CHRISTMAS IN OCTOBER

Aha, you probably thought this was another bribery story what with all this news about ZTE and money changing hands and "sec, me 200 ka dito", didn't you?  Well , it's not! Rather  it is another feel good story care of my son Matt.  Like in my previous post, this is another anecdote which I failed to post and now am posting for all. You'll fall in love with this. Happy reading!

A CHRISTMAS STORY

The Christmas Holidays while tiring and hectic provide
that brief respite from the daily grind. It gives us a
chance to spend time with family and to think back of
the year just past.

On our way back from a trip to La Union, I was caught
unawares when my five year old son Matt asked me why
we needed to hurry back to Manila. I told him I had a
Christmas party to attend to that same night and that
is the reason why we had to head back. The traffic
was light all the way until we reached Malinta. By
then it was almost 11 in the evening already. Matt
then asked me,

“Mom, up to what time is your party?”
“12, I replied.
“What time is it now?”
“Its 11:00”
“And you’re very late na?”
“Ya that’s right.”
“When its 12, your party is finished na?”
“Yap!”
He then looked to the front and shouted, “Driver, slow
down ka!”

I burst in laughter amused at my five year old and ask
him, “ Why did you tell the driver to slow down ?”
He answered, “So you can have more time with me”.

I didn’t know what to say but the traffic seemed to be
on Matt’s side as it moved at a snail’s pace. It was
then that I decided to just forget about the party and
just go home straight. When I told Matt I was not
going anymore, he gave out a big smile and fell asleep
snug by my side.

It is moments like this that make us think.

I did not realize my son was wanting for attention
until that moment. I thought I was giving him enough.
Of course, I could give him more if I had more time
but alas, that is the difficulty for a multi-tasking
mom like me.

Lesson learned: MAKE TIME. Its always been said take
advantage while your kids are still young and wanting
to be around you because once they reach their teens
and have their own barkada and issues, you’ll never
see them around as much as you would want to.

That moment also made me think back when my siblings
and I were the age of Matt, young kids who tried to
understand why our parents had to spend Christmas eve
and New Year’s eve with other people to answer to the
call of public service and as part of our dad’s job as
a military officer. Now that we are older, things
have not changed. We are forced to celebrate the
holidays just among us since my dad has to be with his
constituents in the province this time. An adult
would understand but how do you explain it to kids who
believe that Christmas is for children.

To all you out there, listen and listen well. Be more
sensitive to the feelings of people around you. Maybe
if we listen more intently, we can communicate more
clearly even without having to utter a single word.

The other lesson which I learned is do not ever
underestimate your 5 year old’s intelligence. Young
as they are, they can be your life’s best teacher.
Draw inspiration from them. Ask them the questions
that seem difficult to answer for you and see how
simple the answers really are. It may be their
innocence that we adults have lost that allows them to
come up with a solution fast without any bias or
partiality.

Here’s to a peaceful and more spiritual journey in the
new year