In a Matter of 5 Minutes

I usually give Jas 5 minutes to play in his bath tub. It's his personal time without me scrubbing his delicate moments. It didn't occur to me that in such a short time, things unexpected may happen:

5 - Talked to Mom and Kuya about their special cooking as they plan to have one big hearty lunch.
4 - Got upstairs to check Jody and baby Nate
3 - Talked to Jody while playing with Nate
2 - Danced and Baby talked more
1 - Heard the commotion downstairs

I rushed in the restroom to see Jajas crying and shouting "Sorry Lola, sorry lola". He was being comforted by my kuya who seemed to be shocked himself. Seated nearby was my father hugging my mother who was soaked. My mother's face masked a pained expression. She was clearly hurt. My father simply said "Natumba sila".

Seeing how I reacted, Jas cried more and vomited as he shouted "Sorry Lola...Straight na ako sa Hell!" I simply shook my head. He was taken outside and was dried up in the kitchen. I found myself checking my mother if she was fine. She seemed to have broken something in her fall. I was asked to get a change of clothes, then handed the clothes back to papa and waited outside while I comforted Jas.

After drying up and checking her joints, my mom was supported by my father to the sala. She appeared unscathed thought suffering a mild sore left shoulder.

She told us how quickly it happened: How jas asked for support from the bath tub, how they slipped and fell and how she quickly placed her shoulder behind my son's head. Fortunately she was quick enough to prevent further accident to her and my son.

In a matter of minutes things turned from a delightful sweet lunch-cooking to an unexpected sour accident. In a matter of seconds I could have been there earlier to have avoided my mom getting hurt.

My mom is now fine with a few bruises, and my son now plays again.

I'm sure there's something good to learn out of what happened.

Jas' BIG question

After being reprimanded for the nth time, Jas asked "Dada, Am I going straight to hell?". I answered with annoyance,"No. Why would you think of something like that?" He explained that he just wanted to have some fun sometimes. But his idea of fun usually ends up with me being angry. And so begins our marathon of stories about decisions, consequences, actions, and hell.

I ended my homily by stating that he should never dwell on the negative thoughts like being naughty, but instead think of doing good things.

Jas was silent, completely absorbed with his thoughts, while I took the pillows from the bed. Then he asked "Dada, Am I still going to hell?"

"No. You're going to bed."

On Silent Nights

My eldest son Jas now clings on me to sleep every night. It seems like part of him accepts the fact that his brother Nate now got dibs over his mama's bosom. For the first time in many nights that we sleep together, Jas finds refuge in my silent embrace now. He takes my arms semi-consciously and wraps it around his belly. He usually kicks the blanket away and would dig a comfort sleep on my shoulder. Whenever he wakes up, I expect that he would move away from and ask for his mama, but instead he takes my other hand and say "Dada, kamot, kati"

It's hard to sleep because I always wanted to savor the moment..It's hard to sleep knowing one day, Jas would grow up and would find refuge in puberty or school or work or his own family... But until that time, I would like him to sleep in my embrace.