------------------With Our Neighbors’ Children-----------
Till now I totally ignored talking about our neighbors and their children. Yes, the new area where we lived was packed with Russian families. Their children would show up in the morning, late afternoon and in the evenings. Because we studied in the morning and in the evenings, we made it a point to become more intimate with the children in the late afternoon. They looked so beautiful, and we were drawn to them. We started by giving out stocks of lollipops we had in our refreigerator, one per child everyday. And they did enjoy licking them. We played on a mat behind our garden with toys and stuffs and by and by, the children would come near us and eventually take part in playing with toys like dolls, cups and saucers and playing cooking utensils and others.
Soon we became more creative and made stuffs with clay, and they also thoroughly enjoyed creating from them. They had clay over all their hands at the end, and because their mothers would get mad at them, we made sure their hands were clean by helping to clean with soap and then they went off happily for their homes.
Soon we also started drawing pictures for them and they loved to color them and take them home and show their parents. They also drew and colored their own pictures. We also made purses, air planes, birds, gold fish, baskets, cranes and a whole lot of other stuffs out of paper and showered them upon the children. Parents stopped by to see what we were doing and went off assured their children were in good hands.
Next we started playing games with them- the ones we learnt at school from our previous place like Ring-a-ring-a-roses, I sent a letter to my father, Wallflowers, wallflowers growing up so high, and Farmer’s in the Den. We sang the songs of the games and played the games with the children. The parents who understood English liked to stay around hearing us sing and getting our words of the songs.
There were swings, sand boxes and see-saws at the backyard. We played on them with the children as well. Our Dad liked to take photos of us with the children while we played. They were good times indeed!!
Our initial mission was fulfilled. We loved the children, and the children loved us. We were on intimate terms. What more could we ask for? Yet, there were happier days in store where we lived near the sea.