Lessons from a 2 1/2 year old

At 2 and 1/2 years of age, all the worlds a stage for my niece, everyday is a new adventure and everybody older than her is simply around to make your life a little better.
And she in turn, makes theirs better, simply by existing

My older sister and I were playing with the afore-mentioned niece the other evening and the little one had a compelling air about her.
She demanded our attention, but somehow it did not seem pretentious or rude. We played with lego on the floor and as I had finished putting together a neat lego train(even if I do say so myself), she nudged it out of my hand to admire it.
My sister looked up from her own lego building and asked her,"wow, how did u make that?" in tamil.

I held my breath.

I expected a smug smile, or a fabricated explanation of how she had made the train herself. But instead we got a,"illa ithu Diffy than panna"(No, diffy made this). Diffy was how she called me.
It was like fresh air entering into my cold, dark and shut room as somebody cracked the door open.

Of course, this isn't a very flattering way to perceive myself- but I guess it's sorta true. I had chosen to start believing that everybody would sort of eventully behave a certain(read, negative)  way &that being open hearted would eventually lead to heart break.
Sheesh. Old insecurities die hard.
I've got a lot to unlearn.