Fun day at the play park.

Ashus school was off the whole last week. Ski break!! Why did nt I go to such schools? More holidays than working days. Affectionate teachers. Amazing library. Sigh! We did nt do anything interesting last week. Some regular shopping, some craft projects at home and the time flew. Then suddenly Hd had to leave for India on Sunday on an official trip and hes back only on Wednesday. He has travelled before but never to India. I became all sad and teary and did everything I could do to stop him from going. Did nt work! After sending him off early in the morning on Sunday, spent the day sulking and in the night I locked the bedroom door and blocked it with a chair for good measure. Kept the cordless phone and mobile handy. Hugged Ashu and went to sleep. That is so uncharacteristic of me. Im usually bold and quite reckless. I don't even check the doors and windows before I go to sleep. But this time the feeling that Hd is not in London or Amsterdam which are a few hours away but in INDIA which is a good 12 hours away gave me the jitters. What if the burglar knew it too? ;)

School was off today too and it was bright and sunny. I said enough was enough and set out with Ashu to an indoor play area. Its quite small but enough to keep Ashu occupied for hours. We had an early lunch and were there at 12 noon. Ashus face brightened up and she started climbing here and there and everywhere. Bouncy castles, trampolines, slides, obstacles, mini go carts, cycles,... Its any child's dream. (sigh again!) I had taken a book with me. ("The space between us" by Thrity Umrigar. Looks to be a interesting read.) I finished only 7 pages because I could nt take my eyes off my daughter. What to do? She was squealing with laughter, making friends and running around. I had to look! I found out today that Ashu is nt a leader or a loner. She wants company and has to be told what to do. First Ashu followed a 3 year old girl who was slightly taller than her. They became friends fast and Ashu was following her like a puppy and doing everything she was doing. The other girl was helping Ashu whenever she could nt climb a level on her own. It looked so sweet. Then Ashu became a pro. But Ashu also knows what she does NOT want to do and is not tempted to do it. Nor can she be coerced. For example, she was scared of the spiral tunnel slide. She wont get into any tunnel from which she cant see the other side. So while a straight tunnel slide is OK, a spiral slide is a big NO. That's the way she is. I ve encouraged her before but she strictly refused and I did nt push. So whenever the other girl turned towards the spiral slide, Ashu would change her direction and go the other way and the other girl will follow her. I noticed it after she did for the fourteenth time!! :) After an hour, we took a snack break and Ashu pointed at the chocolate brownie and said she wanted it. This is the girl who NEVER eats any snack. But I bought for her anyway wetting my lips in anticipation. But then little girls exist to prove you wrong. She wolfed down 3/4th of the piece in jiffy, sipped some apple juice and said "Enough Amma". I had tears in my eyes.(Then what? The cake was so good and all I get is a quarter of it???)

We went back to the play area but the little girl had left much to Ashus disappointment. She tried to play by herself for a while. But very soon, she found another target. Sisters - 8 and 3. She clinged to them and they had no way but to include her. The 8 year old was so sweet. She was helping Ashu more than her own little sister and the trio were having a blast. Of course, Ashu would split whenever they came near the spiral slide. This once, the big girl said "Komm mit mir" and kept Ashu on her lap and slided down the tunnel. Ashu had a "I was right when I did nt want to go on this one" look when she came down. (I tried it later with her too. It was a little claustrophobic and a bit scary!) The three girls went on the mini go kart half a dozen times. Neither of the younger girls can go on their own, so the big girl went triples each time. I saw her begging her dad and mom for money for the go kart and I sponsored a couple of rides too. But the three were totally addicted and the girls father and I had to literally drag the girls out of there. Then the older girl split and the two younger ones held hands and played together. It was so cute to watch. Ashu of course totally forgot about me and once in an hour will make eye contact to check if Im looking! I had told myself that I would nt ask Ashu to leave. She can play as long as she wanted. But after 4 hours, I could see she was hungry and totally tired. I asked if she wanted to go home. She said NO and with a renewed energy, found another 3 year old and the three started going around the enclosures like hamsters in a cage. Then she found another 6 year old and copied her and did everything she did for a while. (Building a castle with soft blocks) Then came to me and asked me to take her in the spiral slide. I did. By 5pm, I came to my senses and told Ashu that the place was closing up and we had to leave. Thankfully, she obliged and slept in the car even before I left the parking lot. So today was fun. I learnt so much about my daughter. Now we are off to bed. Hope Hd does nt decide to surprise and show up couple of days early. Im planning to take the kitchen knife with me to the bed tonight! ;)

ps.
Cursing myself for leaving the camera at home. There were so many kodak moments in the play park today. :(