with me, and so we raced one round. As we were finishing and he was celebrating winning the race, I yelled out to him saying I was continuing my rounds of cycling. "Cheating! You're cheating!", he yelled back. I had no clue why he thought I was cheating, and smiled and rode on. He joined a little later and we went one more round. In the middle, he wanted to stop for a little break as he was tired. So we stopped. He asked me for the time, and when he realised that I had no watch on, he decided that it must be late, and told me he was going home. I waved and we decided to meet again tomorrow.

I finished my few rounds of cycling and joined Raghav, to find that there was a water bottle and a bag in Raghav's cycle basket. It belonged to that little boy. He had asked Raghav if he could leave it there and had forgotten. We only knew the name of the block that he lived in, not his flat number. So we decided to wait and see if he would come back in search of the bottle. He promptly did.

And we got talking a bit. We asked him (obviously) for his flat number. He promptly asked for mine and I told him. He then asked for Raghav's, and he told him.
"Oh! So you both live in the same flat?!"
"Yes, I am his mother!", I softly added.
His eyes opened wide and he beamed and said, "Oh! What? Mother??!"
He almost fell backwards in surprise and shock.
"What did you think?", I asked back.
" I thought you were ....what do I say?...his sister or something!", he exclaimed.
"How old are you then?", he asked.
When I told him my age, he almost fainted!
"My God! So old?!", he gasped.
And we all laughed! :)

This little boy made my day.

I realise that it does pay sometimes to go out and play with your kids like a kid. You make more friends who are young at heart and young in body :) And who also make you feel the same way! :)