Maswerte Kami, Ikaw ang Nanay Namin

I was washing my face while Forest was washing up.  We were preparing to go to bed.  Quietly, as if lost in her own thoughts, Forest turned to me to say, "Masuwerte talaga kami Nay ba ikaw ang Nanay namin." (We are really lucky you are our Mother, Mum."

I was touched but also quietly replied, "Why do you think so?"  

Forest: Kasi, naa kay work, ganun.  Bright ka.  Di ka katulad ng ibang Nanay na pag di magbuhat sa work sa school, wala lang.

Me: So you mean, ga-yawyaw ko?  So it's a good thing then?

Forest: No.  Kanang magsulti gyud ka na humanon gyud ang work sa school...

Then she went out of the bathroom and the moment has passed.  

***

Earlier today we also drove Rod around.  It was supposed to be just Tatay and him.  However, a family asked that we buy thermal thermometer for them as they were being monitored.  So off I went with them.  We had to pick up a classmate, drove them to a milk tea shop, drop off a milk tea order to another classmate and another...  

The funny thing was Rod expressed he felt ashamed for taking mine and Tatay's time so he is paying Tatay the P 120 he received as payment for the milk tea he ordered for one of his classmates.  In reply I joked that said amount hardly covers the daily minimum wage.  I felt his sincerity though and felt happy about it.

We're raising kind, good kids, it seemed.  Thank you, God!

Unsaon Ma na Ron?

A few nights back, Tatay was on the bed wailing, "Forest, ang akong buhok." (Forest, my hair.) This is in reference to his hair serum that Forest is "assigned" to put on Tatay's scalp every night.  Forest, who was seated on the floor, playing with her wooden kitchen contraption whispered in reply, "Unsaon ma na ron? Wala nama'y buhok gyud?" Hahaha this kid!

More Interesting!

So I'm quite sleepy but still have to finish a report.  Forest, meanwhile, has shown interest in a book.  Khaled Hosseini's none the least.  She got started with the first page and then urged me to read to her.  I obliged but then the urgency of finishing the report is rearing it's ugly head.  Anyhow, I read a few lines and remembered how I found this particularly story poignant.  I told Forest so and as we got started, I told her, "See how interesting it is to read stories?"  Forest quickly countered, "Mas interesting pag Mom mo magbasa! (It's more interesting if it's you Mom who reads to you!)"  :P

Tatay's Secondary Custodian

Tatay was saying his goodbye to me after our skype call as he was preparing to leave.  There's no class today so he finally has some free time to attend to his business concerns.  No driving to and fro the kids today.

I smiled when I heard in the background Forest firing Tatay one question over the other:

Forest:Mag-alis ka?
Tatay: Oo
F: Saan ka?
T: Downtown
F: Umuwi ka ng maaga. Mag-gabi ka?
T: Di ko pa alam, Nak.

Hehe mas strict pa sa akin :)

For You Nanay!

Over Skype today, Forest excitedly told me, "Nanay, nag-offer ako sa Mass kanina! Dalawa kami ni Mia!"

Me: Wow! How blessed you are!

Forest: Para sa yo yun, Nay! Para gumaling ka sa sakit mo!

I feel better already, Baby Love.  You are such a blessing!

Openness (On Puberty)

I was home for a week.  It was supposed to be just a visa exit, spending an overnight outside of Dhaka.  I planned to go to Kathmandu but it did not worked out.  Then, it also turned out that I had to extend here till December.  And my passport's validity is until August only.  So I had to rush home and apply for a renewal.

It was a short 6-day bliss with the kids.  And more often than not, even if I have to go on an errand, we are all together, the children, tagging along, even Kuya Rod who, lately had to take a lot of convincing (and me resorting to drama) before he agrees to come.  Well, there was an instance wherein he asked to stay at home which was fine.

Anyway, I am digressing again. (I so love to establish context so I can remember down the line whenever my memory would desert me. I hope that won't happen soon!).

So, we were in a restaurant where Forest and I were seated across Rod and Tatay. I had a good look at Rod then and noticed the tell-tale signs of a mustache.  I remarked, "Binata ka na talaga, Kuya.  May bigote ka na." (You really are all grown-up now Kuya.  You have a mustache).

Out of curiosity I asked nonchalantly, "Do you have some, "there" already?" I have to mouthed the words as we were in a public place.  I was quite prepared for him to shut me down and throw a glare my way but he answered without missing a beat, "Yes, some. Konti. (a little)."

I was taken aback by his candidness but sure was happy as well that he trusted me well enough.  I guess it helped that I did not make so much fuss out of it.  I was aiming for that.  I do not want them to be so body conscious. I grew up that way.  It's so paralyzing in so many ways.  At the same time, I want them to be wary about whom to trust.

I've been telling Rod many times in the past that he comes to me if he had questions related to sex.  I told him not to go to peers as they could be as clueless about it and would only give him not good enough information or worse, misinformation!  He had said, "yes, yes" but I couldn't really tell if he was serious about it or is just trying to shut me down.

Now it feels good to have him totally opened up to me about things like this.  It is telling me he trusts me and is willing to be open to me on such things.

Now I'm remembering a particular incident last week where Rod was toying with his phone when out of a blue, a sound akin to a women climaxing blared out of his phone.  I was shocked and said right away, "What is that, Kuya?!"

Rod, in response was laughing so hard.  He said it was his classmate sending him a clickbait.  He showed me a link in his messenger showing a frozen video of a person hitting another.  Once he hit the play button, the sound came.  He was laughing while showing me the comments and how angry the others were and commenting the same. 

I reminded him I trust him and that he better not abuse that trust.

Kiddo's Wise Words on Finding the Right (Or the Wrong one) Partner

We were in the car the other day with the kids tagging along for last minute errands. I don’t know what prompted it but the conversation steered towards partnership. Kuya Rod I think asked the question about it. So I answered the best I could:

Me: That is why Rod, you should choose carefully. You have to pray for it. Sometimes — although I’m happy that it does not seem to be true in your case — men tend to think only of the “now” and not so much of what comes after. It is important therefore to find a woman or a partner who balances that.

Noting that Forest was listening intently, I had to add, choosing my words carefully.

M: In your case, Forest, you must take note of his temper, pag mainitin ang ulo, run a mile away from him.

Tatay: Ayaw dayon sugot, Nak!

Forest (matter-of-factly): I friend ko muna siya. Pag nakita ko bad siya, di ko na siya i-friend agad!

Hehe Tatay and I had to smile at that. We are reminded once again how we really couldn’t take for granted children’s wisdom and logic. We have a lot to learn from them. #babytales #carversations #qandawiththekiddos#exchangingwisdoms