REMINDED OF ROUTINES

-

I just put Sadako to sleep.

Before she dozed off, I was scratching her back and telling her how when I was a little boy her age my grandfather used to go to my room and scratch my back until I fell asleep.

The other day, I remember sharing with her how every summer night, my mom used to give my brother and I a sponge bath. Afterwards, we'd be so fresh and so clean, thanks to Johnson's baby powder. Before hitting the sheets, we'd go to our grandfather and ask for some coins that we could put in our alkansya, which were old and empty plastic bottles of Johnson's baby powder.

I love telling Sadako how it was like when I was her age. For some reason, I usually share stories that involve a routine or pattern, like how my late maternal grandfather used to buy me art supplies from the plaza after mass and barbecue, or how I'd remove my socks by rolling them down into "donuts" every time I got home from school (and how my yaya would pretend to hate it).

Tumatak talaga sila because I did those things regularly and because there was always a loved one involved. This realization reminded me to do more regular things with my daughter because I want her to have a lot of good memories to treasure decades from now, whether it's a weekly Krispy Kreme date or a nightly scratch-my-back-while-you-tell-me-a-story-until-I-fall-asleep thing.

What fun routines do you have with your kids?

Popular posts from this blog

I AUDITIONED FOR SMOKEY MOUNTAIN

-
Image
I loved singing and performing for relatives and guests at home when I was young. One time, when I was about four years old, my mother asked me to sing Tomorrow for our relatives who were visiting. I instantly burst into song. However, after singing the first line with so much passion, I decided to stop and asked to be excused. I went inside my room, did a proper entrance, and then whipped out my milk bottle, which I used as a microphone. I sang “The sun will come out tomorrow” again and finished the song. No doubt about it: even when I was just a kid, I already knew I wanted to sing and perform for others. Fast forward to my high school years. One day, I read in the papers that Ryan Cayabyab was forming an all-male version of Smokey Mountain. Of course, I just had to try out. I didn’t tell my parents about it. My friends and I decided to try our luck. For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, Smokey Mountain was a vocal group composed ...
Read more

TAO NA!

-
Image
I’ve always found the expression “Tao na!” (used to describe a baby who’s already acting like a big kid or an adult) hilarious, but I found myself using it a couple of hours ago when Sadako kept on bugging Honeybun, my sister and I while we were enjoying our shawarma pizza dinner. To shut her up, we offered her a bite. As it turned out, she wanted more than just a bite. Good thing we didn’t put hot sauce on all the slices. Tao na!
Read more

HIGH ON HI-5

-
Image
Some years ago, back when my now-1-year old daughter Sadako wasn’t even an idea yet, I came across an article about how supposedly bad TV is for babies and young kids. I now don’t remember the boob tube’s bad effects on little ones (although I really should Google that), but whatever they are, my daughter must already be suffering from them because watching TV has been a daily habit for her for half a year now. Blame me and my girlfriend, Honeybun; we always have the TV set turned on. Apart from being soothing background noise, we discovered that it can be some sort of a babysitter, too. For example, certain commercials would make our daughter stop crying or catch her attention long enough for us to squeeze in drops of yucky medicine inside her mouth. Sadako is picky, though, so we bought a stack of DVDs and VCDs to entertain her whenever her favorite commercials aren’t on air. Her favorite show in the world is Hi-5, and Australian kiddie show where five adults—two guys and th...
Read more