Why erring on the safer side is always better than erring on the not so safer side

I was invited to a party last evening. Just to make the time-lines clear, the party was in the evening and the invitation was in the morning.

The invite was from one of my friends in my previous organisation. And I knew that couple of my other friends would be there too. Didn't want to give up on the chance to catch up with them and so accepted the invitation, albeit not instantaneously.

And before you let loose your imagination about the party, let me clarify that the occasion was the birthday of this guy's second kid.

Now comes the twist. I totally forgot how old this kid was. I knew that it was a boy, but forgot the age. My friend had invited me over last April for a function and this kid was the centre-stage that time too. I assumed it was the kid's first b'day and so this must be the second one.

So in the evening, I set off to the party and stopped en route at a gift shop. Went to the section which had kid/baby play things. Scanning through the available items, I noticed that there was nothing for a 2 year old. There were thingummies for babies and toddlers. There were stuff for kids older than 3 years. But nothing in between.

I stared for quite some time at all these boxes. Since staring didn't really give me an answer, I started making calculations too. Kids these days seem to mature real early. So why not buy one of the items that says 3+ years and give it to him. That way the kid also knows clearly what society is expecting of him and the parents also don't have any doubts about it.

So I took one of the Funskool boxes and read the fine print. It clearly said that the particular toy was meant for kids of age 3 years and above, but more importantly, it also said that it was not meant for kids less than that age.

I took another box and found a similar legend. Turned out that almost all of these boxes had similar restrictions. Now I was aghast. What do I do? After some more extra work by the neurons, I finally told myself that if I get a toy that says "1+ years" (or its thereabouts), I should be safe.

I picked up a box that said "12 months and above" and had the lady at the counter gift wrap it. I reached the party and then handed over the gift to my friend. I then checked with another friend about the kid's age. What he told me almost made me shout and jump with joy. Turns out, that the kid was only 1 year old and this was his first birthday party.

Those of you who remember reading a few minutes back, about me attending some function for this kid last year, would now appreciate some additional information about the event. That function was held to mark the naming ceremony of the kid.

I had a feeling that was probably akin to Neo's when he realised what the Matrix was all about. I celebrated it by helping myself to a second round of gulab jamun and ice cream during dessert time.