What Was That, Again?

I have a Roo story. But it’s hush-hush okay, because Roo gets embarrassed when I tell Roo stories to people. So promise me you won’t laugh out loud.

Roo likes animals, especially cats and dogs. Whenever he sees them, whether on the street, or at the park, he will always stop and say hello. When he goes too close, his dad would say, “Now, Roo, you don’t know the cat (or dog) okay, and they don’t know you, so you cannot pet or touch them.” So the rule is, if he doesn’t know the animal, or vice versa, he’d better not touch them. Because those animals might bite, scratch or hurt him.

One afternoon, I was in the kitchen, when my hated of all pests, a cockroach, walked down the wall right in front of me. See, I can tolerate mice, any kind of lizard, or even snakes. But cockroach, no. I get all frantic and jumpy when I see them. Roo stopped playing when he heard me shriek, “Cock-roooooach!” Immediately, he came to the kitchen gate and asked, “Are you okay, mommy?”

After things quieted down, or rather, I calmed down, I sat at the table to eat mangoes with Roo. He was all questions.

“Mommy, why are you scared of the cockroach?”

“Mommy, is daddy scared of the cockroach too?”

I explained that I’m not really scared, like frightened, of a cockroach. I just find them disgusting. I don’t want to see them in the house. And that, no, his daddy is not scared of the cockroach.

Roo was quiet for a moment, as if processing everything I said. After a while, he looked up and asked so innocently,

“Mommy, why is daddy not scared of the cockroach?  Does daddy know the cockroach?”

Like Father, Like Son

Like his daddy E, Roo is into photography. We bought him his own toy camera, but he always wants the real thing. One night, at a party, while his daddy E was busy taking pictures of everything and everybody, Roo got hold of our point and shoot and like his daddy E, clicked the evening away.

Do you think Roo can be hired for commercial photography?



                   Hatari Electric Fan



                  Canon EOS 400D



                      Pizza Company

He also tried his hand on food photography: 



                  Juice and soft drinks



                   New flavor yata 'to



                  Steamed tabtim fish



                               Pasta



   Sharon's famous strawberry cheesecake



                       Fresh oranges

Pictures of cacti:





Now for his collection of abstract photogaphy:








Finally, his self-portrait:

Eyes and Fears

About a couple weeks ago, daddy E had a dinner date with his childhood friends. Roo woke up from his late afternoon nap, and insisted that he wants to meet his daddy’s friends too. So we tagged along.

We were a little late.  J and her family were already in the restaurant when we arrived. Introductions began, and J was exclaiming over how cute Roo was, when without warning, he burst out crying! The loud kind of bawling, like he’s really scared!

He’s like that, my Roo. There are people who make him cry for reasons even he doesn’t know. We also can’t figure out what it is, but it happens only with certain people and only when these certain strangers give him too much attention.

Anyways, so daddy E had to take him out and talk to him. When they came back, he was calm, but the moment J’s husband looked at him, he burst into tears again! Okay, so J’s husband is rather huge, and he's sporting a beard, but it still can’t be the reason. There were other big strangers with beards who approached him before, and he warmed up to them right away. Carried on a conversation with them without any fuss.

Daddy E had no choice but to carry the frightened boy out again, and calm him down.

The next time they came in, Roo had his eyes tightly shut. Poor boy. Apparently, he told his daddy that he was afraid of them friends, so his dad suggested that he close his eyes and not look at them. And the little Roo took his daddy’s advice to heart. He made sure he had his back on daddy’s friends, and he desperately tried to keep his eyes close. Even when I was feeding him, he opened his mouth dutifully to eat the food, but his eyes remained shut.

In many ways, I am so like Roo—keeping my eyes close because I’m afraid of something or someone. Enduring the dark because I don’t want to face whatever it is I’m scared of. Missing out on a lot of fun because I can’t look at my fear in the face and tell it off. Like driving for instance. It has been more than three years since I got rear-ended while driving, but I still can’t get myself to drive again. More so after Roo was born. I’m terrified of driving alone with my precious son, scared of what can happen on the road. So most of the time, we either stay at home til daddy E is available to drive us around, or we take a taxi.

If only I can get enough courage to face my fears and get behind the steering wheel again…

I should learn.  Like Roo.  He eventually got over his fear, and opened his eyes, albeit slowly and with great caution. Before the evening was over, he was playing with Kaila, J’s daughter, and was dodging his huge uncle’s tickles.

Let's Play Pretend

Daddy E came home sick yesterday. It could be the flu, he’s has body ache, feet ache, and shoulder pains. Or it could be from playing basketball the other day—he hasn’t played ball for quite a long time. Anyways, as soon as he got in the door, he announced that he wasn’t feeling well, searched the med bag for paracetamol, then went to bed.

Roo, quite disappointed that daddy E couldn’t play with him, entertained himself because mommy K was busy cooking. Right after dinner, mommy K started sneezing, and sneezing, and whatever it was that was causing it, couldn’t be washed away so mommy K had to take antihistamine to stop it. Feeling rather drowsy after a few minutes, mommy K lay down on the bed to rest.

Roo: Mommy, are you okay?

Mommy K: I’m not feeling well.

Roo: I’ll take care of you, okay, mommy. Wait here okay, I’ll get petamo for you. (Roo runs out of the bedroom)

Mommy K: What’s that you’re getting mommy, Roo?

Roo: (coming back in) I’m getting petamo for you, mommy.

Mommy K: What’s petamo?

Roo: (Very slowly) Pe-ta-mo.

Mommy K: Hmm, I don’t know what that is.

Roo: (Louder this time and even more slowly) PE – TA – MO!

Mommy K: Pe-ta-mo. I’m sorry but I don’t know what that is, anak.

Roo: (starting to get exasperated) PE – TA – MO! Like daddy, mommy, I want you to feel better!

Mommy K: Oh! You mean, pa-ra-ce-ta-mol! You are so thoughtful, anak! Thank you, but mommy already took medicine, I don’t need paracetamol.

Roo: (disappointed) Oh. Then…(brightens up) just pretend petamo, okay, mommy?  I'll get pretend petamo for you!

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Roo: Daddy, can we play school?

Daddy: (still feeling rather sick) I don’t really know how to play school, Roo. Daddy is a doctor, I’m not a teacher like mommy.

Roo: (in his most convincing voice) Pretend, daddy! You can pretend to be a teacher, daddy!

Roo in His New Home

So we've moved!  We've settled in our new nest and everything's almost in order.  Good thing we found room for all our stuff or we would have either tossed the boxes out of our porch and feigned innocence (okay, I know that's not right, but for a while the temptation to do that was quite strong), or Daddy E and I would have been forced to get rid of all our sentimental junk.  

We praise God that Roo has adjusted very well here. For a while he had us worried because he had severe eczema—triggered, his daddy E diagnosed, by stress. It bothered him mostly at night when his hands and feet would get very itchy and he couldn’t sleep! He prayed hard about that one, prayed for healing even when asking for blessing on his food. And God is good! He got over it the week we moved, and he’s been itch-less since! 



Here’s a picture of Roo in his new hangout. He just loves this place! He likes it that he has a lot of space for triking, running around, jumping, swimming, and exploring. Every time we’re out and we tell him it’s time to head for home, he has to ask, “Home to WT?” When he hears an affirmative answer, he has no objections, he’d just flash us a big and contented smile. Thank God, Roo is happy in his new home!



And that's him with Gianni, his new playmate.  He looks forward to playtimes with Gianni and gets so disappointed when their nap schedules conflict and they can't play together.

Homesick.

It always happens that way. Just when I think I'm okay and not pining for home anymore, it comes banging its ugly head on me. Unexpectedly.

Last night, Daddy E inherited my sis' old phone memory stick because a friend gave her a new one for her birthday. And while we were getting ready to sleep, Roo was jumping around and bouncing on the bed as usual, Daddy E decided to play some music from my sis' mp3 files. I don't even know the artist, some Kris Lawrence guy if I remember it right, but as soon as the Tagalog ballad hit my ear, pangs of homesickness rear ended me.  Made me miss home. Suddenly, I wished I was in the Philippines.

Daddy E, totally unaware of what was going on inside me, started saying, "So good to listen to Tagalog songs again, ‘no? Makes me feel like I’m in Manila again, riding the jeepney.”

I said, “Let’s go home!” And he’s like, “Yeah! Forget about going to Japan" (we’ve been planning to visit Japan). And Roo was like, “But mommy, we’re home! This is our home!”

Yes, I feel at home here. And my home is now here with Daddy E and Baby Roo. But my heart will always yearn for that place—no matter how far I go, or how long I stay away, that place I know as home, will always be home.