Giggles

I was hiding under the bed and had folded my body into as small a ball like structure as small as my stiff joints could permit. I peeped out to find the small frame of my nine month old daughter dragging herself towards the bed. She stopped for a while and then looked around not sure if she could find me. Next she picked up speed once more and with all her energy let out a squeal in delight as she found me hiding!

‘Taa’ I said looking at her while the house reverberated with her giggles as I crawled out of my hideout. Every other day, this was the routine for me to indulge in new antics to amuse my young one! One day, I would hide behind the curtains when she would desperately look for me, as I switched my positions behind the curtains to avoid detection. This would continue till she got tired! It was difficult to find new tricks each day to amuse her but every possible place in the house would serve as a hideout like the store room, the big door on the verandah, even the huge cupboard and sometimes the bedcover laid out on the bed.  It was a never ending fun and now the memories of that lovely time run like a movie in the mind. The moments of childhood times are perhaps the best time in one’s life though my firm belief is that every moment is worth living as it come!

During that time I was posted in Goa and our house overlooked the sea. Down the flight of a rocky terrain was a pristine beach which had almost no visitors, due to its location in the restricted area and inaccessibility from elsewhere except the sea route! Hours of fun playing on the beach, taking a swim while delicately holding the young one lest she slipped through my nimble fingers were moments that can never be forgotten. We would carry her change, feed, and some soft toys as any of them could be required on the need of the hour.

Those days diapers and huggies were not easily available and some foreign brands were available in some premium stores at a hefty price. So most often we would use homemade diapers stitched by the doting grandma! Each change involved meticulous cleaning and hygiene standard that my wife had laid out to ensure that baby rashes etc do not occur. Now with changing times many options are available to the young parents and companies fall head over heels in advertising their products elaborating their effectiveness and utility. ‘Pampers’ the well known brand a market leader enjoys the market leadership for the quality product that it delivers(http://www.rewardme.in/tag/Pampers.)