There was a saying in Telugu that talks about turns, and the sneakily implied benefits. It goes something like, "It won't be long, will it, as my sister is being hitched". The birthday of a 2 year old is especially interesting to a 6 year old as she very well knows she is the tacit owner of all the toys that are to be received and she tries her best to promote the event.

We were playing the other day with one of those games that she purportedly borrowed from her brother with an absolute glee on her face. It is a board game called "candy land" where small figurines move over a snakey path as pick cards. Obiously the one ahead will eventually win the game.

I pick my cards and I was ahead of her by a few squares and I was quite satisfied with my progress thus far and quite placid in the hope of teaching this 6 year old how one should take such things as victory and defeat , pleasure and pain in stride and so on and so forth.

The she picks one of those privileged cards with a mermaid sitting on a load of gold, and she jumps way past me on the board. Well I have never seen my teaching debunked in a flash and I see these hand waving, air pumping 6 year old jumping on the bed while saying

"Bye, bye my love, I will see you tommorrow"

as I try to pick my next with calm.