My daughter didn’t like her new school. Well, that was during the first two weeks of classes, though.
Reason Number 1. The class is too big. Imagine a Grade 1 class of 46 students. Well, this numer is common in the public school, but she is enrolled in a private school and so I, too would want to march to the principal’s office and complain on this.
Reason Number 2. Her classmates are very noisy. Hahaha, I wanted to laugh at this statement but my child is generally the silent-type and so she sometimes got irritated with so much noise. But, this time she became accustomed to the noise. She still maintains her calmness, though.
Reason Number 3. Her teacher is giving her a hard time. Well, this was only true during the first week of class, since they had spelling most of the time and she committed a lot of mistakes as the spelling words given to them are those that contain mute sounds. Example, giggle, tickle, etc.
And so one night last week, while we were having our nocturnal ritual in the bedroom, I heard my daughter telling her younger brother that he should love his school.
“I don’t like my new school, Red. I wanted to transfer to another school, but because Mommy said that she had already paid for my tuition so I really don’t have a choice anymore.”
I felt sorry for my child and was really guilty over saying those things. I am just super relief when finally she is enjoying her new school and her new classmates and although they are crowded in that little room, she has gained many friends and could even memorize the half of her classmates already.
Well, good start for a first grader.
It has always been my ritual with the kids to talk about the day’s happening before retiring to sleep. Kids really love this time of the night as they would compete with each other as to who will talk first. As always the boy wanted to be in the center of attention and would sometimes not allow her older sister to talk. If the boy feels that he is being outsmarted by the girl, he would surely cover his sister’s mouth with his small hands and war and wailing will probably start, yet we love doing this always.
When school started, it has become my wont to ask them what happened in school. During the first week, I could never contain their excitement as they would babble words just to share their experiences in school.
But it was different on Monday this week, when we arrived home from school, the boy immediately showed me his work and boasted on the star he got from his teacher. That was a very good start, I thought.
And then I went to our room and laid down for a while. The little boy followed suit. I thought he wanted to talk but when he saw me lying on the bed, he attempted to leave and so I called him and beckoned him to talk with me.
He jumped to the bed and said, “Okay, let’s talk but not about school.”
I was dumbfounded with this statement. Must he be getting tired of school already? I just hope not.
“Daddy, I want to go back to the very big swimming pool,” thus uttered my son when we visited my husband’s family’s farm in Davao Oriental and he was referring to the river.
It was not actually wide neither it is deep, actually just deep enough to cover a big man’s feet but big enoug, I mean in his own words very big enough for him to enjoy and swin in the river which he calls a big swimming pool.
He said it was cold but he loves rolling on the river and would never really stop. It worried his granny so much because of some bacteria brought by the river but we just let the kid play on the water. Anyway we don’t have it here in the city and we visit the province once in a year only.
I was rushing to school this morning for I couldn’t afford to be late. I was already late for days and another day won’t do me good.
It’s Valentine’s day and no one whispered sweet things to me this morning since hubby is away for some sports activity. The little boy woke up early as usual and shared breakfast with me but he seemed to have waken up in the wrong side of bed as he won’t look straight to my eyes and kept on pouting his lips as if any minute he would burst into some childhood tantrums.
I rushed to the gate and it was locked and so I needed to come back for the key and just as I was about to leave, my little girl ran rushing, her long black hair in total disarray and was still covering her oval-shaped face and shouted, “Mommy, happy valentine’s day!”
Those words seemed to stop my world for a few seconds and brought me back to my senses. I came running back to the house and planted a very deep kiss on her pink cheeks. She was the first person to greet me on heart’s day and it really felt so different.
She got to learn about valentine’s day in school and just last night, maybe she never really could fathom what this occasion is all about, she asked who celebrate valentine’s day. Without really being too engrossed with that queries since I was too preoccupied with other things. I simply told her that it is for the people who love. As simple as that.
And that idea made her wake up much more early than usual just to be able to greet me before I left for school this morning.
Nothing could really underestimate a child’s unconditional love to their parents and I am in high heavens knowing that my kids love me so much.
Happy Valentine’s day, my little ones.
Today is Veronica’s birthday. She is my daughter’s classmate. And she is six today. That made my daughter envious because she always wanted to be older than her classmates. She is still five and it would be months more before she turns six.
She will still be five when she enters Grade 1 next year and that made her more sad. When I asked about the party in the school today she did not talk anything about food but asked why Veronica is older than she is when she is taller than Veronica is. And asked if she could turn six tomorrow.
But of course I told her that it was very impossible since August is several months away. So she said, “Mom, I want to have a big party when I turn six.”
That zippered my mouth and I wonder what a big party means to my five-year old daughter. Is is something like La Jolla Banquets?
And she said I want to have ice cream and cakes and many toys for my friends and classmates.
Whew. Now that settle things out and let me breathe again normally.
Ouch, I couldn’t believe it. My school uniform has bubble gum on it. When I asked about it, everybody in the house pointed accusing fingers on my son.
It was his bubble gum. They all chorused. And what did the little boy have to answer? Well, just that smile that would surely melt my heart. But still I am angry because I have to wear that uniform tomorrow. I need first aid for my uniform. First thing first I need to deal with the little culprit.
When confronted he simply showed me a tattoo - free from that bubble gum which ruined my uniform. I thought it was a Dallas tattoos, but it was not.
He is fascinated by tattoos that’s why he spent his money on that bubble gum. But I need to punish him. But have I got the chance? Nope, he flaunted his tattoo and he ran away. While I too was too tired to pursue him.
One thing I learned being a mother is never ever give scissors to your child. Before, I used to give them trainer’s scissors as it is one way of developing their pyschomotor.
Yes, both my children have really developed their psychomotor earlier than the average but that has also taught them to just cut anything they could hold. There’s this shirt and pants that he treasured so much because of the fish designs, yet he made it more attractive by cutting the edges of the shirt and the seams of the pants. That is attractive according to my son’s standard.
And then one day I just woke up from the scream of my daughter. My son just cut his hair and it was really an ugly cut. But did it scared him? Nope, not a bit. It was as if it was a prized masterpiece and he simply just loved to look at himself at the mirror. While his older sister wore that worried look for the whole time.
To pacify her, I just told her that his hair will eventually grow back and if maybe if she wants it fast we could at least send her brother to Philadelphia hair transplant.
And I regretted saying that because that arouse her curiosity once again.
The little chit chat my daughter and I had last night has probably sunk in her young mind. That when she woke up this morning she went immediately to the mirror and inspected her nose.
I really didn’t mind it at all because I was thinking that she was just getting ready for school.
I myself was rushing too. So I almost forgot that incident. But when I came back home from school. She ran to me and asked, ” Mom can I have a rhinoplasty?”
That somehow has made my eyes get so big that she immediately said , ” Is there a nose job in other places such as a rhinoplasty in Orlando or wherever?”
I know what’s playing on her mind and so I just said, ” Honey, you’ve got the best nose every girl could wish for. When you grow up, I am sure people will notice how wonderful your nose it. But for the mean time, why don’t we get all those books. It’s you examinations tomorrow, remember.”
And she walked out on me.
My daughter was actually not contented with my answer and after several minutes. She made sure that we could have at least watched many commercial gaps before persisting with this question.
“Mom, haven’t you noticed that woman looks younger. I really don’t know what she did to her face. But something is new.”
I know that I have to contain her curiosity for she never wants to leave questions unanswered and not just a simple answer, she wants something that could really satisfy her.
And so I said, ” She has done something with her nose. Maybe she went to have a Chicago rhinoplasty. A rhinoplasty is a nose surgery where one who has an ugly nose would want to change it so that she could be more attractive.”
She insisted to make more queries by uttering, “Mom, do you think I have a nice nose, I want to have a rhinoplasty, too and I want to have it done in Chicago.”
This really tickled me and so I told her that her nose is very nice and no she doesn’t need a rhinoplasty.
And so I explained further that rhinoplasty is not only done for those who think that they have ugly nose. It is also performed to those people who have met accidents and unfortunately their nose have been deformed due to accident.
With that she simply answered, “Ahhh.” Meaning her curiosity was satisfied at last.
We were watching a television program last night when my daughter suddenly made this remark about this actress she used to see in the previous drama soap opera.
“Mom, isn’t she the woman who used to be the grandmother in …,” my daughter said.
I actually forgot that soap opera since I felt that it was ages ago. I don’t usually remember shows that I don’t much like and so to stop her from inquiring I answered her with a nod.
Never contented with it, “Mom,” she insisted, “what has she done to her face?”
To finally stop her, I simply said, ” maybe she has availed of some Naples plastic surgery.”
Squinting her eyes since she couldn’t understand it. She just put her attention back to the program and acted as if she was really concentrating. But I know this has not satisfied her.
And she asked again, “What’s that, Mom?”
How do I answer such query? And so I said well it is actually something that one person does to make changes to her appearance. It could be the face to make someone look much younger. One needs to undergo an operation, but it won’t hurt the person rather it would make her feel more beautiful and younger and even more happier.
With that she gave me a smile as if she really did understand what I said.