Kids!

I just so love kids. I enjoy being with them. I love how they view the world. How innocent. How simple. Amazing!

 

Whenever I am home, I am always surrounded with my little cousins and nephews and nieces.  

 

Where I am staying, I have two lovely kids (my neighbors’) who just love coming up to my room to play, or to simply spend some time with me. They are so cute and so fun, I always allow them inside even when I am busy.

 

I always enjoy their company. They make me laugh. Hard.

 

I also like how they make me feel. Just like yesterday. I felt as though I was some beauty queen from heaven.

 

Because I have been staying at home since I resigned from my fulltime job in September, I did not have lots of occasion to dress up. So I had been back to my old jeans-and-shirt or shorts-and-spaghetti-strapped-blouse self. But yesterday, I decided to wear the still unused skirt and blouse I bought months before. I thought the ensemble was smashing.

 

And I think I’m right, judging from the reaction I got from my five-year-old friend, Tricia. As I was descending the stair, she cried: “Wow! Ang ganda mo, ate Sherma!” (Wow, you look so beautiful, Ate* Sherma!).

 

My heart did a somersault, of course! Kids don’t say those things when they don’t mean it, do they? I smiled at Tricia who was looking at me with admiring eyes, said “thank you” and left, feeling every bit the beautiful lady Tricia said I was. 😉

 

I met up with my friend, Salve, and her friend who is also now my friend, Jane. The three of us attended a workshop on writing for children. The workshop was fun, and we learned a lot. (Will share the things I learned from the workshop in a separate post next week for those who want to dabble in children’s lit.)

 

When I got home at night, tired and feverish, Tricia, who was sitting next to her dad who came to fetch her and bring her home (to Bulacan), again said, “Wow, ang ganda mo talaga, Ate Sherma!” (You really are beautiful, Ate Sherma) with the same conviction she had earlier. Then, she quickly stood up, moved even closer to her dad, and, in one fluid motion, covered her dad’s eyes with her hands, saying: “Tatakpan ko ang mga mata mo. Para hindi mo makita si Ate Sherma. Ang ganda niya eh.” (I’m gonna cover your eyes so you won’t see Ate Sherma because she’s so beautiful.)

 

Ah, some kid, this one. She made my day. I still can hear the laughter that rang out after her ‘pronouncement’. And I still laugh out loud every time I remember it.

 

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Ate /a-te/ is a Tagalog honorific word used when talking or referring to an older female; literally, it means ‘big sister’.