The Perfect Weekend

Let me tell you about our weekend, not in sequential order but rather in terms of those little raindrops of happiness. Shabd learnt to slide! He determinedly pushed his way past our protective hands, climbed up the slide, turned around, sat himself down and with a "wheee" he let go. His Papa caught him at the bottom, their smiles ingrained in my mind; Shabd's of pure childish joy while Akash's that of a proud parent. Our little baby is growing up and he's making sure we allow him his space to do just that! Shabd drank his first fruit smoothie the same day. While we applauded his newly discovered ability to pull through a straw, given the right incentive it would seem that Shabd can do anything, Shabd's eyes simply widened as the cold sweet smoothie hit his tongue. Can eyes show surprise and joy at the same time? They are after all the windows to ones soul is it not. We also took Shabd shopping with us, given his glee on the slide earlier that day, we've decided, like any other logically minded parents would, to buy him a slide, or "glissade" as they say in Creole. We went into Mr. Bricolage and Shabd had an absolute ball climbing and clambering over the outdoor furniture, mistaking some very arty farty deck chairs for mini slides. At Espace Shabd was mesmerized by the fishies (as Dipika masi calls them) but we had to make a quick getaway after Shabd tried to catch the fishies and then fearlessly pushed his little fingers into the rabbit cage for the rabbits to nibble on! Today we went to the beach with the family. Shaba was surrounded by an all too adoring fan club, and Shabd ensured he did not disappoint his loyal fans. He dutifully sat on Nani's lap, allowed the dadi's to feed him and smiled charmingly when he saw his own precious dadi. Shabd also ensured the Dada's took him for long walks, okay, they ran after him! Truth be told, so did the dadi's and they enjoyed every moment of it! Akash and I took him for a walk on the water's edge...and before we knew it, our feet were soaked and Shabd had the most amazingly beautiful smile plastered to his face. For a moment, he looked up at me and his eyes said to me, "Mum, this is the greatest fun I've ever had!" We ended this perfect weekend with a game of hide and seek. You see, I've been reading up again, and at about 18 months (or thereabouts) separation anxiety peaks and it is suggested that games like hide and seek are played to help with the anxiety. So we played hide and seek. I hid myself behind our couches and behind the wall and under the table and behind the dining room chair...and every time Shabd found me; his footsteps quickened, his arms were flung open, and his laughter rang through the house as he enveloped me in a hug. It was the perfect weekend. The weather was a rainstorm of happiness.