A DAD TO WOULD-BE BALLERINAS

Being a Dad to two would-be ballerinas is tough, as my husband has recently learned.  He not only has to wake up early on Saturdays, he also has to start learning the language. 

This is an account of some of his experiences (yes, published without his permission but no, he wouldn't dare sue me) which earned a lot of guffaws.

While Ina, our 5-year old, was getting dressed for her ballet class, Ina blurted out, "But Dad, you forgot my tutu!"  My poor husband, with his face clearly showing his bewilderment, asked me, "What's a tutu?"

After the girls' first class in their new ballet school, my husband commented that he likes this new school better.  And what did he say exactly?  "You know Babe, I like this new school more than Katrina Halili's School of Ballet.  For one, there are fewer students in a class."  You guess it right, I could hardly breathe because I was too busy laughing.  Hanggang sa ballet, si Katrina Halili ang naiisip.

Ballet started in France and this is the reason why ballet terms are in French.  Since the girls wanted to practice some of the ballet steps they learned, my husband, proud to have remembered a new ballet term, said, "Ok, why don't you show me 'salta'?" "What do you mean," Fran asked him.  "Jump," he answered.  Uh, uh, that's not salta.  That's 'saute'.  And I couldn't resist adding that "salta" was used by Dora the Explorer.  And no, it's not French.

But what the heck.  He may not know the terms.  He may not know the correct name of the school.  But he's always there to say, "Good job, girls," after every ballet class. 

And that is more than good enough for Fran and Ina.

Fran

Ina

WILL YOU STILL LOVE ME?

"Will you still love me," Ina asked me a couple of months ago when she first learned that I'm pregnant with my third child.

Ina--my second daughter, the baby whom I breastfed for two years despite working full time and attending out-of-town hearings, the girl who is the mirror-image of her Dad but vehemently argues that she looks like me--turns five years old today.

 

Will I still love you?

How can I not love the little girl who keeps on telling me, "Mom, I love you with all my heart."

How can my heart not melt for the little girl who gives me her very own special drawings every night without fail and sheepishly apologizes because they're not perfect.

How can I not be amazed by this smart and funny girl who dares me to go hang-gliding with her and who, with a twinkle in her eyes, asks, "What do you call a snail that lives in a ship?  A snailor!"

How can I not smile when I remember you agreeing with me that I'm fat but telling me two days later that I look great.

How can I not look forward to seeing you all grown-up and embarking on adventures on your own when I heard you tell your Ate that you need a flashlight so that you can look at the hieroglyphics on the wall.

How can I not be astonished to hear you, at age 3, used the words "exasperating", "compromise" and "hibernate" in our daily conversation.

And how can I not thank God for this wonderful little girl who has touched my life in so many ways.

Yes, Ina, I will always love you.

I will love you even if there MAY come a time when you'll...

       forget to say that you love me with all your heart

       get tired of making your special drawings for me

       fail to crack your jokes

       candidly tell me that I'm huge

       stop inviting me in your adventures

       just use simple words, or worse, not talk to me at all.

And this is a promise from me to you -- I will never stop telling and showing you how much I love you.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY INA!

I NEED TO KNOW

I am about to take my final exam in Infotech in 30 minutes.  And I still need to do my final presentation for tomorrow's class.

So why am I spending precious time writing this?

My husband has just posed the question, "So who will you vote for this coming elections?"

Tough question.  But I am ready with my answer--"I don't know, I'm still undecided."

What I know is that I am not ready to vote for somebody simply because his parents are probably the two most respected Filipinos in our history.  What I know is that I am not ready to vote for somebody simply because he says that he is poor or knows how it was to be poor and then spends millions of pesos in advertisements.  What I know is that I am not ready to vote for somebody simply because he is intelligent and appears to have a practical and solid grasp of the realities of life, not to mention the fact that he's a pilot and a bar topnotcher.

What I know is that I NEED TO KNOW MORE.

TO NOYNOY:  What do you offer other than your being the son of two of the most respected Filipinos?  Even on the assumption that the good traits of the parents are necessarily inherited by their children, would you be able to give us the assurance that the people you'll be putting in the government are not corrupt?  What have you done, so far, on the Hacienda Luisita issue?  What have you done in the past 11 years as a) a Congressman and b) a Senator?

TO MANNY VILLAR:  I notice that timing wise, the investigation on the C5 scandal may really be politically motivated.  This is aside from the fact that the Senate, uhm, (primarily due to its present composition and the way past "investigations in aid of legislation" were conducted), is not the same august body that it used to be.  But please, you really have to address the C5 issue.  Corruption has always been a problem in this country.  I don't want another corrupt president.  Secondly, how are you going to recoup the millions of pesos (or are we talking about billions already?) spent on your ads?

TO GIBO:  I'm impressed with your strong grasp of the practical issues in addressing the problems of the nation.  Your intelligence has never been an issue, insofar as I am concerned.  But historically, intelligent presidents have done more harm than good for this nation.  My main concern is, will you be able to do the right thing for the country even if it will be against the interests of GMA and FG?  In view of the not so impossible scenario that she will be the next Speaker of the House with a too obvious motive of having the Constitution amended allowing for a shift from a presidential to parliamentary form of government, will you be able to cast aside your loyalty and "utang na loob" to her for the sake of the nation?  Will you be an ingrate to the very person who trusted you and  anointed you (a relative unknown prior to your being appointed as the DND Secretary) as the official presidential candidate of Lakas? And yes, as a bar topnotcher, what is your legal position on GMA's insistence to appoint the next Supreme Court Justice?

Messrs. Presidentiables, I really need to know more.

*  I know that there are other presidentiables.  But due to time constraint, I have to limit my questions to the said 3 gentlemen.