Connecting with nature or self?

"आई थांब, तुझ्यासाठी काहीतरी बनवतो मी".

Mom, let me make you a cool summer drink.

After returning from school today, he chirpily offered to do something for me. These moments are rare and don't see the light of day often, so before his mood changed, I happily told him to go ahead. 

 

From mid-June on, the serious business of learning, studies, and exams is over, and now it's just some or other activities at school where kids can relax and enjoy the time waiting for summer vacations. As an Indian parent, I can never get comfortable with T's attitude towards school and learning in general, but I am also learning as a parent, and I try to accept the German school system and try to see something good in it. Side-effects of learning the Bhagwad Geeta. 

 

I went to the kitchen and asked him the exact location of a few things he needed to make the drink. I told him where the lemons and the mint leaves were, and within no time, he filled up my new bottle and offered it to me at my workplace at home. It was cool, refreshing, and minty, just ideal for a hot afternoon. Flaunting my new water bottle and sipping at the drink, I thought to myself.

This boy is a food connoisseur and often wants to experiment in the kitchen. He knows very well which ingredients to put in what dish. He often cooks his favourite paneer recipe or signature egg fried rice recipe, and I look at him in wonder. 12 years flew away so quickly. He is on the threshold of adolescence, and there are periods when he acts very mature and sometimes as obstinate as a mule. But that's life; that's how kids grow. It's amusing to see him with his friends watching some football matches. Rather than watching what is happening on the field, these boys are busy commenting as experts on the players who are playing on the field. I make the most of the time with him, as I know that in a few years, this is all going to change. How much this boy has grown. It's tough to be a parent nowadays, always trying to balance it out. Whether to be strict or friendly, is always the question. He will spread his wings and I hope to give him good memories of the time we spent together to build a life of his own.

 

The other day, I was sitting on the couch in the evening after finishing my chores, and he called me out, Aai, come with me now! I asked him where we were going, and he said, Just come; don't ask. I accompanied him, and we went out to the common passage, and he called for the lift. I thought he wanted to go out for a walk, which is a rare occurrence, so he pressed the button, but for the 14th floor. We went to the last floor of the building where we stay, and I was spellbound. The sun was just about to set, and it had kissed the skies, and the skies had turned pink and purple. I didn't know what to say. We both stood there in silence, observing nature and the landscape from the 14th floor. It was still, and it was a goodbye from the sun, promising the skies to be there tomorrow again. The trees were quiet, and the roads were quiet. There was a vehicle or two on the roads. Far away, we could see the dome of a local church; on the other side, there were mountains. We stood there for around 15 minutes, observing and soaking up everything. These photos don't do justice to what our eyes saw, but just for you all to get an idea of it, attaching a photo and a video.

 

He often observes the skies, just like I do. When he was a small kid, I often talked to him about stars, the moon, and the different hues of the skies, and he has picked that up very well. On full-moon nights  or on bright nights, he likes to observe the position of different stars. Sunrise and sunsets are also his favourite peeves. On that day, probably he saw the skies from the living room and took me up to have a better view of them.  felt really very happy. Moments like these should be cherised forever. 

In the world of screen attachment, this attachment to nature is good, and it will definitely help him to feel grounded in the future in times of stress and uncertainty. Nature helps us to connect with self and we should steal moments like these to retune and reconnect.