An Evening At The Park

Some days there is a lot of difference between the morning and the afternoon. 

That particular morning, everything had worked out smoothly. Feeling encouraged, I decided to try a new recipe for evening snacks. I experimented with vada made of poha (flattened rice) and gram flour. It took a lot of time to prepare it.

Wonder of wonders, the kid didn't like it. So I had to prepare another snack for the kid. As per my newfound plan to prep for meals, I decided to prep for dinner too since I had to take the kid for his football-coaching in the evening. The multiple snacks and the meal prep for dinner turned out to be chaotic. 

To add to my woes, the lane leading to the football turf was blocked. I and the kid had to walk to the ground. 

There is a park opposite to the turf. I usually spend the evening there, walking for a while and listening to songs or inspiring speeches. That day I was in no mood for either and decided to sit on a bench. The park resonated with the sounds of kids playing on the slides. I looked at them, feeling marginally better.

There is a large group of adults, possibly from the same building, who play badminton in the park. There isn't much ground to play, so they make teams of 4 or 5 on each side and play happily, laughing and having the time of their lives. I looked at the group having fun and gradually my mood improved. 

Have you spent an evening in the park? If you haven't, I highly recommend it. Most of the times, that is the only mood-booster you will need. Sitting on the bench under a tree and listening to sounds not just human but also of birds and other insects that chirp loudly to signal the end of another day, all the struggles of the day disappeared from my mind and I felt at peace.

The kid had asked me to watch his game. Given the sour mood I was in, I had given a non-comital reply to him at that time. Frankly, sports are no longer my thing and it is getting difficult day by day to feign any interest or pretend to like things that I no longer do. But the kid's disappointed look kept flashing in my mind. When there were ten minutes left for his game, I went and stood by the gate of the turf, surprising him with my presence. The bright smile he gave was reward enough!

Sometimes, that's all we need to better our days - an evening out in the park, sitting under a bench and listening to the cacophony of sounds, and surprising our kids and watching them smile.