I love picking up Tara after work. Since Agam’s office was so close to Tara’s school, we got into the routine of him doing pick up and drop off duties for a long time. With his new gig in Palo Alto, I am back to my pick up duties, and frankly, loving it.

I look forward to the end of the day and my play time with Tara and her friends. She comes running into my arms, and so do the others. And they are so adorable. Always hungry for so much love and affection.

Today we played a silly pretend game that turned into a beautiful human chain, and a lot of giggles. Tara’s friend Alba wanted me to play with them at the slides, so I indulged them. And then she said, “let’s go to pump it up”. I played along, and agreed. So hand in hand, Alba and I started walking across the play ground saying we are going to Pump it Up. And the kids started to notice. Tara heard us too, and she came running and asked if she can join, so we agreed. With me in the middle and Tara and Alba on my side, we started singing, we are going to pump it up. What happened then was the most adorable sequence of events.

One after the other, the kids started to join us, and we formed a human chain. There were 17 of us. We counted out loud, and then closed our circle. The kids were ecstatic to have come together in a circle. We did some rounds, and then decided to play “ring around the rosies, pocket full of posies.” And then we giggled and giggled and acted to fall down. The chain broke, and Tara and I ran for the door, and waived goodbyes to our companions.

The episode was a hit with the teachers and the kids. And we had a lot of fun bringing all the kids together for a fun activity.

Tara and I giggled our way through the corridors, and drove back home. When we were getting our bags out of the car, Tara said, “You love my friends. Don’t you?”. I said, “Of course. They are as adorable as you are.” She said, “when I was a baby, I did not like it when you played with them. But now I do. I think you are cool.”

Hahahah, my little girl is not a baby anymore. And it is so cool that she thinks that I am cool. Now I need to keep working on my coolness 😉

I feel like I live to bring people together. It is like my secret mission. It is what I seek, in my relationships, at home and at work, with my friends, and Tara’s friends. It’s that simple.

I struggle with the notion of people drawing lines amongst themselves. May be the day I stop struggling with this, I will stop doing justice to my mission. May be this struggle is one worth living with.