On the balikbayans’ first weekend here, we took them swimming to Fontana in Clark, Pampanga. That night, Angela (who’s just 2 months shy of 9 y/o thus she considers herself wise and knowing as opposed to Julian and Gab who are both only 4) quickly chose a room in the villa where we were booked and proclaimed it to be the ‘girls’ room’ effectively excluding her younger brother Julian. She asked me for a ‘baby bottle of milk’ for Gab then announced that they were going to bed. Several minutes later when I went to the girls’ room (which happened to be the servant’s quarters) to get Gab, I was pleasantly surprised to find her peacefully asleep with her Ate Angela. That may not sound like a lot, but believe me, even at her age, Gab’s still a little difficult to put to bed and she almost never falls asleep without me by her side. So that was certainly a feat for Angela.
Since the three kids’ birthdays are only about a month apart each, we celebrated their birthdays as one. Their party had the works – a magic show, pinata, pabitin, lootbags, games & prizes and loads of gifts. Of course there were the requisites – food and relatives.
Angela and Julian left Manila with their parents three weeks ago. To this day, Gab still pretends to play with them. She’d tell me: “Mama, you be Ate Angela and Julian, okay?” then she’d talk to me as if I were two kids instead of just one grown-up. On the first few days after the two left though, Gab would insist on seeing them. When I tell her they're back in Canada, she’d ask if we could go to them. Then of course I’d have to go over the whole explanation of how faraway Canada is from the Philippines, etcetera. And if you have ever tried explaining things to a pre-schooler you’d know that an answer just leads to further questions.
It’s rather hard to make clear to a little kid how big – and simultaneously small – the world is. It’s an intricate concept to grapple with… even for us who are supposed to be wise and knowing.
