Holy Monday: Gifts and Rewards

Because it’s been more than a month since I’ve seen my little cousins, I missed them so much. That’s why I preferred to stay with them the whole holy week, aside from my “getting away from the city” mood. Here’s the list of the characters (all my little cousins) for my succeeding stories for better visualization haha:

Ian: 15 years old; a 3rd-year high school student who was raised by our Lola and grew up in our compound; eldest and the most snob of four children (Babyline, Eduard, and Eric); likes watching TV and lying around; always fights with Babyline.

Billy: 15 years old; a 2nd-year high school student who has a serious case of hyperactivity hehe; he’s a real Dennis the Menace, setting fire his Kuyang’s room when he was about 3; lives in Qatar for 2 years now but stays here for the summer; a trouble he may be, he always gets what he wants from his parents and Lola Rosita; wants to do “mature” things; a real spoiled brat but sweet to his mom, Lola, and Ate (me).

Babyline: 13 years old; a 1st-year high school student who, like me, grew up with boys; she lives with her parents, but for a time was also raised by her other Lola (our Lola’s sister in law); she was always “accused” of preferring to stay at her other Lola’s house, unlike all her brothers; being the only girl, she was expected to be more responsible.

Eduard: 8 years old; also grew up with his parents but loves to stay in our compound every weekends and holidays, especially when I’m home; I’ve introduced him earlier; always fights with the youngest, Eric.

Eric: 6 years old; very makulit and likes to emulate people, i.e., soldiers, carpenters, and smokers; has a Down syndrome and leukemia but nevertheless very hyper; loves his papa so much and always kisses and hugs me; he and Eduard are like my shadows whenever they’re with me hehe.

(Actually, I don’t know if my descriptions would matter, but I’ve already written them, so I just hope they might be useful somehow. hehe.)

I have been absent for a while, and I’ve missed two birthdays and two recognitions. Billy celebrated his birthday in Qatar, so I’m excused with not attending, but not with the gift. hehe. After eating lunch at home, I with the 5 kids went to the mall to buy the gifts they wanted: 1 for Billy’s birthday, 2 for Babyline’s birthday and reward for being honor, and 1 for Eduard’s reward for being honor. Whew! Yeah, I faced a summative problem!

Our first stop was the Smart center to talk with our other cousin who’s working there. Billy had a problem with his PSP 3000 and asked for Tootie’s help; he wanted to have it downgraded to get more games, but I think it’s not advisable or not possible yet. In any case, Billy wanted to stay at Smart to talk with his Kuya Tootie there and his officemates (he likes being among adults). I warned him though that he might interrupt their work, but he didn’t mind, so I didn’t mind. haha. One child less to look after.

  waiting at the Smart center

We divided ourselves into two groups and planned to rendezvous at McDonald’s so we could utilize our time better. The two teenagers, Babyline and Ian, went together to search for Babyline’s gifts, and I went with the youngest kids to search for Eduard’s gift. So we parted ways, and I walk around with a kid in each hand. I wonder if people thought they were my kids. But they kept calling me Ate or Tete so I guess (hope) not. We headed for Toys R Us and searched the rows of toys for whatever Eduard may like. Eduard wanted to get the best gift he can with the least expensive amount (yup, he’s looking at their price tags), so after Toys R Us, we went to the other mall, which was connected to Robinson’s (where we were), to search for other toys. Confused between the water gun at Toys R Us and a fishing game at another toy store, he told me we can buy his gift at some other time. I told him not to worry because we can get the other one on his birthday in May. After some thought, we headed back to Toys R Us. Boy, was I tired. In between malls and up and down the escalators, I had to carry Eric almost half of the time, while holding Eduard in my hand. Thank goodness Eduard told me he’d carry my bag. I know how easy it is to be losyang when you’re a mom. hehe.

Eduard and Eric with Squidward

I bought Eduard two water guns, which luckily for me were on sale. We sat at the flooring of Toys ‘R Us to carefully pick the best guns. We inspected the water tube to see if there were scratches and if the pumps and triggers were working properly. Then, we chose the two best colors. Off we go to the counter where we met Babyline and Ian.

Babyline found herself a violet blouse and a green leggings. I wanted to buy the blouse for myself hehe. I was asking her if she wants to buy a short instead of the leggings (because secretly I did not like colorful jeans and tights) but she knows what she wants, so we paid for the clothes and the guns and went back to Smart to meet up with Billy.

I found Billy still chatting with the guard/door man. I told him to say goodbye to him, so we could search for the songbook that he wants. I bet the guard was happy Billy had to go hehe. He developed his inclination for music while he was in Qatar. And while he’s an eternal problem at school, he learned to play the guitar and drums and now is part of 2 or 3 bands. Ironically, he’s now into Pinoy music, especially Eraserheads, when he was so into English rap before he left. Here, he’d play the guitar and I’d sing along with him. Nice bonding. We found a 500-page songbook of Pinoy bands’ song. I was insisting that he learn more of the older rock and alternative songs, but again, he also knows what he wants. Poor Ate, I have no more power over these older kids anymore. hehe.

We took out a box of pizza and bought two-piece chicken meal from Jollibee for Billy boy. I guess he missed Jollibee and Pinoy food so much, so I got him what he wants. We were home at around 6 pm. We are all very tired but happy.

tired, happy, and waiting for our pizza