The playground theory

As part of a fitness routine, my husband and I have started going for regular walks. Bangalore, famous for its 'parks', has a small one just about a kilometre away from my place. We go around the park several times hoping the weighing scale shows some mercy on us and we have thankfully been successful so far.

This gives me the time to think about life, how time has passed by in a hurry and how things have changed in so little time. Looking at 2 feet tall kids running around, it makes me feel so old and it got me thinking - when was the last time I was so carefree and all I had to worry about in life was "When do I get to go to the park the next day?"

To come to think of it, kids during their playtime can actually teach you a lot and so can monkey bars and slides! Here are some instances that got me thinking:

• The oh-so-tall slide - Kids are hell scared to get on top of the slide and are terrified that they might tumble down. But when its quite successful the first two times, they don't mind repeating it - over and over again. What does the slide teach you? You gotta climb uphill and you will come stumbling down. But you better gather yourself and get ready for the ride. All over again!
• The devilsh swing - We pretend like we're going to fly across to the other side if someone pushes the swing harder. What it actually teaches you - there are going to be ups and downs in life; just enjoy the ride!
• The monkey bar - Don't we all just love monkeying around. To me, it just teaches you to hold on, no matter what. Otherwise you're just going to fall face first and break your teeth
• The infamous see-saw - This is more of a combination - hold on or you are bound to fall down and expect life not be all fun and frolic. It's going to be one hell of a ride
• The Confucious jungle gym - There is no one way to get out of trouble. Try and try till you succeed
• The dusty sandbox - Sometimes it is okay to just let go and not get hassled about every little thing that's going wrong. Just take a chill pill and throw around some sand

I don't mean to sound like a 70 year old who has done it all and seen it all but, just.