Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to the 2 of the best Dads in the world, my dearest Daddy (Dada to my kids) and of course my Hubby!

On Daddy...

My Dad has been the most unconventional Dad I've known. He is also one of the most wonderful, loving, thoughtful and funniest persons in the world. During my first few years, he was my favorite parent because he was always around and my Mom wasn't (she was always at work). He taught me a lot during my early years and one our favorite games was "Pito pito, margarito". I would never forget how he uses his toes and try to bite me like a crab, how I adored the back of his ear and his funny looking finger (so hard to describe but I used to call it "muta"). I had fond memories with him even though he was the "spanking parent". As I grew up, he became like a buddy to us. He was more like our Kuya and really had a lot of funny anecdotes we love to tell our friends about. He is a crazy inventor, a talented musician (he could play all instruments), a super handyman (carpenter, plumber, painter --- you name it, he could do it!) and of course always had been our good ol' DADDY.

On Hubby...

I could not find the right words to describe Hubby as a father to our kids. But to put it plain and simple, in our tandem, he is the Bad Cop, I'm the Good Cop. To my kids, there's no question that he is indeed the supreme authority in everything. He is the disciplinarian and he really does his job very well. The kids really listen to him especially when he starts to raise his voice. But even if he tries to establish a tough exterior in front of the kids, he could also be a spoiler. He tends to spoil the kids with toys and fun stuff. I love the respect the kids show to their Dad. It is short way of saying that he really is effective as a father. Although he is not the perfect father (who is anyway?), and sometimes has limited quality time with the kids because of work, I think that he is an A1 father in his own right.

Euphoria

I just turned 31 yesterday and I feel very blessed to have reached this age. I feel that God has been really so good to me all my life and I thank him so heartily for that. In my 31 years in this world I think that I have been generally a happy person. Although there could be really trying times in my life when nothing seemed to cheer me up, those times could actually be outweighed by happy ones. I could not count all the wonderful moments in my life but if I were to select the top 10 euphoric times, it would have to be the ff:

1. Trip to Manila, Summer of 1982- My family's first major vacation, first airplane ride, first visit to an amusement park (the popular Fiesta Carnival then), first visit to Baguio.
2. Trip to Cebu 1983- My family's attempt to get a US Visa. The embassy was at Cebu then. We were denied but still I had happy memories during that vacation.
3. Trip to Manila, Summer of 1987 - It was probably the most enjoyable vacation I had with my family and cousins. We stayed in one house, the rooms were so crowded, some of my cousins had to sleep at the sala. We went to Nayong Pilipino, Greenhills, Makati, and of course Baguio. Really the best summer vacation with my cousins!
4. Passing the PT Boards, Feb. 1999- It was my second take, but what the heck --- I passed!
5. My Wedding, May 30, 2001 - Up to now, I still feel like it was a dream.
6. Birth of Cheska, Oct. 18, 2001- The mystery of how something so painful could bring so much joy.
7. Birth of Koojee, Sept. 21, 2002- The mystery relived.
8. Moving in to the newly renovated Obrero house, July 2004.
9. Manila Trip, Xmas 2005 - reliving the Manila trip 1982 with my husband and kids, only this time it was at Enchanted Kingdom, Glorietta, New Cash and Carry, Greenbelt etc.
10. Buying our own Car, Jan. 8, 2007 - the feeling of finally getting something worth all our hard work.