The little miss and her imagination take flight long before the plane does.
She plants her legs on the airplane window, eyes wide with wonder.
“Papa, my legs are touching the sky!” she shrieks, her joy lighting up the cabin—or at least our corner of it.
I smile. Because, really, why not?
We spend lifetimes chasing the sky, claiming its vastness for ourselves. But if you ever do, remember this young dreamer who got there first—feet up, heart soaring.
If you seek to grow, watch children.
In their curiosity, in their seeking, in their unfiltered joy, they remind us of what we may have forgotten.
I watch them play—effortlessly, freely—with kids of different skin colours, with no hesitation, no barriers. They teach me that at our core, we are all just people reaching out to relate.
I hear their giddy excitement over the simplest things—“Yeahhh, the Sun is back!”—and it nudges me to wonder more, celebrate more, feel more.
And when they discard their shoes to walk barefoot on the sand, I see them connect with the earth, fully present in the moment. It reminds me of the beauty in staying grounded.
Children don’t just grow. They teach us how to.
Watch them. You’ll learn a heap.
(at Pattaya, Thailand)
Some pictures don’t just capture a moment—they bring back a world.
There was a time when our home echoed with the soft chime of an anklet. The little miss loved it, and so did we. It was more than an ornament; it was our personal GPS—a subtle tracker of her movements, her mischief, her presence.
And then, time did what it always does.
I don’t even know where the anklet is now. But this picture? It took me straight back. To a time when tiny feet ran around, when silence was more alarming than noise, when aspirations and dreams had a different shape, a different urgency.
Some pictures do that—they remind you, they whisper, they nudge.
And for a brief moment, you’re not just looking at the past. You’re feeling it.
The lion lends a ride to the monkey. The same monkey who can leap across three trees in a flash. But today, he needs a ride—because a buffalo with big horns is troubling him.
If you don’t make up stories on the go to enthrall your kids, you’re missing something magical.
Go on, tell them a story. Watch them react, imagine, create. Their minds will jump all over the place—and in those leaps, they’ll teach you something new.
The little miss reminds me daily that reality is shaped by the stories we tell ourselves. A different narrative can rewrite an old tune and make the world fresh again.
So, tell a good story. And more importantly, listen to the ones kids tell you.
Because when you give yourself to a story, the world changes with it.
I have something called a Tom Sawyer moment. Amongst my childhood heroes, Tom Sawyer is one heck of a kick ass dude. His successes with Becky Thatcher aside, his ingenuity to get a group of friends whitewash the fence was jaw-dropping awesome as a kid. It remains jaw-dropping AWESOME as an adult with a paycheck.
For ages I have hankered for a Tom Sawyer moment in my life. A moment when what got handed out as a punishment morphs into something quite different. A happy time when a lofty proposition is made loftier and transformed into a fun happy time.
A few weeks ago after some insane amount of peering into monitors and hammering away at the keyboard, the missus sentenced me with the responsibility of taking care of the little miss. When it became clear that I perhaps would end up enjoying it all, she threw in another angle. There would be two other kids that might join in.
Without much ado, we got working. The girls had to first scamper around and collect as many dry leaves as could be found in the garden. Then for strewn flowers. It took them an effort but they had a whale of a time. After which, came the task of arranging it all for display.
Their hands were a dark shade of brown. The colour of the soil with assorted grime that came about by heckling the wind and peddling joy. When playtime neared its end everyone was happy. The mommies were happy that their tasks were behind them. The morose gardener let loose a rare smile and a good word to the girls to see most of his cleaning done.
As for me, my Tom Sawyer moment had arrived. The girls have said they want to do it again and one of them put it in simple terms. “Uncle, I will share my lollipop with you”
Plus, the little miss was one proud bundle. ‘My daddy’ she said. The moments that stay in memory are the unannounced and silly times. They whizz by. Slow down, put out your hands and watch them fall into your life.
Life teaches everyday. If only we care to listen.
You remember Tom Sawyer? The chap that got his friends to paint a fence? Selling it to them as a premium thing?
When it was my turn to keep the girls busy, a giant leaf was taken out the ‘Mark Twain book. We decided to ‘play’ “collecting the leaf”. The next you know the garden was clean and the kids wanted new gardens to explore ‘tomorrow’. For they were tired after many hours of ‘play’! #leaf #leaves #garden #kids #girls #arrangement #shoes #girlsfashion #TomSawyer #daughters #daughterdiaries #fatherdaughter #kids #parenting @parentous #MarkTwain #literature #Sundays
The girls played well!
We were at the garden. The daughter and her friends. And me. Tasked with minding the girls.
Every such task I lap up with energy. For it teaches me the journeys that I have gone through and an opportunity to gawk at the magic of creation.
Amidst the games we played, the most enjoyed one was called “Yellow Flowers”. It had no rules and no boundaries. Other than running about and picking yellow flowers.
The morning reminded me that it takes very little to be happy. A child like imagination and curiosity will get us all there.
#kids #garden #Sunday #travel #travelblogging #travelblogger
#parenting #daughter #daughters #daughterdiaries #flowers #games #simpleliving #sharing #love #joy #journeys #children (at Mumbai, India)
His board says ‘For a trip to Australia ’. He has three buckets of soap water and small paraphernalia to create bubbles in the air.
The children are ecstatic about it. The parents bring out their smiles and cameras. Which of course is ultimate indication of approval!
Standing at Trafalgar Square I train my gaze on the guy who does it all. I wonder if he will get to Australia, blowing bubbles in the air. But he has already taken scores of kids over the moon.
For that reason, I wish him well. Hope he does get to Australia.
#London #Square #Peoplewatching #Trafalgarsquare #travel #traveldiaries #UK #travelblogger #travelblogging #love
#England #children #kids (at Trafalgar Square,City of Westminster,UK)
