I'm okay. . .

Mid June and the first day of school after a two-week break – a break away from the chaos of ‘abc’ and ‘123’. The time spent with the kids and hubby was rewarding in many ways. Apart from that, I also had time for myself – doing my own stuff and the likes of it.

Time – I took advantage of it trying to help Edward with the continuation of building what we call home. Ha, here again I find myself on that. We do get into squabbles on the tone of colour, the design, the landscape and just about everything. In the end, of course, we do come to an agreement. We definitely found time to just stroll along the beach holding hands (^_^) watching the sun set while the kids run ahead of us in their own merriment.

I also spent it watching the kids grow. . .and they still are! I’d just sit and be a spectator of their inquisitiveness exploring what to me was just our yard but to them it was a world of their imagination. There were a lot of ‘ooh’s, ‘ah-ha’s plus their shriek of laughter reverberating within our yard and the kagataan (rubber trees) nearby. Enya, assuming her kakak role, sometimes giving in to the cries of ‘Enya, help!’ from her brothers. Nell, the abang, cycles over the rutted ground hoping to gather the speed to conquer a slope on his hand-me-down bicycle. And well there’s Baby Ed (no longer a baby!!) with his hair matted with grime and sweat pushing/pulling his toys over the sand. Joie de vivre! *sighs*

As a parent, I've grown personally with them too! They've taught me in their own ways. We heard of the passing away of a girl. The daughter and only child of someone we knew. She was the joy in her parents lives but was snatched away at a very young age. Her mom was overcome with grief that amidst her (the mom) cries she would just lose consciousness. Well, you know in situations as such we hear bits and pieces of cries from the mom especially on how the girl was too young to be taken away and that they haven't spent much time with her and so on. *sighs* I recall watching a CSI series when in one case Gary Sinise (as Mac Taylor) ended by saying something like 'find the time to be with the ones you love.'

I was jarred awake from my thoughts as I saw Nell skidding on a stone and in like slow motion fell off the bicycle. Having sat there for quite sometime, I clumsily stood up, almost falling myself, and hurried off towards him. He looked up with that indelible smile on his face and said "I'm okay mommy."