At 4 years of age, her interest in boys was amusing and disturbing at the same time. Looking around, I noticed there were enough males to keep any woman happy for a long, long time. What exactly did she mean?
Realizing that she hadn’t quite got through to me, she explained, “Look, Papa, there are so many sea-girls (seagulls!) flying about. Where are the sea-boys?”
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived a small boy called Sir Isaac Newton. He was a rather naughty boy - a pain in the neck. One day, he expressed a desire to go out and play in the meadows. His parents were elated at the idea - after dancing a jig, they cut him loose.
Out in the meadows, Sir Isaac Newton was up to no good. He troubled the cows and the sheep that were grazing peacefully. He pulled out blades of grass. He chased the butterflies. He threw stones at the trees. He was being very pesky indeed.
After a while, tired of his misdeeds, he settled down under an apple tree to rest. The birds, bees, cows, sheep, butterflies… all heaved a sigh of relief. By now, however, Mother Nature was fuming. She summoned her trusted aide, Gravity, and instructed him to teach the boy a lesson.
Gravity came down to Earth, and found Sir Isaac Newton sitting under a tree, reading a book titled “How to be a Pain - An Advanced Course”. Not wanting to tangle with the brat directly, Gravity lodged himself on a branch high up in the tree to decide the future course of action. Now, li’l Isaac noticed Gravity perched high up on the tree, and decided to have some fun. He picked up an apple lying close by and chucked it at Gravity. Gravity deftly caught it and tossed it right back. The apple hit Isaac on the head, and knocked some sense into the boy.
This incident left a scar on Sir Isaac Newton’s mind for the rest of his life. In fact, he got so obsessed by it that he went on to become a great scientist, formulating the laws of gravity.
In short, Sir Isaac Newton was conked on the head with an apple by Gravity.
Lessons learned:
1. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
2. What goes up, must come down. (Reason: If you toss something up in the air, an invisible force, namely Gravity, catches it and throws it back at you.)
That’s how my daughter likes it. Well, at least she’s learning!
Parenthood takes you back to “those days” - of green grass and blue skies (as denoted by the default Win XP background)! Watching my 4–yr old bloom into a brat, makes me relive my childhood. Her absurd sense of logic, her weird questions, take me back to my childhood, when I would think that wind was created when all the trees in the world started fanning us!
Being with children requires one to have a vivid imagination – to be a part of their lives. You just can’t be a parent. You’ve got to be a friend first, then a parent.
I love being a friend and father to my li’l angel – we’re on our way to “Finding Neverland”!
