A king was born today

OK, tomorrow but the title so aptly fits otherwise and I am so eager to share this with all of you!
Disclaimer: Souls who like to call themselves mature and grownups in this matter might not like this post. Proceed at your own risk! I can't stop laughing, its so much fun to put these legal sounding text! Hey you are still reading? Welcome to the birthday club!
I love birthdays, any one's birthday provided I know them. Sometimes I am more excited than the birthday person. But I must say of all the people I know , I am most excited on dear husband's birthday, way more excited than he is and much more excited than I am on my birthday. Gratitude for all he keeps doing for us just permeates me and I feel like bringing the world down to him. I keep thanking my MIL in my heart on his birthday for giving birth to such a winsome soul. He is a simple man who loves humor, so easy to please and is a joy to be with. He is an adventurous foodie who can try out anything. Once at a corporate dinner at a Belgian Restaurant, after browsing through the menu he realized there was nothing vegetarian! He asked the waitress if they have any chicken dish coz that's one thing he can manage, she said I will check and what came to the table was rabbit as that was the meat they had which could closely match the flavor of chicken. And this man of mine ate it, loathed every bite but still came back home smiling! I am so glad I wasn't with him at that dinner, that would have been a sure shot way of losing the smile! Food makes me happy and boy can it make me upset!
Tomorrow is his birthday and I know even if I cook a rabbit or for that matter nothing, he will say he had a wonderful day. This post goes out to my husband to say Thank you for being who you are. We are so excited to celebrate him, we started the party one day early. Here's what we had on the preview day.
His favorite Banana Bread.
















A fruity summer salad for his office lunch. This is an easy breezy no cooking involved dish. One small can of each kidney beans and garbanzo beans. Cut the fruits of your choice or whatever you have in the fridge. I raided the fridge and found pear, apricot, plum, radish and crunchy cukes. Chop all the produce and mix with the beans. For the spicy twist I added red hot pepper relish and we ended up really loving it. Sprinkle dried mint for that fresh summery flavor, add salt as per your taste and squeeze juice of half a lemon. I also added chat masala for that tangy Indian kick. It was a hit with everyone including our preschooler who is turning into this girl who boosts her ego with spicy tangy food. See, I am not a baby, I can eat spicy!


















And Besan Ladoo to welcome him back home from work to kick off the birthday eve. Happy Birthday!



















Who ate that one ladoo from the bowl? Looks like the party has started, see you later!

Lost Wisdom

Two days back someone tied my hands and legs, drugged me and robbed my wisdom! I have lost it forever and can never get it back. My family has been very supportive while I recuperate. No one is filing a report or anything though. Well, well, well, I had my wisdom tooth extraction, as some of you might have guessed by now. I took the general anesthesia route and all I remember is the surgeon telling me, “You will feel a little needle pinch here on the arm and then some tingling sensation in your legs” and then, what felt like a moment later, I was in the recovery room with someone showing my husband how to stuff my mouth with gauze and words like noodle, soft, cold were ringing in my ears. And then I opened my eyes and saw my husband's ever pleasing face admiring me. Well that was it! No pain but I am still dizzy with the anesthesia. Lost wisdom is the reason for lack of posts on the blog. Hoping to be in action soon though!
Is your wisdom intact?

World Savvy

Mom: Hey, you are looking very pretty in this dress.

Preschooler: Oh, you like it Mamma?

Mom: Yes, I love it!

Preschooler: You said that yesterday also. Mamma when I grow up and you become small, you can have all my dresses and look pretty in them.

It seems so funny that she thinks I am moving towards becoming small but I guess in a succinct period of three and a half years she has become savvy enough to perceive that everyone in the world is trying to become what he/she is not.

Hop On Pop

Two weeks back while dad was busy finding running shorts; the preschooler and me were in the books section of a small department store. Can we buy this one, let me see, errr, no. Can we buy this one, see it has princess on it! Please?No Honey, we buy a book which is fun to read and not because it has a picture of a Princess with perfect blond hair and practically no waist! I have an aversion towards these Disney princesses that are being thrown at my girl everywhere we go. They are nowhere close to the reality she is facing everyday. The fictional world of kid’s television exasperates me to the brink. Dora's backpack talking to her, girl going into the coloring book; What are we trying to achieve by pulling the young intelligent human mind away from the factual world? Some argue it's all fun. What fun could it be when you are trying to make your way through the maze and every so often are presented by these phantoms which befuddle your path? Many of us think that kids love to pretend and I beg to differ. They seem to be enjoying the pretend work, for lack of trust and responsibility vested in them, that's the only way for them to be like us. Try giving them age appropriate real work like making lemonade in a real kitchen or pretending to make lemonade with all the fancy toys and your doubts will be cleared! A make believe world which children create themselves where they let their imagination run wild and change roles every day helps them understand the world around them but the Disney or Nickelodeon super imposed fantasy world doesn't do more than creating confusions. Oh well, sometimes venting is good for health. Getting back to the books, after rummaging through about 10 - 15 books, we hopped on pop, oh not on the one who was looking for running shorts rather we spotted the book Dr.Suess's "Hop on Pop” for the youngest readers. All I have to say is if you have a preschooler at home GO, Grab this one! It's a perfect companion for those who are on the threshold of reading. The rhyming phrases are hilarious like "Three fish in tree / Fish in tree? / How can that be?" The reader not only learns words but also gets introduced to the enjoyment that only reading can bring. Last night our daughter read more than half the book all by her self! The exuberant expression on her face and the twinkle in the eyes was priceless and invincible.

Follow the child

Children are human beings to whom respect is due, superior to us by reason of their innocence and of the greater possibilities of their future - Maria Montessori

I consider parenting a perpetual challenge. Its as if you are in a hurdle race and for crossing one, you are rewarded by another. We spent last few months, yes it took months, deciding on the kind of school we want our daughter to attend. And we are thrilled for our preschooler who will be joining a great Montessori School in the area this fall. How did we decide we want to take this route? For starters, I have been a Montessori trained teacher and believe it works wonders in flowering little ones potential. The method doesn't claim to make your child a genius, no one can do that. The central idea of the theory is to give each individual the chance to become an independent, secure and balanced human being. Children are exposed to variety of material that facilitate learning but aren't forced to learn. The teacher's role in a Montessori classroom is of an active observer who would only step in if help is needed. The teacher doesn't control the class rather the choices are only limited by the available material in the environment. The program is designed to allow development at one's own pace. I was such a slow learner in math and the fastest in other areas but no one in school allowed me to spend that much needed extra time to understand the mathematical formulas. The teacher just kept on moving forward because she had to complete the syllabus. I hated math throughout school. It seems such a no-brainer that how can one expect a similar pace of learning when there are 30 individuals in a class! Montessori respects individual differences and the environment provides children with an ability to work at their own pace in an unhurried and unstressed way. Dr Maria says "Education is a natural process carried out by the child and is not acquired by listening to words but by experiences in the environment". When we toured the school, the whole time I kept on thinking that how lucky our daughter would be if she gets to spend time in such a beautiful environment and how I wished if I could go to school all over again!

Space is the limit?

Current profession: Astronaut
Current Vehicle: Blue Shiny Space Rocket.
Targeted destination: Moon
Mission: Step on the moon and take pictures
Potential qualified passengers: Ms. E (teacher), Dear M (best friend) and Mom & Dad.
Current status of the project: Tickets under production
How much would it cost per passenger: $2 (still under review)

Sky is not the limit

It was one of those days when answer to everything is a no, a big fat NO. The preschooler loathed being inside the house but didn’t want to go outside. Every proposition brought to the table was rejected even before I could finish putting it forward.It reminded me of that Municipal Committee in India that used to patrol the illegally setup sidewalk shops. With duly paid bribes the vendors would be doing business peacefully and then with a newly appointed senior person who wants to put up a power show of his newly acquired muscle, there would be an uproar “Committee is here, committee is here”, clothes meant to be sold would be snatched away, vegetables would be filled up in committee’s van to be distributed later among the members. All the cries of already paid ‘dues’ would fall on deaf ears and in matter of minutes the sidewalks bursting with business would go back to being just plain barren sidewalks! Each and every suggestion in my portfolio got ditched and I was back to being a precarious sidewalk vendor who was robbed off his brisk business, that of being a cool mom who can think of solutions to every problem and bring cheer to the grumpiest face. Thwarted and pondering over the next course of action I looked outside the window at the sky and diligently yearned for a silver lining in the clouds. And there it was, shining down upon us. “Hey Mamma, what are you doing?” “Nothing, I am just looking at the sky” “Are you finding something in the sky?” Ahem, the fish seems enticed by the bait this time! “I am trying to find but all I see is clouds and nothing else” “Oh, do you need help? I am a helpful girl, I can help you find something in the sky”. Bingo!!

“Mamma look, there’s a turtle in the sky!”
















“And see, a Lion roaring up there Mamma!”
















“Hey I see a Sea Horse also!”
















“Oh my, a crocodile, I am scared mamma!”
















“Hey look, there even a train engine there, with seats for two people and steam coming out!”




















Mamma, what an interesting place the sky is! That was so much fun. And just like the perseverant sidewalk vendors, I too, was back in business!

Thousand words

Sometimes letting the pictures do all the talking makes much more sense because I cannot compete with the "thousand words", so here we go!
Oh Well, you really thought I would let it go at that? I possibly can't miss an opportunity to blab about how much fun my preschooler is becoming to be with everyday. After sorting and folding all her laundry, she took it to the bedroom and made sure that each and every category of clothes go in their appropriate drawers in the cabinet. And she is so much like me in the sense that she kept on reminding me what a good job she is doing growing up! We both love to boost our egos. You go girl!!
LAUNDRY DAY

Brilliantly smashing

Writing a recipe isn’t my thing. My husband relishes my cooking and whenever he tastes something that turns out extra ordinarily delicious he would request me to write the recipe down so I can make it exactly like that the next time. Alas! It’s too late by then because I never measure my ingredients but just eyeball them. This habit also puts me in uncomfortable situations when friends ask me for recipes. Most of my steps include the phrase “andaze se” (that’s Hindi for eyeballing), they might think I am not sharing!! Another person I know who can relate to this is my dear mum-in-law. As I posted elsewhere also, she is a fabulous cook but in situations where she is asked the recipe, which are many, she starts laughing! Once on my trip to India, we both were in the kitchen together making brunch for a family who came down to meet us. After tasting the food cooked with team effort, the visitors got interested and started asking questions that could reveal the quantity that lead to that particular taste she was enjoying. Both of us dumb founded, kept on looking at each other and were feeling like two frauds in a bollywood movie that were pretending to be chefs. Thankfully, she was right there when we were cooking or we would have been declared a team of mountebanks!
Though writing a recipe isn’t my thing yet but if I am given one I follow it well, tweaking here and there of course! Few days back I found a recipe in the blogosphere (Meera’s Enjoy Indian Food) that reminded me of my mum-in-law. The main ingredient in that was Kundru or Tendli as its called in some regions of India. I was introduced to this vegetable by my ma-in-law and right away fell in love with it. I am writing it down as a salute to her, the brialliant chef who never hesitated to share any of her kitchen secrets with me. Mamma, this one is for you. Konkani style kundru, The Smashing Kundrus! I have omitted the garlic because my ma literally hates them.


Ingredients
1. Kundru – About 250 gms
2. Tamarind paste – 1 and half cups
3. Red Chili Powder – 2 teaspoons
4. Salt – as per your taste J
5. Oil – One tablespoon
.
Don’t grab that knife because this recipe calls for smashing them with a pestle or rolling pin! Don’t attempt this if you are angry with someone or your whole kitchen will be a victim with seeds flying everywhere. Once you are done having smashing fun, heat oil in a wok, throw in the smashed up kundrus and in few minutes put in the tamarind paste along with red chili powder. Now, cover it and let it cook for good 20-25 minutes at low heat while stirring few times in between. At the end, put the salt in as per your taste. And there you have the smashed up smashing kundrus which are bursting with flavor. This can be eaten on the side with dal rice, kichadi or like a pickle or when ever you fancy it! I hope you like it.

Bygone Pleasures

Spending zestful days with my preschooler energizes me, helps me take a fresh perspective and breaks the mundane adult thinking pattern. But many a times, it simply exhausts me. Not meaning to be disrespectful to all the preschoolers out there but every mom needs to get back to her prosaic way of thinking. She longs for her humdrum world that includes lackluster adults who have lost their capability of getting excited at everything they see. She craves to be with someone who can celebrate just her. And of all the heartbreakers my dear preschoolers, here’s the biggest jolt: She sometimes needs to be alone!! Boy oh boy, did I just say that? Whenever my daughter hears this, she takes it way too personally. She would keep on hovering around me with a courtesy smile and would say ‘I love you’ every two seconds. “Why do you need a break? Why can’t I come with you? I will always take you with me. I am a nice person. I don’t want to be quiet. I love talking to you”. To avoid all this drama, I use her naptime as my “Me Time”. Not that I can go anywhere but I really look forward to it. I can do anything I want and not be answerable. I also cater to sinful food cravings at this time which otherwise are left alone for fear of setting the wrong precedent. It’s a jolly good non-parenting time. But after many days of lingering hope when I was trying to fight with the inevitable, today I have come to the terms with the fact that my beloved naptime is over forever. This is my tribute post to ‘the nap’ that provided me the much needed seclusion and escape. You will be missed.

Palatable Pleasures

Chop chop, sauté sauté, stir and mix, shallow and deep-fry, let it steam! It’s so exciting to be in the kitchen and cooking food for people who eat no matter how it tastes and don’t share the bad reviews with anyone. For me, cooking for company is a pleasure but its not the case when I have to cook with company. I am a control freak in the kitchen, it pains me when someone else goes and stirs that pot on the stove. And one of the pleasures of living in United States is you get to do everything, even when it’s a pain in the neck, you still got to move your, you know what! Or your husband can come to the rescue but see it becomes an irksome issue in our house. Darling husband wants to help, so when I am sick he will lovingly ask me to stay in bed while he cooks up a concoction for both of us. Though he means well, he is limited by his culinary skills. So every time he offers help, the freak in me comes alive! I am a normal person when I fancy myself lounging in the bedroom while my sweetheart makes a grand entrance with hot steaming food lined up on the bed tray. It sounds so romantic!! But when I am me, the control freak kitchen owner, all I can think of while he being in the kitchen is everything getting messy and not going back where it belongs and a much much big load of dishes as everyone knows people who hardly cook use way too many plates and dishes. So while I wait for my food to arrive, I obsess about all things going wrong downstairs. Sometimes, when I hear a drawer opening, I yell, “Please don’t take those plates out, use the ones from the left”. But don’t let me lure you into believing that I don’t like what finally comes to the table. He knows my taste right to the T. He always manages to surprise me with his drool worthy innovations. One I can’t forget was when I was so upset about not getting to eat any Indian street food here. After about 15 minutes or so, he bestowed me with the best finger licking chaat ever, no exaggerations here at all. Haldiram’s little samosas crushed, slathered with tamarind chutney, which we always have in the fridge, few drizzles of yogurt, decorated with grapes all around! Delicious!
Now keeping in perspective the kitchen control freak, fast forward to the preschooler. Her age asks her to do everything all by herself and I mean everything. And that makes the two of us. Yesterday, she asked me how long she needs to wait before she can drive to school all by herself. Oh well! Many a times, it’s hard for me to let her do things at her pace. Preschoolers have no rush, everything is an interpretation, one thing leads to the other and they are in no hurry, they will attend to whatever comes their way. Growing up is a very hard thing to do, entangled in the arduous confusion of being a big girl but not so big yet! The control freak in me is loosening out to make the knotty process a bit easy here and there. And here we have, in our new let loose kitchen, a budding new chef who makes her own sandwiches.


This chef also boasts the skills of pouring her own milk and cereal and cleaning up before leaving the kitchen.

Who is cooking in your kitchen today?

Farm Fresh

After desirously waiting for who knows how many weeks, yesterday we finally went to our neighboring town’s Farmer’s Market. The preschooler and me, both were galvanized by the thought of buying farm fresh juicy fruits and nutritive vegetables. On the way to the market we kept on talking about all the dishes that we will bring to life using the succulent strawberries: fruit smoothies, fresh plump blueberries: loaded pancakes, firm juicy tomatoes, crispy cucumbers: great munchies, crunchy carrots: stir fries and are also great when hunger attacks at non meal times, sweet peas: well I don’t love peas but any fresh produces seduces me to just bring it to the kitchen and do something about it! But what an anticlimax!! It would be a sham to call it a farmer’s market when only 3 tents are selling produce a.k.a. Lettuce but where you could buy plenty of bagels, a tiny baguette for a princely amount, syrup flavored iced tea, hand painted glasses which cost more than a case of wine, though this painting tent had something which we enjoyed, I’ll come back to that in a bit. Let’s focus on the annoyances for the moment!! My preschooler’s first words after reaching the market were “This is funny, they don’t have any fruits and vegetables mamma. What are we going to cook now!?” This let down reminded of the times when I used to go with my mum to vegetable shopping. One side of the street were the vegetable and fruit vendors and the other side house the little shops like a halwai (sweets maker), spice store, a small bangles shop from where I occasionally could score a set for being a nice girl to mom. The street was a bustling with business while the traffic went on its pace in the middle. Cows who were looking to grab a prize from the occasional inattentive shopkeeper used to give us company too! Amidst this hustle bustle, mom’s hand with a tight grip on mine made sure that her girl is safe. And here I am taking my girl to a special trip so she can see that things can be bought in fresh open air as opposed to the “climate controlled stores”. The other day she said, “When daddy’s birthday comes, I will go to a surprise store and buy a surprise for him”. Anyways, overcoming the letdown, we made up our mind to make the little outing fun with whatever it has to offer. My girl did get to taste home made applesauce that she seemed to really like. Coming back to the painting tent. The preschooler got a chance to paint a towel hook that was shaped like a sailboat.She went on and on about what a nice job she is doing :-)and it gave her the much sought after "being important" feel as people were watching her do it. Of course, what else would people do at a farmer's market where the only produce they can put their hands on is lettuce. How many leaves can one eat after all! Though it being advertised as a mini art class, no one was giving any instructions or tips,but remember we made up our mind to enjoy, so lets not fret about that! On the way back we talked about sailboats, painters and the place where we can hang the masterpiece.


As for bringing farm fresh food to the table, we made a snack using ‘Pepperidge farm’ pastry sheets,inspired by a number of food blogs.It was eaten fresh out of the oven.

Waste or Waist?

My husband has found a new love and he can do anything for it. He impatiently waits like a teenager for a tête-à-tête and then shamelessly keeps talking about it when he isn’t around it. Before our phone starts cranking with sympathetic calls from people who are secretly drooling over the idea of a scandal, let me disappoint you as its no other woman. Lets reveal the mystery, shall we? It’s Banana Bread. Yes, ladies and gentleman, this man who once was a banana lover is a convert and is now a banana bread enthusiast. Up until past week, banana was the first fruit to get finished in our house and almost every other day I could be heard saying “Could you please pick up bananas on your way back” but now people here intentionally avoid eating them and keep hinting at how over ripe bananas are getting wasted. Oh yeah, instead of wasting them lets mix them with sugar and flour and let them go to our waists!! Here follows the recipe that I found a long time back, if you are the source, please claim it:

Wet Ingredients:
1. 2 bananas, mashed
2. 1/2 cup oil (I use canola)
3. 1/4 cup buttermilk (or regular milk with 1 tsp. vinegar)
4. 1 tsp. vanilla
5. 2 eggs

Dry Ingredients:

1. 1 3/4 cup flour
2. 1 1/2 cup sugar
3. 1 tsp. baking soda
4. 1/2 tsp. salt
5. 1 cup chopped nuts and raisins





Preheat the oven to 350 F / 180 C.
Mix and stir wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl; keep aside.
Stir the dry ingredients separately in another bowl and gently fold into the wet mixture.
Generously grease a loaf pan. Pour mixture into pan and bake at 350*F for around 1 hr. Let it cool down for about 30 minutes before taking out from the pan. Cut up a slice and serve warm with more waist enhancing butter or crème cheese.
Enjoy.
You can also make muffins with the same batter, they get ready in about 35 minutes.

Whats up in your kitchen today?

Smooth Operators

This was a great long weekend. We had our cousins from Connecticut who have an almost 6-year-old girl, big sister for our daughter. Both the girls had a gala time together. They arrived Thursday night that was spent reading books, munching mini pizzas and banana bread and watching TV. Finally, they called it a night at about 10:30 pm. The adults spent the night watching a movie while munching popcorns, eating gol gappas, relishing banana bread and washing it all down with spicy gol gappa pani and coke. I am not even going to look at the weighing scale this week! All of us caved in at about 2 am!
We welcomed the morning with cozy hugs from the girls. Both of them were so excited to be together but the rain did play a spoilsport for a while. They spent a good chunk of time making train station with the blocks. It was interesting to see how little ones speak their mind. Our girl who is typically shy among other kids was conducting herself very differently. “Can you bring the blocks here? Oh no, not those ones. I am asking you to bring the square ones”, said the big sister. “I want to put the triangle ones, that’s why I am not bringing the square ones”, said the little preschooler. “I don’t like those green triangles, they don’t look good here. Bring the red and yellow squares”, said the big sister again. “But I like those greens and I think they are making the station look nice”, said the preschooler. “I” was stressed to the fullest in this sentence. We, the parents were passively enjoying the show while apprehensively waiting for the dispute to begin. Contrary to our anticipation, the big sister calmly accepted and said “Okay then you can you use the yucky green ones”. It was remarkable that she made it a point to not to accept that the green ones do look good. The little one responded to this in the utmost sophisticated manner. “Yes, the green yucky ones do look good here so I am going to use them”. How suave were both in putting their thoughts across the table!! How much confidence would an individual need to possess so he can afford to indulge in this kind of conversation. The little one dared to speak her mind for once and was able to achieve the unexpected result while the big one, for once, let it go but not without expressing her dislike. She managed to leave a mark on the preschooler’s mind that sometimes even when we don’t like something we can let it happen just for the sake of it. So many disputes in our relationships could be solved without getting into ugly arguments if we can learn from the simple approach these two little girls demonstrated.
Once the sun was shining they made the sand art, did cycling where little one followed the two-wheeled big sister in her little tricycle. Then we all went to a golf driving range to try a hand and then a mini boating session. Finally we all were exhausted. Though it was hard for the big sister to bid goodbye to so much fun, a promise to meet soon did help in the end.

Great Expectations

How do you decide which book to read next? Does it depend on your current mood like if you are sad you pick up a saga, if you are happy you go for a light beach read and if you are angry you look for a murder mystery, oh boy! Are you sure you want to that? Just kidding! My book selections are guided by what I am not doing at the moment. Confused? Well, if my time is going too much in taking care of my daughter, I tend to stay away from parenting books or magazines and if I am having a cooking blast in the kitchen, I stay away from recipe books and if I am feeling lonely, contrary to the popular notion, I tend to stay away from self help books. I use books to escape the humdrum of my life and let me be involved in the life of strangers and extract a plethora of emotions and experiences that make me wiser and empathic. And what kind of a book I pick if I spend my time drooling over my new car? Well I just drool and opt out of books! On that, when the information reached the preschooler’s teacher about our new car, she said “Its just so you”. I couldn’t get the point but hoping it was a positive remark.
Back to books, Last night I finished the diary, Bridget Jones that is, before all you literary buffs out there squawk, remember variety is the spice of life and I like spicy things. Bridget Jones Dairy, considered a bible of chic lit, yes I am a chic lit fan, has failed to impress me. It didn’t do anything. It could be that I read other chic lits before picking this one and they became much more sophisticated after going through the learning process, if you will. It was like jumping up and down after spotting a book at the library claiming to be the best Indian cookbook and later on feeling wasted coz it failed to bring anything new to what I already know from my two beloved moms. They aren’t targeted towards Indians who know the manifold layers of a ‘garam masala’ but for the ones who are brave enough to try their hand at an alien cuisine.

Did your last book live upto its expectations?

To each his own

With all due respect I would like to be an audacious brat today. You are being forewarned. Thank you. Since we got that settled, here we go…
Yesterday was a very big day, it wasn’t being a nice mom day and it wasn’t being a nice wife day. It was a day that made me realize that I am not just a mom; I am I, a person of my own self. It was a day when I didn’t belong to anyone, when my delight wasn’t vicarious. The bliss was in me, I was feeling it, touching it, living it. The desire was mine, the fruition was mine and the felicities of it belonged to me. My dear husband presented the bug, the buggy, the dune, my dream car VW Beetle. This car, and me it wasn’t a love at first sight. Gradually, it worked its charm and turned my indifference into affection. Few years back I couldn’t understand how a car can enamor someone. Beetle did it for me. Cruising it out of the dealership and then on the road on the way home, I just couldn’t hide my pleasure. I wanted to open the windows and shriek with joy and let everyone know that I am living my dream, right here right now. And it seems that the grin on my face is going to be fixated for a while, coz it just doesn’t seem to depart.
While putting my preschooler to sleep, I asked her what was the best part of the day and she said “Walking on water in the pool”. To each his own!