People on the playground

I'm obsessivemom remember? So today in search of 'People' I go to my favourite playing field - the children's school... on Sports Day.. and I'll see what 'people' I find. So are you with me folks? This is going to be fun. 

Even as we saunter in.. "Excuse me, please," says someone and breezes ahead without a backward glance. 


This is a lady in a hurry for she's the 

Eager-beaver mum
She's the first to arrive, first to find the best seat. She's the one who will crane her neck and strain her eye to spot her kid in the crowd. She will wave and blow kisses as soon as she does so and will continue to wave long after the child's melted away in the sea of uniforms. But hey what's this pushing at her chair, poking at her feet blocking her view of her darling daughter? 

Move over.. he's the

Photo-fanatic dad
He is armed with multiple cameras and that's his tripod. He will set it up with great care (for the tripod not for other parents who are mere obstacles in his photographic journey). Oh he will smile out a perfunctory sorry, for he is a gentleman. But it's advisable to keep your distance as he tries some fifty camera angles until finally he finds the perfect one. Then he will proceed to video the entire show. Entire! All the while he will issue instructions to the wife to keep clicking stills. He's not merely clicking pictures, he's making memories for his dear darling. If she wins the race he'll pluck out his camera from the tripod and race to the victory stand to zoom in onto that winning smile. It has to be captured in all it's nuances, right? Aargh... what's this in front of his camera?

Oooh don't mess with her for she's the 

You-gotta-win mum
You've got to hand it to her for her focus. She's here only for that one single race, the one in which her Rohan is running. Once the whistle blows she is in their element. "Come on Rohan.. Come on .. Faster baby..faster... We've done faster at home.. No no no.. DO NOT look back.. I TOLD you not to look back EVER.. Eyes at the finish line.. Come on..". She has the strongest lungs and the loudest claps. Oops Rohan slipped.. "Get up Rohan.. you can still do it," says she. No matter that it was she who distracted him in the first place, no matter that little Rohan couldn't care less. No sir.. She's unstoppable. If Rohan doesn't win there's bound to have been foul play. "Didn't you see the winner started off before the whistle?" Or "The judges didn't look properly. I SAW Rohan cross the line first. Yes I did."

"Relax lady will you? I am trying to hold a conversation here," says the gentleman in the suit. He's the 

when-will-this-be-over dad
He's the busy executive always on his iPhone. At the same time he is trying to study some figures on his iPad. He's probably been dragged there by the kids and his wife. (Lord save him if he has to deal with an eager-beaver mum or worse a you-gotta-win mum). He'll shut his iPad for a moment when his son's race comes on. Even as young Vedant runs to the finish line he's probably thinking..'Gosh I forgot to tell Smriti to send off that fax'. The crowd, the noise don't much register. However there's one person who's really studying the crowd. 

She's our fashionista mum

She's impeccably dressed. Her straight dark black hair fall to her shoulders in one shiny wave. As she settles the d&g glares on her head she flashes meticulously applied coral nail paint on her perfectly manicured fingers. Her shoes are Jimmy Choos and her bag is Gucci. A delicate umbrella shields her from the sun. She cannot risk the tan. She scours the crowd rating the men and women. "Blue denims everywhere.. boring, boring! Oooh burgundy trousers.. must get one of those. That fuchsia's great. But teaming it with black? Nope doesn't do anything for it, white's the colour. Yeah fuchsia and white. Ugh.. sneakers.. orange sneakers.."

Don't balk fashionista mum, meet the 

Super-sporty mum
She's the one who'll gladly spend her life in sports shoes and a tee that says 'I PLAY TO WIN'. She's the one who cannot wait for the kids' races to end so that it's the parents' turn. Woe be to her if she's saddled with a when-will-this--be-over dad or even a photo-fanatic dad who doesn't want to partner her. But she's a sport right? She doesn't give up. So she'll look around asking everyone with a smile you cannot resist .. "will you be my partner," till she strikes gold. If you partner her make sure you have running shoes on for Boy! can she run!

A confession...
I'd put myself in the eager-beaver mum class.. well I have to be that since The Husband is the quintessential when-will-this-be-over dad. Oh the arguments we have! It's good for the kids, though. We do manage to even each other out a bit and strike a balance. What kind are you?


It's Day 6 at the Write Tribe Festival of Words. The prompt for today is 'People'. For some great takes from Write Tribers go here.



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