Childhood on the swings

 had Just finished raining,  as I peered out of the window the mist in the air hit me like a delicate splash of water. The sun had broken through the sky. The view was stupendous - the leaves on the trees and shrubs, the grass, the flowers were as if just been freshly spa-ed and dusted with golden sprinkle from the sun, swaying gently to the lazy winds- absolutely magical. The lazy winds rustling through the leaves creating a whistling sound here and then. Some  lonesome Clouds, busy  playing hide and seek with the sun . 

As I made way to the nearby park a squirrel 🐿️ sauntered on to the path and on seeing me instead of ferreting away stood up on its two hind legs and joined it's two forelegs ...as if in Namaste...even the squirrels were aware of the covid ....and were keeping safe!! ...WOW. The squirrel did not move away and I resumed my walk to the parc.

 Being a Sunday the park had a  distinct be chitter and chatter occasionally submerged by gutsy cries, sharp squeals and loud boisterous laughter of the young children  and adults. The atmosphere was infectious ! Smiling I sauntered on, a seagull flew by startling  me  and perched itself on the bar of  the swings. All the swings were occupied but One , was still in motion as if beckoning me...

 Something stirred in me, you guessed it right !!...my childhood memories which were embedded deep into the recesses of time were awakened. Hesitatingly I looked...No adult was on the swing. I was finding even the urge, the thought of swinging ridiculous, let alone do it. I realised😲...hadn't been on the swings for the last  4 decades. Life had been swinging me to its own tunes...which more or less I had loved  it all ...barring some dissonant notes!!! Social conditioning was coming to the fore, forbidding me to  swing...I arrested my thought and jerked it back to... why not attitude!!!

Now I had the chance to relive my childhood   leftover desire to my heart's fill !  In the childhood, I used to swing wildly - building up momentum until the swing would reach upto the bar - height. Once on such day, I slipped and fell,that too near a shrub and a thorn peirced my palm. Didn't realise ad the whole body had been jolted was in pain. Nature has a very innocuous ways of getting back!! Tha palm swell upand the thorn eventually had to be extricated after a small surgery...what days they were!!🥳without a care...

I took a deep breath and stepped on to  the swing area- strewn with small wood-filings to avoid slush and slipperyness. I sat on the swing, and  as  I pushed the ground and swayed forward the cool wind caressed my face. The fiesty side of me took over... I removed the clutcher from my hair to let the wind through. I build the momentum of the swing  feeling the wind on my face and hair while going up and downwards. I continued to swing as much as my stamina allowed, dismally to just a few feet of  height😔. At this age 😉I certainly didn't want to take the risk of falling and testing my skeletal health ...but nevertheless it was exhilarating😌

It was quite some time before I got down as the sun was setting to light up the other side of the world. The sky was full of flocks of seagulls, sparrows and crows were flying back...so did I, homewards...