70th Birthday of Tatay

If there is one man who influenced my positive outlook in life, then there is no other except my father. His unusual way of appreciating life is, in every sense of the word, something which got through my veins. He lived by example, he educated us by words, he pampered us not with material things but comfort and love. Heis now 70 years old and it’s Valentine’s Day. Happy birthday Tatay.

Are you Smarter Than a Two Year Old

I have written this article last year when my daughter was still two years old. I just don’t know why I did not post this article here. Anyway, it’s not yet too late to post.
I watch every episode of the TV show “Are you smarter than a Fifth Grader?” and admittedly, I am not smarter than any (not even the average) fifth grader. A lot of reasons why I say I am not smarter. Foremost in the list of reasons is the fact that it was three decades ago when I had the last look of the fifth grade subjects and the topics usually asked in the show have long been erased in my degenerating memory. Another reason is perhaps I was just inattentive or even absent when my elementary school teacher discussed those topics. Or it could be the truth that I don’t give much attention to those topics anymore as I add more years to my age. Whatever it might be, it boils down to the fact that I don’t know much of the elementary lessons, period! But anyway, I still have that enthusiasm to gain knowledge of the basic lessons which I failed to study when I was an elementary pupil. I wouldn’t say that I am too old to learn those things. It is an advantage on my part to have a two year old child who will learn with me. I will definitely learn – and relearn – many things together with her. As she grows, she learns and discovers new things which bring me back to my good old elementary school days learning the basics or fundamentals. My daughter never runs out of questions especially when she discovers new things. She endlessly asks both realistic and hypothetical questions that these queries sometimes stun us to shame for failure to eloquently give the right answer – or even the logical answer. Her questions are not the typical ones asked by kids of her age. But there are times, as I notice, when she tries to ask many questions as a way of getting what she wants. For instance, when we hear the Sunday mass at the Redemptorist Church, she would always ask me “Mommy, what‘s in front of the church?” although she knows that Jollibee is the answer. She wouldn’t tell me to go to Jollibee after I answer but when the mass is over she would say, “Bye Jesus, we will go to Jollibee now”. This is her distinct way of conveying her message to me of her desire to go to Jollibee.

My two year old daughter tries to outwit me or my husband. When she doesn’t want to take the afternoon nap – which happens most of the time, she would tell me, “Mommy, it’s not night, you see, there are no stars and moon. It’s only in the evening when we sleep”. Then it becomes a fight of reasons why she should sleep in the afternoon. I would tell her that she need to sleep more in order to grow but she would protest saying that she has grown already for she drank plenty of milk and ate plenty of food. Whew, my daughter has really learned to make her own reasons. My husband and I just as each other this question, “Are you smarter than a three year old?”.

A lot of other questions have been asked by my daughter which surprised me, either because the questions are not supposed to be asked by a kid of her age or because I cannot supply her with ready answers. Here are some of the questions which put a smile on my face:
o Why are Cinderella’s stepmother and stepsisters bad?
o Who put mole on my face?
o Why am I beautiful? (Note: it’s okey if you call her “pango” [with a flat nose], but definitely not ugly)
o Who made me and put me in your tummy? ( If I say that it was Jesus who made you, a follow up question is, “Why did Jesus make me?)

Double Tongue Disaster For Me

Tuesday last week, I had a late lunch at around three o’clock in the afternoon. I was so hungry that when the food was served, I immediately ate it. My subconscious mind did not warn me to wait until the food cools down. The aroma and presentation of the food was overly appetizing that the extremely ravenous me decided to take a spoonful of it just a second after the waiter set it on my table. I suppose, it was my good old stupid self, not my hungry self, which dictated me to instantaneously gobble that delectable food in front of me. The first spoonful of that yummy food literally brought me to tears. No, it wasn’t the delicious taste of the food that made me cry on the instant. Ouch, the food was too hot! Guess what food did I order? Whew, call me stupid again, it was Sizzling Beef Steak! Now, can you imagine how hot a sizzling steak is? The very hot sizzling beef steak literally burned my tongue. Wow, a different kind of burning sensation. My story does not end there. The matter was worsened when after few spoonfuls of that yummy sizzling beef steak, I accidentally bitten my tongue. Ouch!

It’s my Birthday Today

It was on the same date today and the year was 1971 when my mother naturally delivered me from her delicate womb. I was a small and fragile – I weighed far below thatn the normal baby and was just the size of a 12 ounce Coke bottle ( as described by my mother).

Now that I’m quite mature, my phyonce small body size somehow gained additional pounds. Nonetheless, I am grateful to be blessed with a small body size for I have no weight problems as well as body movement difficulties. This is the prize of being small.

Anyway, it’s not my body size that is increasing now, it’s my age. I don’t mind if I am adding a number to my age for it’s unavoidable for as long as I feel and appear less than my age, age is just a number.

Happy birthday to me.