In this day and age, of full scale cyber dependence, when parents perhaps may
” face time ” or ” tweet ” their children to join them for #dinner @the family’s dining table,
” Family Day ” should be incorporated in the new family code.
( just as ” provisions ” were added to R.A.10175-the Anti Cyber Crime Law or included in the Sin-Tax law.)
The first Family Day that my husband and I attended, was last year in Tagaytay City.
My son’s former school held it there, at the Summit Ridge Hotel grounds.
The place was beautiful and the weather was breezy, enough to bring the heat down.
( although in Tagaytay City, it never is a bit of a problem.)
The teachers prepared enjoyable activities for everyone.
And we found ourselves engulfed in a place, filled with cool parents who happily participated and just be the cool parents that they were.
My husband and I enjoyed it so much.We had a good time.
It may sound trite, but it took us back to appreciating the simpler joys in life.
Our co-parents were very engaging, so we got to compare notes with them and in that point of epiphany, we all realized,
” Woooow, we are soo not alone in this. ” ( kids.)
Or
” Finally, somebody’s speaking our language.This is my tribe.”
So on a Saturday, my son’s present school, scheduled theirs.
My husband and I, did not have second thoughts in joining.
Although, we almost didn’t join, for my little boy was just recuperating from cough and colds.
But we were just glad, we did.
The theme for the school’s family day was centered on Filipino games.
1. Palarong Pinoy ( Filipino Games )
It is sad of course, that Filipino games today, would be alien in my son’s childhood, when those games were commonplace in mine.
My four year old son, belonging to this ipad fueled generation and verily a complete stranger to ” tumbang preso ” , had to ask twice :
( first, before the game started and the other, during.)
” MOM? I throw this?? ( the slipper)….. on to the cans?
This mom? The slipper, mom? “
His uncertainty, as whether to actually throw the slipper, at the cans or plainly wear them, was more rocket science, than maybe that of those stuff in Phineas and Ferb.
( ” Aren’t you both too young to discover , Atlantis? “)
( ” Mom, Phineas and Ferb are creating a title sequence.”)
So I told my son,
” It’s like playing bowling, the slipper is like the ball and the cans, duck pins! ”
WHAM! And the cans fell . He got the point alright.
BUT THEN AGAIN, guess whose assistance I seek, when buying at ITUNES or hooking my IPAD to our IDOCK?
( ” Mom, we’re even steven.” )
2. Vegetables ( Gulay )
My husband and I, played a Maria-Went-To-Town sort of relay game.
It started with both of us, parents having to get into a garter.
Next, we had to wear the traditional Filipino clothes set before us.
However though, the dads wore the women’s clothes, while the moms on the other hand, wore the men’s.
( “The things we do for our children.” ) ( ” You can say that again.”)
( thank God for the salakot or the traditional wide brimmed hat that shielded me, for I bravely post this picture, while my husband is exposed in all his glory.)
( my son no doubt, knows, how cool his dad is! )
The last step, proved to be the most challenging part for us parents.
(as if, that picture up there, wasn’t a challenge enough.)
It was because, at the end of the game, in an array of vegetables set in front of us,
we had to pick and place inside the bayong ( market bag/basket ),
the vegetable that corresponded to the one indicated on our piece paper.
At the end of the game of course, the contents of the parents’ baskets revealed ( or did not reveal ) the vegetables’ true nature.
Patola and Upo are actually algebraic expressions disguised as vegetables.
Inside our team’s bayong was a huge piece of vegetable that we know of as,
” Upo, “.
It had, however, shamelessly clinging to it, a piece of paper, with the words,
” Patola “.
So dear old patola was left in the array of veggies orphaned and robbed of its rightful name.
Teacher : “Mommy and Daddy? “… ( while taking the Upo out )
” Ano po ito? ” ( ” What is this? “)
( The teacher was more of like, saying, ” What is the meaning of this? )
Then one parent, ( whom I presumed was the nomenclature bandit )
came rushing in front, arguing that,
” Yan na po ang bagong patola! ”
The new normal.
Kids are smart. Parents are the smartest.
( “Tsaka malapit lapit na rin ang patola sa upo “)
( ” Kailan? Saan? )
( “Sa kantang bahay kubo”…..)
( ” Kundol, patola, upo’t kalabasa..” )
I sympathized with him. Wouldn’t you?
In a game like that, where, you have sold all reasons, would you still be able to visualize, or maybe identify the least, a patola?
Or , even if it did came rushing to you, yelling at the top of its voice,
” Pick me up, I’m a Patola, goodheavens parent! ”
I guess not.
Or try ” Saluyot ” .
It was what the piece of paper I picked, read.
And because Saluyot, never made it to the Bahay Kubo lyrics and I was never on a first name basis with it, I therefore, couldn’t find it in the array of vegetables in front of me.
I, of course, had only this tiniest recollection, for I rarely got to eat it, that it was leafy, so I scanned, ” anything-leafy-in-front-of-me ” .
But all I saw was alugbate.
( which incidentally is my favorite vegetable way back in Cagayan de Oro City)
It couldn’t be saluyot could it ?
Just when I was about to pick alugbate, pass it as saluyot,
(for it was the only ” anything-leafy in-front-of-me “),
a school assistant tossed a leafy vegetable in the bilao ( panner or winnowing basket) in front of me.
Aha! So the organizers overlooked the saluyot and forgot to put it on the bilao in the first place.
A good thing of course, for had the teachers placed, leafy vegetables, other than alugbate, a visa to visit the salad capital of the Philippines, should be required of me.
Whereas nothing could ever assuaged my guilt, over my daily mantra:
” Rafa, eat your vegetables.”
( yeah , like I know ’em.)
In the course of the game, I have also used two terms ” kamansi ” and
” kalamansi ” , interchangeably.
I, of course, know both.
Kamansi is a favorite in my province.
But in a real display of bravado, thinking that I do know my vegetables,
I tongue twisted my way, into securing my rightful place, in the realm of CARNIVORES.
3. The All Time Parents Pep Squad
Long time ago, I never understood how it was, that when my younger sister, Mirzi was in kindergarten, I totally saw my mom running, on the inner grounds of the sports complex, like she was a participant too.
But years later, my enlightenment occurred, during the first family day I attended, which was with my son’s previous school.
I surely went running with my son, ( yeah what else ?)
” like I was a participant too.”
( and as if my running with him, would gain points for his team.)
(#wenongayon?)
( Tabang jud ka ug dagan.)
( Tutulong ka talaga sa pagtakbo.)
( You’d help in the running too.)
On family days, like the ones I have been attending, for two years in a row, one thing is constant, The-All-Time-Parents-Pep-Squad.
During the games, parents like myself never had qualms as to whichever way we found ourselves : scrawny, sweaty and barefooted. (and yes, even dressed androgenously.)
We slip, we dive, we run , we cheerdance and we put the entire U.P. Pep Squad in an act of contrition.
We may not be Ferdinand Bong Ravena for Kiefer Isaac Ravena nor Coach Louie Alas for Kevin Louie Alas, but we cheer for our children like anything they do, is major league.
We shout in decibels, than what is legally required, of grown ups such as ourselves.
And nothing compares to seeing our childrens’ eyes light up just like that, when they hear us rooting for them.
I surely do know, that a parent’s support is crucial to a child’s perception of life in general.
I was born into a ” cheering squad ” family.
Our dad is the greatest fan/believer.
Our mom the greatest support system.
Our siblings are the very hardworking team mates.
And the whole family holds undeniable team spirit.
So I surely do know, that as a daughter then later on, as a parent, it makes a huge difference to show up and support the children in all their activities.
Parents like myself, will forever be the greatest fans of our kids.
We will remain the loudest cheerer upper a child could ever have.
And it will be our cheers, which he will remember the most, in adulthood.
Next time your child’s school schedules a Family Day, don’t pass it up.
Find time.
And yes, so hackneyed, but in this busy world and busy life, it really does take no effort to laugh and live a little, with your family.
– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad2
