Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Do wishes come true?

Another question from 6-year-old IC, do wishes come true? And how would you make sure that they would come true?

Dear IC,

Yes, wishes do come true!

As you told me, and to which I agreed, there are many ways to make your wishes come true: by prayers, by being well-behaved, by following rules, by working for it, and by simply being you!

Sometimes, your wish might come but might not look and feel exactly what you wanted; but that is because different people have different ideas. That is why your wish could be a little different.

Sometimes, your wish might be delayed and that is because; it is not easy to do. Nor would it be simple to prepare. You might also need to wait because it is being created with extra special things.

Sometimes, your wish might not come true. That is because, it might not be good for you. It could be best to be given to other people because they needed it most.

But most of the time, your wishes would come true. That is because, you earned it and your worked hard for it and most especially, because you made it real because you loved who you are and what you are doing!

Most of all, wishes do come true because people who love you would help you make them come true!

Saturday, June 12, 2010

IC's Three Wishes

Overheard from a conversation between IC and her Papa:

'Papa, what would you wish for if you have three wishes?'

Papa answered: well behaved kids, three times!

IC's answer? A mobile phone (a real one, please), a big house with a princess bed, and another five wishes!

Happy Birthday, Papa!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

IC just got married!

My six-year-old girl got married today. With another six-year old, Calvin, her favorite boy in class.

It didnt come as a surprise at all.

Calvin already went down on his knees while in the playground during school hours last Monday; and asked loudly for all kids to hear 'IC, will you marry me?'

The kids protested. Why not? Because they dont have any rings to seal their vows, that's why.

Thus, they consulted their teacher during their farewell circle. And everybody was in agreement, there should be a complete ceremony, with rings, with music, with dance, with cakes and whatever.

Tuesday, they were still discussing the wedding. Isabela wants to have it after a year; Calvin wants it done as soon as possible. Their classmates want it done the next days!

Wednesday, they already practiced their respective roles. The wedding invitation has been created and distributed to all their classmates: Thursday, 10:30 a.m. in their classroom. I am supposed to bake a cake, while Calvin's mama was tasked to bring cookies. I asked someone to buy a cake, had IC's and Calvin's name on it and IC was happy.

Thursday, IC's excited. She's got two big bags for school. It turned out, she's packed her 'wedding gown,' her 'wedding shoes,' her make-up kits and a song book in one bag. The other bag contained her school things. While dressing up this morning, she took notice of my polo shirt and short 'Mama, you should dress up or else you wont be allowed to be my guest!' Oops :D

What happened at 10:30 a.m. today? There was a wedding. My husband and I attended, of course. The bride was dressed in a fuschia gown, barefoot with a homemade necklace and had a light pink eye shadow. The groom was wearing an Egyptian-inspired red headgear in shorts and t-shirts; barefoot, too.

The officiating 'lady' was holding the song book; the teacher was playing a hymn; the classmates were sitting quietly when the bride and groom marched to the 'altar.' After the rings were given (Calvin had to run to his school bag to retrieve the forgotten rings); bride and groom danced. Followed by the wedding 'kiss', a group dance, a group photo -- and of course, the cutting of the cake and the reception.

The kids had fun. It was making their fantasies a reality. The teacher informed us that it was mostly the kids' ideas. It was great letting them create and re-create; to let their ideas flow so smoothly when they wanted to do something together.

Do you think it would end like tha`t? Of course not, the last time I heard; another couple's tying the knot next week, too!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Would you still be my mother when I am bigger?

Another question that IC bugged me about before getting in bed: 'Mama, would you still be my mother when I am bigger?,' she asked.

Dear IC,

Yes, I am going to be your mother when you turn seven next year.
Yes, I am going to be your mother when you turn eight next, next year.
In fact, I am going to be your mother when you turn 88!

Of course, I would get older and would look like a grandmother, but yes, I would still be a mom to you. Because, in the future, you would also grow bigger and taller and your body would change and you would be playing with other kinds of toys; but you would remain my daughter, too.

Of course, I would be a grandmother when you'll have a baby of your own. But still, you would remain my daughter and I would remain your mom.

And you asked what, when I am alreadyy dead; would I still be a mom to you?
Hopefully, I would be still be watching you from heaven and would continue loving you because you would remain my daughter for eternity.

But of course, I wish to stay with you and enjoy being a mom as long as possible.

This goes to your sister, MC, too.

Thanks for waking me up this morning to greet me Happy Birthday! I love the drawings, dear girls.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

We're off cleaning a beach shore!

It is 3:51 in the morning, I am already up. I need to finish a writing project because I am starting a new project.

In a few hours, I would wake up the whole household.

We are going to the beach. This time, not only to relax and bum around; this time we have a purpose; this time are have no space for all the rubber duckies and shovels and beach toys, this time I wont bring a book, this time we are going to work, this time we have a car full of cleaning materials!

We are off to the Dulong Buhanging Beach in Mulanay, Quezon to clean its shore!

We were in Mulanay, Quezon; a province around 300 kilometers away from Manila, the Philippine capital. Mulanay, Quezon is a coastal town with a population of 50,000.

We realized we need to do something when we visited the place two months ago on a whim; with an eenzy, weenzy goal. We dropped by the beach and boy, we had a great time! The thing is, if you forget what you would first see before reaching the beach; you would really enjoy the place.

The usual thing: dirty beach shore, with broken glasses almost everywhere you step! It was not a nice thing to see.

In fact, my girls were the ones who opened my eyes and gave me the idea. Always being warned to watch their step -- as a result, both of them were very meticulous on how to move around when in a strange place and particularly on a beach shore, we were picking up debris and broken glasses before we knew it!

When we reluctantly left the area after a short but unforgettable visit, at first, we wanted it to be just a family project. Visiting shores and cleaning up, just like that. And then somebody said we could ask the city officials to help our, or even ask for sponsors.

Well, why not? After all, there are a lot of shores to clean. And this is just the initial stage.

So our family project, turned into an advocacy. To make a better place for the future generation.

Presenting, our first

Renew and Re-Green Project -- at the Dulong Buhangin Beach in Mulanay, Quezon.

In cooperation with the Mulanay, Quezon city officials led by Mayor Prudencio Maxino Jr., City Engr. Delio de Leon, its SK group -- with the generous sponsorships of:

Pilipinas Shell, Pepsi-Cola, at Clorox Phils. Intl.

The International Filipino, the newspaper for Filipino OFWs and migrant workers and Deutsch Resources Management Inc.

Wish us luck!