Over the last 15 months, the world has been reeling under the Covid 19 pandemic. The suffering across the world is at levels unseen after World War 2. In an age with advanced scientific research capabilities and medical care, we could not have imagined the entire world crippled by a virus. And Covid 19 showed how vulnerable we are.
People across the world were pushed indoors, and any job that could be done from home became work from home for the foreseeable future. Mine too. However, in my work, we meet our customers at retail showrooms, and it required regular visits from me to our workplaces. I started working from home at least 2-3 working days per week, starting March 2020. It gave the opportunity to bond with my son, Aaron, and spend quality time with him which otherwise I could not have got. This is also the age where he has grown from a toddler to a young boy, where he started displaying his interests, his distinct streaks, which were real exciting to watch. Over the last one year, Aaron and I developed our daily routine together. This starts in the morning where we have our morning coffee (and his milk) together, and go down to the play area for a quick stroll. I look forward to this 30-45 min stroll everyday, probably as much as he does. After we come back, we have breakfast together, and I start working. Aaron and I again spend time in the evening, from around 6PM till he sleeps.
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| Aaron and me at our play area |
Live in the Moment. Everyday in our daily walk, Aaron takes a cycle ride along the walking path, to the play area. He has four things to play in the kids play area - A swing, a slide, a merry go round, a climber. Everyday, he plays on al four things for 5-10 mins each, with almost the same enthusiasm. There is no other thought during this time, and he thoroughly enjoys each minute of this time. No thoughts on next tasks, breakfast, or anything else.
Take the exciting path, even if it's difficult. We have a sofa beside our bed, at roughly one hand distance. Aaron has discovered a new path get down from the bed. He jumps onto the sofa, walks across the sofa hands, jumps onto the cushion, and then jumps on his chair (which he places at the edge of the sofa), and then gets down. He could get down directly from the bed onto the floor, he doesn't. He enjoys treading this difficult path, every time. This simple anecdote is repeated in may such instances, where he takes the exciting path over the fastest/easiest ones.
Find joy in everything. Aaron seems to find a way to play or find joy in everything he finds. He is also curious to pick up anything he finds, be it a leaf from a tree or kitchen utensils or his own toys. Also, there are bigger things which all kids enjoy like playing in the sand, or playing with water. What seems to be amaze me is that he never gets bored even after playing numerous times.
Only take what you need, always. As Aaron entered into his fourth year, he started developing strong interests on what he wants to eat, what he wants to wear. And most of the times, it is only his favourite that he wants. He has one sweater and two jackets to wear during winters, and he only wears one, always. He only wears one pair of shoes. When it comes to food, he is very clear about how much he wants and what he wants. Even when it comes to his favourite desserts, he stops after a scoop of ice cream or two gulab jamuns. Only area this principle doesn't apply is his toys, but even there he somehow started to enjoy giving away his toys to others. Looks like kids are born with minimalistic principles.
The quote I mentioned in my last post seems more relevant than ever - "While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about".
