The Innocent Joy of Being a Kid

After a long week of work and more work, what would possess me to start my Saturday at 7 in the morning? Service of course!

This weekend began with an outing with many many many under-privileged children from various homes in PJ. Organized by AsiaWorks LP100, the event gathered about 60 children & over 50 adults, at Lake Gardens.

Today, with the time spent with this bunch of bright and cheery souls (both the members of LP100 as well as the children), I discovered the following...

1. I don't feel as young as I should. Waking up at 7am is tougher than it used to be. Running around Lake Gardens on a scavenger hunt for 2 hours with hyperactive kids, it seems my batteries just don't last. And piggy-backing two 7-year-olds one after the other while running with the other scavengers is back-breaking.
   
2. To keep 3 - 7 year olds entertained, just give them a bunch of crayons and a face to draw on. LP100 supplied the crayons... I just had to sit there. The first session of letting those cute angels conteng my face was great. There was a moment when I was actually proud to walk around with flowers, hearts & other random stuff colorfully drawn on my face. Unfortunately the kids went into a frenzy during the second session, and I wound up looking like an idiot (no change from the usual there). Pink on the left side, blue on the right, plus little dashes of yellow & green in between... it was horrendous! Good thing mum wasn't around to see me when I walked into the house.
   
3. Do you ever think that children from homes for the under-privileged lack joy, attention and love? Spend a day with these kids and you might notice what I noticed today. The smiles on their faces and glimmer in their eyes are much brighter than some other kids I've seen from normal homes with normal families. They get so much care & attention, sometimes I wonder if there are other kids out there who feel jealous. I'm not saying that these kids don't deserve the love, care & attention. It's just an observation. Next chance you get, while playing with the kids, take a good look into their eyes. Then tell me if you really think they're under-privileged.

The angelic innocence, the adorable giggles, the playful antics, the psychotic laughters, the limitless energy, the endless dashing & jumping around. I miss being short, innocent & carefree. Joy came much easier & more often back then... wouldn't you agree?