My Boys

I had a sort of introduction to motherhood in my early 30s, courtesy of my nephews, Chino and Eon. The boys were really boys, making mischief minute by minute. Bored at having to wait for the wedding procession to start, they marched ahead, sending the entire entourage scurrying to their places. Prior to take-off, Chino stood in front of the stewardess--who was then doing the in-case-of-emergency drill--and shouted: "okay everybody, open your mouth and lunok laway."

The boys introduced me to the world of non-sequiturs and unanswerable questions, to Jollibee Kiddie Meals and pediatricians. From Chino, who's older by two years, came questions and statements that introduced me as well to the the way the then four-year-old's mind works. Here are some of them:

"Eon, bakit kapag natatapunan mo ako ng water at sinasabi ko na lagot ka, sinasabi mo na di ka lagot? Bakit kahit lagot ka, gusto mo pa rin palagi na wala kang lagot?"

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"Bakit kapag uminom ng water pakakain at nadala na ng lawayand water sa tiyan, nalalasahan ulit ang pagkain?"

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"Nag-away kami ni Eon kanina. Sabi kasi ni Eon,wala daw Perlas ng Silanganan ang Bayang Magiliw. Sabi ko meron."

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"Jesus, sana po i-stop nyo ang stretch ng hand ko para hindi ako makakurot."

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Chino hardly speaks Tagalog now and he's much more behaved. But he still has those outrageous views. His mama--whom Eon calls "My Mommmm"--usually gives "points" for good deeds or for a job well done. The points can be redeemed for extra minutes on the computer. In one high drama moment, Chino begged: "Don't give me points, Mama. Please don't give me points. I think I'm just doing good so I can get points."

That from the mouth of a kindergartner.