Aaruhi

"I am six years old!", said the tiny girl we met at the park. After a moment, she "corrected" herself by saying, "No I am ONE year old!". Her name was Aaruhi. She was adorable with her little pony-tail bobbing up and down as she skipped and jumped around in the park. Neil seemed to get along very well with her - at the park, this was rare.

After that, for about 20 mins Neil and Aaruhi played together. She would call me while climbing on some slides, "Aunty, mujhe pakkal-lo naa!". I asked her who she had come with and she pointed to her father who was reading a newspaper on a bench, absolutely oblivious of what his little girl was up to. I realized I was the only panicky parent in the park who was running beneath the maze of slides to track the pitter-patter of Neil's little feet. If I was allowed to climb up on it, I would have happily done so and followed him around too. 

As I was helping Neil climb one of the slides, we suddenly saw our little new friend strutting hurriedly towards her Dad's scooter with him. Within seconds, she sat on it and zoomed away - without as much a goodbye glance at us. 

When Neil realized she was going home, big fat tears started rolling down his face. He kept asking me to bring her back. I felt very helpless. I did my best to console him, but nothing seemed to help. 

Being with his grandparents that weekend seemed to help Neil get over his sadness. But the next weekend, he asked me about 'Aaruhi-didi' again. We went to the park, but she wasn't there. He was sad, but seemed to be better this time.

My little boy is a big, throbbing, walking-talking heart. With some people he gets along very well and seems to make long-lasting relationships. In the real world, I will struggle to explain to him how things work -

We live in a very dynamic world today. People come and go. They move schools, cities, countries, continents all the time.

With some people, you will make long-lasting, meaningful friendships. But sometimes you have to let them go. It is hard, but that's how it is. Some may not realize the impact they've had on you and may simply walk off. You need to let them go, happily. But when you are the one to leave, don't leave things unsaid. Say your good-byes graciously, sometimes with tears and warm hugs.

With some people, when u meet them again, nothing seems to have changed and you can pick up where you left off. With others, they are in a different time and world, changed completely due to experiences in life. All you can do is, live in the moment and hold on to the memories, experiences and the good times you share.. :)