CIRCULATION OF ANY OF THESE PHOTOS INHERE IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED
Reach me through: theaquino-azaro@gmail.com
One sunny morning, I was conversing with other mothers at school
when out of the blue on one corner of the room I saw the teacher and Ora. I asked
her what happened why she was crying, the teacher recounted: “Ma’am milk time
daw.”
And as I was preparing her milk I heard these lines, “ Hoy tama na! Tama na drama, drama!!! “,
were her cryings when one mom told her
that she should abstain from drinking milk for she’s getting big.
… Then, she went back to the classroom with her bottle of milk,
sipping while her eyes on her way towards the classroom and then... she shouted
again: “Tama na!!! OA-OA!!!” With
those mad stares at one of the mothers who bullied her.
Well, utterly and irrefutably, no one can bully Ora!!!
"Wild child. YES. She’s like an open book. She wears her every
thought and disappointment. The one I have to watch with eyes in the back of my
head and the one who motivates me to extend my superior hearing skill as though
my ears have their eyes too, watching and listening concurrently. I chase her
in the room as she pinches Quad furtively and I could just hear cryings all
throughout the room. She would cry so loud and would play-victim and she would
have her long minutes of tantrum. When she’s done, she always finds me, sobbing
dramatically and say… “ Sorry na tayo Mama Da…Tama na OA, OA, Arte, arte… Sorry na!” And if I don’t
say sorry, she's back to being fussy.
She likes to hold hands with me. With me,
With her Papa Ca. With Baby Quad. She would grab my hand when we’re walking and
would utter: “ Hawak sa hands Mama Da”…
And she’s our baby.
Still our little girl who asks to be held and
rocked before nap and says “thank you” when she means "you're welcome." She is generous
with her snack. She’s totally like a firecracker. She's a handful!
Looking back, when she was still new to her classmates/friends, when she arrives at school, everyone would hear her say: “Hiiiii… good morning everyone!.... Good morning Teacher Mommy”( she calls her teacher Tessie, that way). Ora is the very opposite of me. She is the other side of the coin. She's never shy to greet and welcome everyone around her. A stand up for herself-er. She is a powerhouse.
Looking back, when she was still new to her classmates/friends, when she arrives at school, everyone would hear her say: “Hiiiii… good morning everyone!.... Good morning Teacher Mommy”( she calls her teacher Tessie, that way). Ora is the very opposite of me. She is the other side of the coin. She's never shy to greet and welcome everyone around her. A stand up for herself-er. She is a powerhouse.
Occasionally, when I, along with other mothers and Ora’s classmates were waiting for their teacher to come, they would see her ask for a bottle of milk and we would see a little girl sitting down on a corner, quietly consuming her milk. One instance, I overheard a little boy's voice, spoke up and said: “ Ngeehh!!! Dako na kaayo siya , nga inom gihapon og gatas…”
… and she doesn’t hesitate to be different!
This year, she's a Little Geisha, at their school’s United Nations Day Fashion Preview 2013. She is the dream I had for myself when I was her age. But more importantly she is the dream she has for herself .At this present moment. The tough, self-aware, fiercely independent little geisha, the one who captures everyone’s hearts.
Ora, like a Geisha, actually "a person of the arts". If you type “definition of Geisha” into Google, the first definition to come up says, “A Japanese woman trained to entertain men with conversation and singing and dancing.”
Yes. She is a
sing-at-the-top-of-her –lungs. Even though she can barely express her
sentences, and I could barely understood, she’s never afraid to convey herself. She’s the reverse of invisible. A boogie-dancer. She’s bold. The
antithesis of afraid.
Quad, Everyone says he looks like his Papa. No.
Yes. Maybe, I mean, at certain angles in pictures, yes, but Quad is so
completely himself.
He is a lefty in a sea of righties, always
off in the distance doing his own thing.Running around when everyone’s slow and
stay, and when everyone’s running he does the opposite.
He is tough and unwavering and whip smart. He
claps when he’s done with his milk and when his tummy is happy. And his feet does a lot of tappings when
they’re in bliss.
He’s the sun in human form, dancing
without a song. Kicking rubber balls, head bruised from tumbling and turning
and jumping around the house and HE DOESN'T CARE!!!
And he’s contagious.
That joy.
That love.
It's magnetic!
He is the smile that we all pass around the house. That sunbeam smile that shows up and would at times break when I’m not singing when brushing his teeth.
1. On a fresh note, I don’t quite recall were I’d put that little notebook I asked Oscar before when we were on our University days, to write his 10 bucket list. But I do recall that he never was able to complete the list. Recently, he told me that he’ll be joining a fun run. One of the things he should have done previously, but due to his poor allowance way back at school, he had put off the idea of joining.
He sets his alarm
at 2:30 AM to prepare. I woke up 4:18, in my sleepy manner, I woke him up and
told him its 4 am. Befuddled and jolted out of sleep, he got up,
put on his clothes and running shoes and woah! he’s finished in a manner of
less than 15 minutes. And commute time should have been an hour and 45 minutes
or two. But he made it, and arrives before the event started. I wondered how he
did it.
2. It's been raining wild this past few weeks and whenever I arrive home at night I would find Ora and Quad in our room in their swings and would stay until the heavy downpour stops. There is something with the rain that people in the house could benefit from, our little ones behave well.
Sometimes in the night, Ora would play with Oscar's phone which she calls "galloping minds", on certain occasions when she couldn't find it, she would ask each of us in the house. One night, I told her she should find it herself, and soon afterwards I saw her sitting in one corner of the living room and heard her say "Gallooooopiiing miiiindsss! Galloping minds!!! Asan kana Galloping minds!" Oh yes! That's how she finds things. She would call them with names and she has this fancy perhaps that these things would ultimately go near her once they're called.
Today, (Oct.30,2013) came good news. I am now officially part of the training team in the company. Now, a greater responsibility. Change is great in the company right now and I'm becoming part of it.
Sometimes in the night, Ora would play with Oscar's phone which she calls "galloping minds", on certain occasions when she couldn't find it, she would ask each of us in the house. One night, I told her she should find it herself, and soon afterwards I saw her sitting in one corner of the living room and heard her say "Gallooooopiiing miiiindsss! Galloping minds!!! Asan kana Galloping minds!" Oh yes! That's how she finds things. She would call them with names and she has this fancy perhaps that these things would ultimately go near her once they're called.
3. Recently, I'm secretly and extremely hopeful that everything would work out in time soon. A couple of years ago, I thought I would be this and that at 25. Perhaps I achieved some of those goals, and yet there are so many of those, that I have yet to achieve. And right now, I’m re-evaluating some of those. And wanting a higher journey this time. From great, to greater heights, that I trust to come soonest.
Today, (Oct.30,2013) came good news. I am now officially part of the training team in the company. Now, a greater responsibility. Change is great in the company right now and I'm becoming part of it.
I am not a religious person. There are a lot of things about religion I am not contented with. But I have always been spiritual and my commitment with a God I have been trying to understand has been a constant affair. For the moment, while I'm waiting for a bigger job I wish to come soonest, its good to enjoy what I have right now. Regardless, I feel that my wish is somehow granted. Only I asked for direction and clarity, and I feel in my heart that I got it and some I have yet to earn.
Enjoy the current season of your life!
Thank you for dropping by.
