INNOCENCE

She shouted "Untul, you chaid you will take me to Choprite to buy Ite-tream but you lun away". Lacking what to say, I promised her that when I get back from work, I'll take her and her friends for the Ice-cream I promised on Sunday. That was not the only time my neighbor's daughter, who I call my baby is reminding me of "promises" I've made (usually to make her do what her mum wants her to do or to make her stop crying), I initially thought she will not remember but the first day she gave me back my words verbatim was the day I knew not to promise a kid anything, under whatever circumstance, if you have no plans of fulfilling. So I took her to the mall and the first thing she went for was the ice-cream and as if she knew the shelf where biscuits and other confectioneries were, she went straight there, pointed at the once she wanted and I picked them. On getting home, she called all her friends around and shared the biscuits but not the ice-cream. 

Let me tell you the best part of having Tabitha around, I get a daily update as per who did what, to whom and how, both in school and at home everyday I get back home and she is still awake, so in a way, I know everything that happened during the day while I was away, in details. Can you beat my CCTV camera and recorder? I bet not. The first report is always about "my mummy beat me here (as she points the place)" and I think she does that because I always say, "I will go and fight her, why will she beat my baby? What did my baby do to her?", well, you know the answer to that-"nothing". Then the next news will be about her friend and neighbor who did something to her and who I should not give sweets, biscuits or ice-cream. All that will end when I say okay I will not but give it two minutes and she will include the same kids on her list of those to share her goodies with when I buy them for her, she will even insist we take them along when we are going to buy the goodies. Did I tell you she never accepts that she was the one who littered the room with the biscuit crumbs or sweet wrappers? Now you know. Sometimes its me, the one who did not eat or even share in the goody that did it, even when its just the two of us there. How awesome right?

I am always in awe of how kids think and do things. Simple, easy, forgiving, forgetting, moving on, factual, honest and pure. She always makes me want to get married asap and have a child (I'll like my first child to be a girl by the way) especially the thoughts she leaves behind every time we finish talking, I wonder how she thinks, what makes her say or do some things and I often wish adults can imbibe and practice same, especially the forgiving and forgetting part. Amazingly it does not just make our world a better place but also makes the gives a life free or worries, fears, pains and regrets. Like the song by Enigma, it is high time we "return to innocence".

A wise man once said "never neglect the company of two people, the old for wisdom and the kid for innocence". No wonder being like a child is one of the criterion for entering the kingdom of God, in fact "except ye be converted , and become as little children, ye shall not enter the kingdom of heaven". That sounds like the only password or ticket for heaven to me. 

Photo Credits: Isaac Great and Google Images