THE WEEKEND IN FOUR SYLLABLES, Part 2




Forget four syllables.

The picture above was taken in my back yard shortly before seven in the evening. Notice how the needle is still pointing to 104 degrees. I could feel the heat assault me the minute I stepped out of our back door.

Based on this, I am predicting this coming weekend to be all of three letters.

H-O-T.

My AUNTIE OLIVE might also be visiting us from L.A. so in all probability, it will be W-E-T too, just like Lance's kindergarten GRADUATION weekend this past week.

(Okay, so we're back to four syllables again...)



SATURDAY: Ce-le-bra'-tion




A small group of mothers huddled in the shade, watching their kids migrate from the pool to the spa and back again with eagle eyes, barely grazing on the food in front of them.

It was the day of Lance's graduation swimming party/pot luck, and our backyard paid host to a bunch of giggling kids, aged 3 to 5.

Every once in a while, one would resurface dripping all over the deck, asking for chips or soda, but these occurences came few and far between. The kids obviously arrived meaning business that day. They were there to SWIM, Mom, not EAT!

When I say "swim", I mean the word loosely here, since Lance was the only one who knew how to swim among the group. But that didn't stop the others from having fun anyway. Armed with kickboards, goggles, snorkels and floaties, the gaggle of kids took over my backyard and held it hostage for the next few hours.




Lance and his friend Nathalie were inseperable the whole afternoon, since Nathalie was the only kid brave enough to tackle the big pool along with Lance. All the other little kids stayed in the spa, where it was warmer and shallower.

Lance and Nathalie have been classmates since preschool. He's told me she was his "GIRL FRIEND" before, but recently he's expressed interest in another classmate, telling me she was the "prettiest" in his class. I think Nathalie won back his affection that afternoon though. This picture on the left captures for posterity the very first time I've ever seen my son with his arm around a girl his age.

But eventually, hunger took over, and it was "Every man for himself" again. And then the kids took one last long dip in the water before it was time to get dressed and go home.

We took one last picture of the remaining stragglers before my back yard was completely empty once more.



It was a nice, simple celebration for the kids' graduation, just like LAST YEAR. And I can't wait to do it again a year from now.

When Troy graduates from preschool.



SUNDAY: Sa-tu-ra'-tion

Yesterday, the girls outnumbered the boys in my back yard.

Well, today it was the boys' turn to rule.



Troy frolicked in the spa while while CHRIS and my nephew, Chivas, lounged a few feet away. My other stepson, Joey, was busy doing laps in the pool with Lance.

Troy eventually joined his other kuyas in doing laps. with his Kuya Joey pushing him forward while Lance rode on Kuya Joey's back.



After doing a few laps like this with his little brothers, it wasn't long before Joey's muscles were pumped. Chris mirrored his brother's most muscular pose too, adding a side chest pose besides. Joey is just 17 and Chris 15, but their interest in bodybuilding started early as both boys have been trying to emulate their Dad since they were young. Indeed, LORENZO started training the two at the tender age of 12.




It was wonderful to see the boys in their element once more, reclaiming their turf after the brief show of girl power the day before. But their reign was short-lived, and limited to the great outdoors.

Because once they were back inside, it was evident who was boss again.



(We may be outnumbered 5 to 2, Reanna and I, but with my little princess on my side, I guess it's safe to say that in our house...)

Girls rule!

Even DADDY says so!




(PLUGGING: Reminiscences of "Summer Love" lost on "The Long Way Home" to 87 GENTLE STREET. Also check out LORENZO's update in SERENITY, and the new BLOGS page of the Modesto Bee ONLINE.)

TICKLED PINK




I received the following e-mail at four o'clock this afternoon:


"Greetings Renee,

Good afternoon. We are creating a Blog section on MODBEE.COM with a mix of staff and community bloggers. We found your blog during a search for local bloggers and would like to feature it under "Community Bloggers" on Modbee.com/blogs. Would you mind if we linked to your blog from our site?

If you have any questions please feel free to e-mail me at xxxx@modbee.com or call xxx-xxxx.

Thank you in advance for your help,

xxxxxxxxx xxxxxx
Online Content Developer
xxx.xxx.xxxx
www.modbee.com"


I have been asked the question "Can I link you?" many times before, but this takes the cake.

The Modesto Bee is the newspaper delivered to our front door everyday. The broadsheet serves Stanislaus County and its five surrounding counties in California's Central Valley. The daily paper has a readership of more than 216,000 adults, with a circulation of close to 86,000.

MODBEE.COM is the online edition of The Modesto Bee.

And that is why I'm tickled pink!


(PLUGGING: Reminiscences of a "Summer Love" lost on "The Long Way Home" to 87 GENTLE STREET)

THE WEEKEND IN FOUR SYLLABLES, Part 1

The weekend after FATHER'S DAY was anything but subdued.

In retrospect, I guess we should've taken full advantage of the peace and quiet brought about by our brood's ear infections en masse. It didn't last too long. Indeed, by the middle of the week, the slow, leisurely pace fueled by Amoxicillin and Infant's Advil had given way to fast, frenetic activity.

It was the run-up to Lance's kindergarten graduation, and Mommies and Daddies were corralled into volunteering for the culmination activities. I, for one had to donate strawberries for the fruit kabobs they would be serving in the graduation luau, aside from being delegated the task of putting together the very same kabobs at home.

And so, on Wednesday afternoon, I picked up my son from school, along with four shopping bags containing watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, grapes, peaches and canned pineapple.

By the time we reached my minivan, I felt like my arms were about to fall off.

Lorenzo and I worked on the fruit, washing, peeling, slicing and dicing until we came up with the most colorful fruit kabobs this side of Hawaii. Lance helped too, by drying loose grapes individually.

No, I'm not that OC. I just wanted to keep him busy so he wasn't underfoot.



THURSDAY: Gra-du-a'-tion

Lance was so proud that he got to wear a shirt and tie in his graduation picture.

But this was taken months before, giving proud (read "gullible") parents like us more time to shell out more of our hard-earned money for yet another set of school pictures.

Indeed, when the actual day of graduation came, Mrs. Ortega's students didn't don stiff white shirts and ties topped with blue togas. They were dressed down considerably, wearing Hawaiian garb in line with the luau theme their teacher came up with.





Call me biased, but I thought Lance was dressed the snazziest among all the boys in his class. My son wasn't just wearing a Hawaiian shirt, he had on a whole Hawaiian ensemble (if you'll excuse the Spiderman sandals). It was no surprise that his teacher put him front and center for their dance number, a hula presentation to the tune of "Pearly Shells".

And then we moved to the grass, where Principal Williams handed out the certificates while Mrs. Ortega proudly looked on.





After a (thankfully) short song from the Principal and an equally short speech from Mrs. Ortega, parents and students were invited to partake of the food up front. At last, Daddy and Reanna finally got to taste Mommy's fruit kabobs. And the verdict?

Delicious!

Of course, the light spread of fruit, chips, cookies and juice hardly put a dent in our appetites, so we proceeded to a more substantial buffet after school, getting down to the business of really celebrating Lance's graduation!





And then we went to the mall, where I got Lance a hardbound copy of Dr. Seuss' "Oh, The Places You'll Go", the perfect graduation gift to graduates of all ages. Troy didn't come out empty-handed as well, as I also got him Eric Carle's "The Grouchy Ladybug" while I finally treated myself to "Mrs. de Winter", the sequel to my favorite book, "Rebecca".

It was heartening to see the lady's reaction when she saw me enter Borders (formerly Waldenbooks).

"All alone this time? Where are the kids?"

Lance and Troy are frequent visitors here as well. In fact, I have made it a tradition to buy them at least one book each whenever we go to the mall.

Just like my LOLO MANING did everytime we went to National Bookstore.

When I was the same age.



FRIDAY: Pre-pa-ra'tion

Friday was Lance's last day in kindergarten.

It was also the day Mrs. Ortega released their report cards. As expected, Lance's grades were stellar. I say this, not because I am smug, but because I caught a naughty preview of it days before.

See, when I dropped off my strawberries, I also had a note to all the other parents in Mrs. Ortega's class, telling them I was organizing an after-graduation swimming party/pot luck for Saturday.

I asked for a class list, just to make sure all the students were accounted for. Mrs. Allen, Mrs. Ortega's assistant teacher, couldn't find one, so she gave me one of their grading forms to copy the names from.

Feeling curious as Pandora, I couldn't resist taking a peek at how my son was doing as well. And this was when I saw that he was graded among the highest in the Reading category. Indeed, among his classmates, only four others got a 4, the highest mark given.

Now, I have to say that Lance is the youngest in his class. He is only five when many of his classmates have already turned six, and his birthday isn't until mid-November. It filled my heart with pride, knowing he was excelling at a skill which I consider to be the most important of all in preparing kids for LIFE.

Indeed, the love of reading has opened my world to so many experiences I would've never known, had I not read and enjoyed the many books I eagerly devoured in my younger days.

It is a love I wish to impart to my children as well.




The rest of the day was spent in more preparation, this time for Lance's upcoming swimming party/pot luck.

Lorenzo wielded our trusty Rainbow vacuum at seldom-explored nooks and crannies in our house while I bravely tackled my kitchen. I also prepared tuna to accompany the tasty Mexican tostadas which my kids love. I got the RECIPE from the mother of Lance's former classmate, who brought the most popular dish in Lance's preschool post-graduation swimming party/POT LUCK last year.

Lorenzo would later leave along with my boys to pick up his older sons, Joey and CHRIS, who would be spending the weekend with us. I knew my kids would be thrilled to see their kuyas again. I was more than happy as well.

With the daunting task of throwing a party on my shoulders I could always use an extra pair of hands. Or two, for that matter.

The more the merrier!


(PLUGGING: We stop to let a "Santacruzan" procession go by on "The Long Way Home" to 87 GENTLE STREET. Also more thoughts on "Graduation" in our matrimonial blog, SERENITY, and more pictures of Lance's Kindergarten GRADUATION in my BRAG BOOK. And finally, more orbs caught in SIGHTINGS.)

P.S. TO POP-SICLES




PREQUEL

Tuesday, June 14
TROY: (in a little voice) My ear hurts...(sniffle)

Thursday, June 16
LANCE: (growls irritatedly) Grrr! There's water in my ear!

Friday, June 17
REANNA: (tearfully pulling at her ears) Waaaah!


SEQUEL

We survived Father's Day weekend, thank you. How was YOURS?

Mine, or rather my husband's, was spent in the company of three sick children, all of them sporting ear infections. They're not all 100% well yet, which accounts for the lag in activity on this blog.

Anyway, for all it's worth, this was how our weekend went:


FRIDAY: Lance's Kindergarten Play Day

Lorenzo officially kicked off Father's Day weekend by volunteering for Lance's Kindergarten Play Day at his school.




My husband was in charge of a group of kindergarteners, including Amoxicillin-fortified Lance. He herded his group around different activity stations, mostly involving water. These included water painting, foam frisbees, a ball station, bubble blowing, water balloons and a sponge duck and goose game.



But the highlight of it all was the wading pool station, where the kids frolicked in the water while Beach Boys songs blared in the background.

It was a fun, wet madhouse, according to Lorenzo. After tossing rings, sponge balls and one last round of foam fish raquet ball, the kids towelled off and changed into clean clothes. Then they went to the kindergarten playground to eat hotdogs.

It certainly sounded like fun, and I would've loved to join Lorenzo, but I was at home taking care of two sick kids, one of them a baby with a temperature of 102.7. There was no denying it. Reanna had joined the bandwagon, the latest casualty in our losing battle against the Mighty Ear Infection.

The rest of the day was quiet, with three subdued children skulking around the house. They all retired early, with Lance and Troy having a camp-in with Daddy in our family room while Reanna bunked in with Mommy upstairs.




SATURDAY: Tacos and Anakin

Thank goodness for Infant's Advil.

Reanna woke up cranky with a fever of 104.6. Within minutes of taking the stuff, she was on the way back to her perky old self.

The two boys' energy levels were still low too, so I decided to make some tacos to spice things up somewhat. After unleashing Reanna on to her kuyas in the sleeping bag, I started the beef on the stove while Daddy got busy chopping cabbage and tomatoes and grating cheese.

Soon we had the makings of a fun family meal together. The scene in our kitchen mirrored yesterday's activity, except this time, it was Lorenzo and me dancing an impromptu rigodon around each other, constructing tacos from ingredients in different stations. Aside from the meat on the stove, there was a chopped cabbage station followed by sour cream, and then there were further stops for tomatoes and cheese and finally, a giant dollop of salsa to top the works.

Unfortunately, even the festive colors and flavors weren't enough to whet my kids' appetites. Troy picked at his taco's innards while Lance flat-out refused a second serving on a taco shell, insisting on having his taco served on a soft tortilla instead.

Lorenzo obliged, gamely coming up with the rainbow creation on the right.



"I don't want the green stuff and the red stuff and the cheese, Dad."

So much for bright ideas. My husband and I just gave up, tucking into our tacos with great relish while our kids picked at theirs. And then we all settled into the family room to watch Anakin Skywalker turn into Darth Vader while chicken noodle soup (our "New Hope") simmered on the stove.

Later that evening, I made spaghetti with meatballs to make up for the Big Taco Fiasco. Happily, my last offering was met with more interest.

We had reached the summit, forded the river, crossed the desert.

Everything else was chicken feed after that. Tacos included.


SUNDAY: "Look, I AM your father..."

Father's Day dawned uneventfully, which is good when you have three sick charges sleeping fitfully under the same roof.

There wasn't much we could do to celebrate, except watch more "Star Wars" movies. We weren't about to drag our children out when they weren't feeling well. They couldn't even swim because it might make their ear infections worse.

And so we went about making preparations for a simple celebration at home. After "Episode V!", Lorenzo put on the Magic Mic while I started working on his Father's Day dinner. I had found a recipe for salpicao, which I thought he would like, later joining him in singing while my beef marinated on the counter.

Alas, by the time I put it on the stove I realized that I was working with the wrong cuts of meat. Indeed, what should've taken mere minutes to cook took hours to finally get done. And when it was finished, the end result was more akin to adobadong karne. You wouldn't have even suspected that I was originally gunning for salpicao.

I would end up adding coconut milk, eggplant and green beans to the beef the next day, which actually made it quite interesting, but on THAT night, I was very disappointed with myself, feeling that I had failed my husband, on Father's Day, no less.

But Lorenzo saw it differently. Without skipping a beat, my husband made his way to the stove, got himself a heaping helping, declared there was nothing wrong with the way it tasted, and proceeded to polish it off.

And that is what makes him the best husband and father in the world.

(To me and my kids anyway!)

We love you Dad!




(PLUGGING: We stop to let a "Santacruzan" procession go by on "The Long Way Home" to 87 GENTLE STREET. Also more pictures of Lance's KINDERGARTEN PLAY DAY in my BRAG BOOK, and an update in our matrimonial blog, SERENITY. And finally, more orbs caught on camera! Check them out at SIGHTINGS.)

POP-SICLES




Today is Father's Day.

And, being the dutiful daughter I am, I will fulfill my filial duties first by greeting my beloved DADDY "Happy Father's Day!"

If only he were alive today, we'd be talking up a storm, burning the phone lines, or chatting gaily while breaking bread. I would tell him about meeting new friends in the blogosphere, like SAM, who grew up in MSU and knew my grandparents, and BABY PINK, who is the daughter of a dear friend of his.

How I wish I could be there to see him break into his familiar smile as he launches into his many little anecdotes about their families, telling me how he knew them and how so-and-so is related to so-and-so, as we have come to expect from conversations with him in the past.

But since I can't do it in person, I guess I'll have to do it IN SPIRIT. For now.

At least until we meet again.





I would also like to greet the most important man in my life for Father's Day.

This of course would be my loving spouse, DON LORENZO DE MODESTO. Lorenzo is a wonderful husband and a great father to all of his children.

Like my Daddy, Lorenzo wears his heart on his sleeve when his kids are concerned. He is very affectionate and demonstrative, and never holds back with his "I love you"'s. It's no wonder all of his kids, including his two grown boys, Joey and CHRIS, openly hug him and tell them they love him, even in public.

This is what happens when "I love you"'s are exchanged freely among family members, from the time your children start talking.

And it warms the heart to know my kids will grow up feeling loved and secure, just like I did.



Happy Father's Day, my love.



And of course, I cannot forget my father-in-law, TATAY, who bravely underwent a quintuple heart bypass at the beginning of the year.

But bravery and derring-do are nothing new to this old salt, whose name has made it to maritime history books as a member of the crew of the S.S. Mayaguez when it was taken over by the Khmer Rouge in the infamous MAYAGUEZ INCIDENT.

At 74, Tatay still stands tall, towering over six feet above his grandchildren. He has also retained his rugged good looks, reminiscent of Sean Connery. Here he is, with his youngest grandchild, Reanna, who was just four months old when this picture was taken.



Happy Father's Day, Tatay!



Next I would like to greet my brother-in-law, Atty. Charlie Lim, on his first Father's Day ever.

A couple of weeks ago, I found out my sister, MAYA, was pregnant after eleven years of marriage.

I also heard that as soon as Charlie got the confirmation, nagpa-lechon siya.

And then they found out they were having TWINS.

Nagpa-lechon na naman si Charlie for a second time!

Congratulations, Charlie and Maya! The whole family shares in your happiness.

(Text update from my sister, Maya: I just had an ultrasound. Super cute ng twins, ang likot. They're bobbing up and down by themselves and they keep jerking their arms. Ang kukulit. They're 2 inches long na.)

Ahhh...the miracle of life.





Days before Father's Day, I was rushing to finish a labor of love, my latest blog, "SIGHTINGS". This is a gallery of my family pictures with orbs in them. I had been featuring these pictures in my blogs as they came, and was quite surprised at the regularity of their appearance.

Since they usually showed up during special occasions, I assumed that at least some of these visible balls of energy were my DAD. However, it would be unfair of me to leave out other family members, who could just as likely be some of these orbs as well. My Lola Luz, for instance, or my two grandfathers, Lolo Pinong and LOLO MANING, both of whom I wish to greet for Father's Day, wherever they may be.

I would like to dedicate "Sightings" to all of these people who loved me, and continue to look over me and my family.

Thank you for reserving your best smiles for last.





I also did some rounds, and greeted the few fathers in my blogging circle on their special day. Among the group were grandfathers and stepfathers, IRA and SAM, who are fathers in their own right along with AIR MILIKAY, and the much-rarer single fathers, PUNZI and RONALLAN.

In this day and age, when deadbeat dads are far too common, it is heartening to see men like these who defy convention and singlehandedly raise their children, acting as both father and mother. It can't be too easy.

I salute you both, along with all the other Dads I know out there.

Happy Father's Day!


(PLUGGING: We stop to let a "Santacruzan" procession pass on "The Long Way Home" to 87 GENTLE STREET. Also check out my newest blog, SIGHTINGS, which I rushed to finish in time for Father's Day.)

CELEBRATING IN SPIRIT




"I'll be celebrating with you in spirit, Sweetheart!"

I used to hear these words a lot from my DADDY, especially when we were still oceans away and he couldn't join us for special occasions.

Uncannily, now that he's passed on, that expression seems to have taken on a new literal meaning.

These past few days I've been feverishly working round-the-clock, trying to finish a labor of love in time for Father's Day. It is a new offering called "SIGHTINGS", a gallery of pictures I've taken of my family with mysterious orbs in them.

It all began when we bought our digital camera, in time for our daughter's birth a little more than a year ago. It wasn't anything fancy. Just a little Kodak CX6330 which we bought because it came with a little printing dock which, ironically, we have never used to this day.

We couldn't even afford this little thingamajig when we bought it because LORENZO was JOBLESS at the time, but, at the prodding of someone who promised to give it to us as a gift for the coming baby...

(but could we please pay for it first, and she would pay us back in the next two paydays?)

...we got it on a zero-down/zero-percent interest payment plan, against my better judgment.

Needless to say, she never paid us for it and now my Circuit City Card is maxed out, but that's another story.

So anyway, we were now stuck with a digital camera, and we lost no time using it to full advantage. Sure enough, just six days after we bought it, I gave BIRTH to Reanna. And the precious pictures we took of that unforgettable DAY made that whole Circuit City thing worth it.

I was unaware of it at the time, but a giant orb was captured among visiting family members in a photograph that we shot in my hospital room at DOCTORS MEDICAL CENTER.

And in fact, orbs continued surfacing in our pictures after that, but I didn't notice them until I saw an unmistakeable orb in my camera's display screen upon reviewing a shot I took of Troy, immediately after taking the PICTURE.

We were at the pumpkin patch for a kindergarten FIELD TRIP. It also happened to be my Dad's fifth death anniversary that day. I would later discover another distinct orb among the day's pictures, this time in a SHOT I took of Lance.

Well, just recently, we went on another kindergarten FIELD TRIP with Lance, his last one of the year. And guess what we would catch on camera again?

You got it. Another ORB.

How very much like my DADDY, who used to follow each of his girls on their field trips. When I went on my very first Girl Scout weekend camping trip to Liliw, Laguna, he went there. A year later, I would be crowned Miss International Night during our Girl Scout camping trip to Baguio. He followed me there too.

That last picture inspired me to start another blog, specifically to showcase the many mysterious orbs which seemed to turn up in our pictures around birthdays and special occasions. As I was toying with the idea, I was drawn to the simple black template being used by CERRIDWEN and NOTSQUARE, which would've been a good background for a blog with such a spooky subject.

I was looking it up in in Blogger when another sample template caught my eye. It was almost black, but not quite, and peppered with a lot of uniform floating dots. It was the PERFECT template for a blog about orbs! I decided to call it "SIGHTINGS".

"Sightings" officially debuted on June 19, in a post I made to my HUSBAND in our matrimonial BLOG, "Serenity". Since then I have been scanning all the pictures in my collection, adding a new entry whenever I would find another orb in them. And yesterday, I officially ended my search, which yielded no less than twenty-six entries in "SIGHTINGS".

I will be updating my latst blog as each new orb sighting comes along. So far, I've had at least one entry for each month after May 2004, with the exception of March this year. It is ironic that March also happens to be when DADDY and I were born, but I guess I didn't really take too many pictures that month.

I have a sneaking suspicion, however, that there is an elusive picture out there just waiting to be found, both with an orb in it and a time stamp bearing March 2005.

And when I find it, I'll let you know.


(PLUGGING: We stop for a detour to buy PASALUBONG on "The Long Way Home" to 87 GENTLE STREET.")

PASALUBONG




(Prada Mama's NOTE: The following is an actual exchange of text messages between me and my my sister, HAYA, before she left for her recent VISIT here.

Haya just passed the Medical Board Exams last August and is in her first year of residency. I still see her as my baby sister at times, and marvel at how far she's come along, fulfilling the family tradition of having at least one doctor in every generation.

Anyway, here are those texts, copied verbatim, about some pasalubongs DON LORENZO and I requested...)



RENEE: Pwede pahabol GOURMET TUYO & pastillas de leche? Love, R.

HAYA: Of course meron na dto ;-) Love you :-)

RENEE: Request ni Jojo (my husband, Lorenzo) Combantrin at pantutuli.

HAYA: HAHA Serious sya?!

RENEE: Yup.

HAYA: Pero d ako pde mantuli! La ako gamit pang circumcise :)

RENEE: Hindi pantuli. Pantutuli as in ear wax. Meron non sa Mercury.

HAYA: Hahaha! OK got it :) Summer kc dto uso tuli, kala ko gusto nyo din jan :)

RENEE: Don't worry, lahat ng LORENZO fixed na.

HAYA: Good! Ayaw na ayaw ko mag tule, eewww! :)


Now THAT sounds more like my baby sister!


(PLUGGING: For more eye candy, take "The Long Way" home with me as I talk about my REAL "Pasalubongs", the native delicacies of my childhood in 87 GENTLE STREET. Highly recommended if you want to drool over pastillas de leche, polvoron, and my personal favorite, YEMA!)

MY KINDERGARTEN MOMENTS




Funny how ten months can fly just like that.

This picture was taken on Lance's first day in kindergarten, in what he used to refer to as "the big kids' school" (as opposed to his preschool).

I still remember him getting up that day, all bright and chipper, excited to be riding the school bus for the very first time. It was a big deal for the whole family. A rite of passage of sorts. Our eldest son was finally starting elementary school, and he was confident enough to insist on taking the bus there all by himself.

To show our support, we all walked him to the bus stop. Even Spot the Pit Bull joined us. I guess we were the picture of togetherness because a man actually slowed down to tell my husband "Now THAT'S life," motioning to our family, pit bull and all.

It was my happiest kindergarten moment.




Now, I've always known my son was smart. His teacher has always told us that he was one of the brightest students in her class. But there was one particular instance which made me all flushed up with pride. It was during our first parent-teacher conference at the beginning of the school year, when Lance's teacher, Mrs. Ortega, told us that he was only one of two students in her class who knew where the beginning and end of a page were.

We have always READ to our children, and on that day, it showed.

It was my proudest kindergarten moment.

And then there was the day I received a letter from Mrs. Ortega, telling me that Lance was sent to the Principal's Office for fighting with another child in line and calling him an A**HOLE. My cheeks still redden with chagrin everytime I remember this.

That was, no doubt, my most embarrassing kindergarten moment.

But all these moments pale in comparison to the day my son came home and told me, oh so casually...

LANCE: Mom, we had a lock-down drill today.
MOMMY: What's a lock-down drill?
LANCE: It's where you lock all the doors and close all the windows and turn off the lights and find someplace to hide so the bad guys can't find you.

Now THAT was my saddest kindergarten moment of all.


In the aftermath of Columbine, it is painful to know that even kindergarten students have to grow old just a little bit faster.

We all wish we can shield our children from all the evil that abounds in this world. But shielding them won't prepare them for when it actually happens. And it is the very certainty of these things happening which chills our hearts and make us acquiesce, and eventually accept the entry of words such as "lock-down drill" into our kids' vocabularies.

As parents, we have to be eternally vigilant on our children's behalf, especially in this day and age. Yet it is nothing new. Our parents also went through their own Columbines, hugging us tighter and treasuring us more in the process.

This much is evident in the following song, which came out in 1982 and struck a chord even then. Indeed, its message has remained timeless through the years...


USED TO BE
Performed by Stevie Wonder and Charlene Duncan

Superman was killed in Dallas
There's no love left in the palace
Someone took the Beatles lead guitar

Have another Chivas Regal
You're twelve years old And sex is legal
Your parents don't know where
Or who you are

Used to be the hero of the ball game
Took the time to shake the loser's hand
Used to be that failure only meant you didn't try
In a world where people gave a damn

Great big wars in little places
Look at all those frightened faces
But don't come here, we just don't have the room

Love thy neighbor's wife and daughter
Cleanse your life with holy water
We don't need to bathe, we've got perfume

Used to be a knight in shining armor
Didn't have to own a shiny car
Dignity and courage were the measure of a man
Not the drugs he needs to hide the scars

Whoa, oh, oh, oh....

Can your teacher read?
Does your preacher pray?
Does your president have soul?
Have you heard a real good ethnic joke today?

Mama took her speed
And Daddy ran away
But you musn't lose control

Let's cut a class
I got some grass
The kids are wild we just can't tame 'em
Do we have the right to blame 'em?

We fed em all our indecision
We raped their minds with television
But what the hell,
They're too young to feel pain

But I believe that love can save tomorrow
I believe the truth can make us free

Someone tried to say it
And we nailed him to a cross

I guess it's still the way
It used to be


(NOW PLAYING: "With You I'm Born Again", our theme song, on "The Long Way Home" to 87 GENTLE STREET. Also, "You Have Changed", Don Lorenzo's latest update in ONE DAY, ISANG ARAW. And check out the soft launch of my newest blog. See what it's all about in SIGHTINGS.)

ALL TIRED OUT




Today was an exhausting day for my family.

We all started out early. It was the day of Lance's third and last kindergarten field trip, and the whole family was invited. The destination was Micke Grove Zoo in Lodi, which was about an hour away from Modesto.

Their first excursion took place last October 18, when Lance's kindergarten class went to the PUMPKIN PATCH. Parents and siblings were allowed to come as well, so I followed them in Vanna, my trusty minivan, with Troy and Reanna in tow. We later discovered that someone else hitched a ride with us that day. October 18 also happened to be my DAD's fifth death anniversary, and his presence was apparent in the many mysterious orbs that appreared in our pictures when I uploaded them.

(Ironically, another orb showed up in today's pictures too. Click on the first thumbnail below, the one of Lance and Troy with the baby goats.)

Anyway, back to the subject of field trips. Lance's class also went to the Children's Museum in Stockton earlier this year. Unfortunately, siblings weren't allowed so I wasn't able to come. As you know, Lorenzo and I try to be hands-on parents as much as possible, so I really regretted not being able to join Lance back then. With my husband at work, there was simply nobody I could leave my two younger kids with.

So for this trip, I made sure we were there in full force. Even Lorenzo was there to join us this time. I wasn't sure if we could make it to school in time to leave with the party, so I had Lance take the school bus going there. I also told him not to expect us, because I knew he would be worried if the bus left without us.

I knew we would make it to Lodi on time. With Lorenzo at the wheel, the trip which took the school bus one hour to make was reduced to half an hour in Vanna. We got to Micke Grove just as the bus was unloading. I spotted my son immediately, rolling down my window to call out "Hi Lance!" The look of surprise on his face and the wide grin that followed were simply priceless.

Micke Grove Zoo is run by the San Joaquin County Parks and Recreation Authority. It was stocked with enough animals to be of interest to the adults, yet was small enough so that little kids could walk around the entire place without getting exhausted.

Our first stop was the seal pool, where we arrived just in time to watch the seals being fed. Lance and Troy were thrilled to witness the feeding. They quickly clambered up the concrete base of the guardrail to get a better look.




After that, my two boys got up close and personal with some baby animals at the Critter Corner, where Lance and Troy got to touch the zoo babies: little goat kids and oversized Highland lambs, bunny rabbits with soft fur and baby piglets with stiff hair.




But their favorite of all was the sweet little pony, which patiently stood as they brushed its coat.




The zoo also had a host of monkeys, birds and even a serval cat. Lance and Troy also liked the lemurs because they reminded them of the lemur in the PBS Kids show, "Zaboomafoo". I'm sure they would've seen more lemurs in another section of the zoo devoted to the island of Madagascar, but we weren't able to see the displays because they were already calling the Fairview group to the picnic tables.

So, after a brief stop to buy souvenirs, we headed back to the parking lot and the picnic area, where Lance generously shared his sack lunch with Troy. I could tell he was more interested in the adjacent playground than eating, so I let him loose. It wasn't long before Troy joined his kuya at the giant slides as well.




Pretty soon it was time to go. I shot one last picture of my family in our picnic table. Lance was taking a last sip of his drink before joining his classmates in line, while Troy was tearfully pleading for us to stay just a little bit longer.




But we knew we had to go. Lance would be travelling separate from us in the school bus, and we had to be there to pick him up when the bus dropped his class off at school. So we gathered our belongings and piled into Vanna. But not wothout a promise from Daddy that we would be going back there again.

Soon, Troy added.

And knowing my sons, they will definitely hold Dad to his promise.


(PLUGGING: More pictures at Micke Grove Zoo in my BRAG BOOK, also "Music 21", next stop on "The Long Way Home", now boarding at 87 GENTLE STREET.)