games ⁽²⁾

Complete concentration, detachment from the surroundings, all attention on the main thing. And this goes on for several hours. It's experienced, re-lived, sensed. A state from which it's impossible to exit. Any interruptions into this focused zone cause a rush of annoyance and a command not to disturb. - This is how Lyuba (4 years old) plays.

I get immense pleasure when I see Lyuba play role-playing games. The outside world ceases to exist for her. All her senses are concentrated here and now, in this life game. All of it is very serious.

It seems to me I too played with such full engrossment without the ability to stop, first in childhood, then in college, and later when I established my company. We also created scenarios, assigned roles, and played with all our hearts. And I'd get really upset when someone from the real world intruded into our game, interrupting us, pulling us back into the realities of business.

What am I playing now?

As soon as I finish writing this, I'll start reading the book "Games People Play," which recently arrived for me.

The weather outside is good. On such a day, it's a great idea to have a spontaneous picnic. Kids love it when I interrupt their numerous games and activities with interesting and fun suggestions. A picnic is one of their favorite things. Sometimes, it's too much hassle to gather everyone inside to eat. Instead, I collect dishes, food, cups, forks, water, and balance it all to carry it out at once.

Calling kids for a picnic feels different than just calling them to eat. They instantly appear. And the best reward is the words: “Dad, can we do this again?” Exclamations like: "What a wonderful day! Everything is so good!"

Before the picnic, I had to turn on the outdoor tap for handwashing. It's usually off to ensure endless water play doesn’t stress the parents out. But after the picnic ended, the tap was still on. Buckets were ready. Ksyusha was running around and watering the flowers, with love and care. And then she moved on to the spruces, which require so much, so much water!!!

Lyuba fills a bucket, pours it under her feet, and jumps in it like Peppa Pig, singing: "Muddy Puddle! Muddy Puddle!"