In search of my lost childhood. #writebravely

Posted on by writershilpa

The park looked deserted, save for a couple of kids playing on the jungle gym. I made my way to the swing and  sat on its faded, red, plastic seat, gingerly.  Holding the thick  rusty chains of the swing, I gave myself a slight push and the swing began swaying, back and fro.  And, just like that, the moment whisked  me back to many years ago, when the park was my favourite place in the whole world.

I remembered those mornings, from eons ago, when I would slip out of the house in my school uniform and head for the park.  When I would stand on the swing and sway as high as I could, to feel the wind in my hair, and that glorious exhilaration of almost flying like a bird. When mother would come looking for me at the park and berate me for being such an irresponsible little girl. When I would leave the swing dejectedly to go home and head for school. When school was really not my favourite place in the whole world.

I looked around me and took in the changes the park had undergone in all these years. There were a lot more trees around, and the park  seemed to be well taken care of. But, the warmth and the love the place exuded was still the same. Untouched by time. The realisation  warmed me and I felt like a little girl, all over again.

I pushed myself a bit more now and the swing began swaying higher. I stretched my legs in front of me, and holding the chains tighter now, leaned back and turned my face skywards. A little patch of the light blue sky peeped through the canopy of lush green trees. And, in that little blue patch I saw a swarm of dragonflies hovering above me, as if wondering who this new visitor might be!

I felt caught in a moment I did not want to end. A moment from the past when life was all about playing in the park even after the sun had long set; about friends who made promises of being together forever; about studies that were most hated and yet not a burden, but mostly about laughter, happiness, joy – unbridled joy.

I stayed  on the swing long after it had stopped swaying. The sun had touched the horizon and was biding adieu for the day. The weather had turned muggy and the dainty dragonflies had now been replaced by the humming mosquitoes. I looked around me at the now deserted park and felt myself unable to move. Was I really unable to move, or was it that I just did not want to  move?

Why, oh why, did I have to leave this place, this moment,  and go back to the adult world where I did not have any such place that was my most favourite place in the whole world? Yes, I did have my home – my cocoon – but then, why did I feel so safe here, in the deserted park, with not a soul around?

Maybe it was the memories the park held, the sound of laughter that still echoed there even after all these years, the carefree atmosphere it held within its bosom – that was what seemed to keep me rooted to the spot. That was what I most yearned for in my present life – the warmth, the coziness, the pure innocence of childhood. All of it that had gotten lost along with time. All of it that, despite being in the present, was not really the same.

No wonder then that it’s called the most precious period of life –  Childhood. Once it’s gone, it’s gone, never to return. However much ‘young at heart’ one stays, it is not  what it used to be!

Do you miss your childhood? Where do you look for it? Do share with me, I would love to know!

Hugs!

Love,

SHILPA.

 

The golden period of our life--CHILDHOOD

Linking this post to The WriteTribe ProBlogger October 2017 Blogging Challenge.

#writebravely  #writetribeproblogger

Write Tribe

 

Published by writershilpa

Writing and art are a panacea for my restless Geminian nerves. Blogging gives me peace in the chaos called Life, and art helps me distract my wandering mind. An obsession with healthy eating and fitness led me to create this health and wellness blog. Apart from health posts, you will also find my artwork and my experiments with words here, at Metanoia. My writing companions--my pets--offer me precious insights into Life and are a constant source of inspiration to me! So, do get comfy, grab a cup of coffee and enjoy your visit. Your presence here means a lot to me, you know?

41 thoughts on “In search of my lost childhood. #writebravely”

  2. Shilpa, a post full of innocent childhood memories! You have asked a pertinent question and the answer to which differs from person to person. I loved my childhood and enjoyed the times spent playing in a carefree and happy manner, unconcerned with the stress and tension of the grown ups 🙂 I relived it all with my kids and my special baby, Sparky. Now I have the memories in my heart that keep me happy whenever I go down the memory lane. Wish you a Happy Diwali and a prosperous New Year.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Those were the days, Sulekha!
      Although we can never go back to that time, we all can hold on to those memories, keep them close to our heart and feel their warmth and their love! 🙂
      WIsh you too a very happy Diwali and a prosperous New Year! ❤

      Like

  5. Childhood nostalgia is wonderful. I loved the way you have transported us all back in time with your words. All of us have some such memories from childhood that makes we hold on to all our lives.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. We didn’t have park in my childhood near our home. But i remember going to my friend’s home and playing a lot of games. I never miss it but i love to meey my childhood friends sometimes.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Hard to answer that. I miss some parts of my childhood but not all. I miss those friends, the innocent conversations, the life free of stress but some part is also painful and long gone. I want to keep the good memories alive.
    What a gorgeous post, Shilpa!

    Like

  13. Unbridled joy – when did I last feel that, I cant honestly remember. I could feel the ache of your desire to be not an adult anymore but be transported back into time to a time when responsibilities were frivolous and you were carefree! Lovely post about yearning for your childhood Shilps! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  14. Brilliant! Yes, childhood, indeed is the best time of our lives. And we all look for it, albeit futilely, in different places. For me, it is in the books, the act of reading. Loved the way you have so beautifully expressed this piece.

    Liked by 1 person

  15. Childhood is lovely and memories of childhood are precious treasure. I had a favourite corner in the balcony with a huge planter that had a jasmine creeper. I spent many hours playing there….Enjoyed you post and thanks for a trip down the memory lane…

    Liked by 1 person

  17. Childhood joys are such! I think we didn’t give much care to what others think resulting in unstoppable joy. But now for every little thing we think twice preventing us from enjoying to the fullest. Your words took me to a happy place, Shilpa. You write with such clarity, I’m loving every bit of it. ❤

    Liked by 1 person

  18. Something similar happened with us in a park by the beach in the US…we were taken back to the days we enjoyed the swings. Alas, those were so enjoyable days…it just feels a bit different now even at the place we frequented then.

    Happy to know you still felt the same ☺️

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Alok, it’s little things such as these that bring back those golden memories, making us realise how time has flown by, how we took it all for granted back then and how we sorely miss it all today when we can’t turn around and go back to that time.

      Liked by 1 person

  19. I enjoyed reading about your favourite patch during your puerility, too, Nupur! Words such(a) as these constitute me feel contented, especially when they come in from one of my fav writers, like YOU!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. We all do. Marriage changes the person we were to someone we might not really like being. But, that’s life, isn’t it? But, we can always visit those memories, or those places from our childhood/youth that brought us boundless joy and enjoy a few moments of respite.

      Like

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Google photo

You are commenting using your Google account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.