Eat Lovely Cupcakes And Poop Glitter - What A Wonderful Life?

Yes, did you know that unicorns eat cupcakes three times a day and poop glitter? When they are happy, rainbows appear magically, which they glide over. What a life! And as far as my cute nieces are concerned, I can even get a unicorn poop glitter-flavoured ice cream from their shop.

I went to Sydney to visit my brother on a completely impromptu trip and spent quality time with him and his family. It was like a portal that had opened to another world I had no idea existed. Kids live on the same planet and breathe the same air as we do, but their world is utterly alien to us. We can only hope that we understand it at times. So my nieces had a colour run in their school, where they ran laps, and their families threw colours on them.

To begin with, they are cute and all stand in line with their ‘sunnies’ so that colours cannot get into their eyes. My four-year-old niece’s class took running so seriously that they refused to stop for us to throw any colour on them. A couple next to us went into the track and got their little boy so that they could throw colour on him properly. I thought it was a good idea until he cried at being pulled away. The poor dad is trying to explain that the whole point of the colour run is so that they get colour on them. Something so innocent can turn into a drastic situation. Kids have their own rules, which we are somehow expected to fathom.

Basically, the rules change depending on what they want—if the rules support their wants or desires, then they are good, or the rules are modified accordingly. And if you call them out on it, either they outright deny it or start crying. How do you reason with that? Here is the kicker: I told my husband all these stories when I got back, and his response was, ‘Now, who do we know does the same thing?’

Surprisingly, I realised I do the same thing only with close family and friends. I cannot get away with this, so I behave in public. I need a space in my life where unicorns not only exist but poop glitter. The outside world has many constraints, and you are expected to behave a certain way. Especially as you go up the corporate ladder, you are expected to master your emotional composure completely, which is still alien to me. So, there definitely needs to be an outlet or a space where I can be silly, like a child, or be myself. I believe all of us have a little child in us who likes to dream, fantasise, and talk nonsense because it is also who we are. We are curious, dreamers and creative at the very core of who we are, and unfortunately, it is not considered appropriate behaviour after a certain age.

And if you are an older child like you, you are expected to grow up as soon as you get a sibling. So, there is always that part of you that never expressed itself fully. We do not know how to process our feelings at that young age, so we do what we are told. But, even as we grow up, there is that child in us who wants to laugh, roll their eyes, make funny faces, stick their tongue out, cross their arms and say NO, jump up and down in joy or refuse to work because they do not feel like it. And most of the time, as an adult, that child is not allowed to express themselves, so we all need some space in our lives where that is not only permitted but encouraged. You need a space where others pretend it is true - even if we know it is not, where silliness is considered seriously!

I guess I have to put on a mask of seriousness even if the child inside me wants to giggle or wail. Do you feel the same way?