Where the children play
It’s Saturday morning, sunny and bright. Though it is usually green, it is more evident that it has been raining, or that there have been showers in the recent past. The ground is a little wet with dew but that does not stop the little ones from going about their serious business -Play.
The playground is colourful and full of life-noisy. The choice of colours is deliberate, with bright shades of thick oil paint-yellow, green, red, blue and orange. Then add the lilac/purple shirts of the occupants of that field and you almost have the complete spectrum.
Right in front of me is a series of swings, and about 6 of them are all are occupied; the eye cannot stop following the movement of the children’s legs as they aim for the sky, literally. On the left is a set of two or three slides; I see a 4-year-old girl scramble for it from the opposite end and my breath is caught in my throat as I await the great fall. Little do I know that she is a veteran in the game who knows exactly what she is doing. Further,behind the slides and directly opposite the swings are the see-saws, where one boy and his tom-boy friend are enjoying the rise and fall. On the other, a little boy is looking around; for a partner, perhaps? There it is, on the right; that pick-up that my nephew tells me he drives in school. It’s being “driven” by boys who will probably make excellent drivers when they grow up, most likely sooner than I would imagine. One cannot miss the multi-colored structure at the far right corner of the rectangular play area. What with all that alphabetical “graffiti”elaborately and artistically painted all over it.
For a moment there I was transported back to my kindergarten (then nursery) days. It was all I could do to resist the urge to place myself carefully on the beckoning seat.and swing my adult concerns away, or slither down the inviting, smooth metal slide, hopefully without all the cares of the adult world. Instead, I inched into the play ground and sat on one of the three benches, equally brightly painted, where kindergarten teachers sat to watch over the oblivious joyful souls as they frolicked with all abandon. I was naturally drawn to the seat infront of the swings.
Being there automatically took 18 years off my age! How I wished this moment would last.“I don’t remember the last time I experienced such vibrancy.
I could do this all day … l” my thoughts were interrupted when tiny hands covered my eyes.
”Aunty Stella, I want that one … ” Alas, the person I have been waiting for, my dear nephew Adrian, and the reason why I was here. It was his first ever Parents’ Day and I was not about to miss it for anything in the world. I was wrong if I thought he had any intention of allowing me to sit in his classroom before ‘signing the register’. So he took my hand and led me to his favourite swing, waited a while for the incumbent to dislodge and gleefully swung his tiny feet, in that ‘aiming for the sky fashion’ that seemed to come naturally to them all.
I couldn’t help smiling and wondering whether the kicks were their attempt to do this kind of thing … probably inside Mama’s womb? Speaking of which, I always wondered why they lay in their characteristic foetal position. I concluded that they must be playing as they do inside the womb. Since then. I have always referred to the womb as the place ‘where the children play’.
Mama, as you await your bundle of joy, consider creating a serene environment for that youngster(s) in there to play. At least for a few minutes everyday, relax absolutely. With schools closed and the festive season on, there will be lots of joyous bundles galloping around the estates, the courts, the village, the malls, the neighbourhoods … take some time to watch these children play. You may find it noisy at first, what with all the sharp voices, punctuated with screams, shouts or shrieks” depending on the occasion … If you can get past that, you’ll enjoy the joyful, though not very musical, noise and your mood will surely be lifted.Besides, it might help prepare you for the many trips you will be making in the not-so-distant future, who knows,you might even like to add this to your pastime!
Welcome, dear mama, to where the children play. I smile whenever I recall how much laughter and life there is where the children play.