A child in you...

Do I have a child in me... still active and alive?? or have I lost that innocence in the constant struggle of achieving something, attaining my goals and amidst all the other mundane tasks....

what can I do to bring back the blissful childhood experiences ( I know it is impossible to bring the childhood back) ?? are these the kind of questions bother only me?? or do I have some supporters elsewhere??

This is the question that I have always asked myself from time to time. I thought I had realized cracking this puzzle one day ( May be I have done this earlier without me acknowledging it)

I never tried swimming in my life till one summer break that my son and I were enjoying together. This was the first ever time I had a brief break in my career. In the hot, hotter, hottest weather of Dubai, our roof top swimming pool used to allure us like an oasis in the otherwise concrete jungle built right in the desert.

One evening while the sun was still shining brighter, though not at his best... we went up to the terrace to check the temperature of the pool and the intensity of the sun. My son plunged into the water without even a second thought, tried his best to pull me into it. My initial resistance gave way to the new found desire of 'being able to swim'.

The next minute I was in water along with him, playing with the red ball, splashing water all over, watching him go underwater to fetch a coin or a rubber band, trying to learn the tricks from him and of course trying to learn to float if not swim. Neither of us knew how time flew in the water ( literally )... soon I realized that I was playing like him, with him, laughing like him, with him, having fun like him, with him.... just like him.. just like my child.. or just like a child to be precise... giggling and howling without any inhibitions.
That gave me an answer it is always in me.. the child ... also showed me the need to bring it out or even recognize when I did that.... else I may lose it in my day to day routine..

So next time if you want to.... play with balloons in some one's birthday, have an ice cream while protecting yourself from the rain with an umbrella, see the sailing of paper boats in the tiny little rivulets formed by the rain, feel like going for a cycling race with your children.. just go ahead and do it (even if it is occassionally )... for all these and many other cute little acts like this make you feel wonderfully young, completely rejuvenated and more importantly help you to stay connected with the younger ones at your home..

Do let me know if you have any similar experiences...