Friday, February 29, 2008

She's Back!


I received a call from my daughter, Gabrielle, just after dinner. She was crying on the phone and could hardly speak. In between sobs, she asked me to fetch her, said she had a terrible headache and that she's running a fever. So I asked my eldest son to drive me to Carcar, an hour away from Cebu City.

Her Tita Inday also called to say she took Gabby from camp and brought her home with her so she could have a decent dinner since my daughter did not eat the lunch prepared by themselves. Reasons? One, she is sick. Two, the food sucks. Three, the utencils used were not properly washed due to lack of water.

Result? She had this terrible headache. Other factors why she got sick: the makeshift bathroom is so small and muddy; she doesn't know where the toilet is; and there were no stores selling the stuff she likes.

So after a day in camp, my Girl Scout is home, comfortable in bed with new sheets and the aircon running. In fairness to her, she has a slight fever.

At least, I can sleep well tonight...

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Off to Camp

Yesterday, my sixteen-year-old daughter went off to Carcar, a southern city in Cebu, for their Girl Scout camping. They will be staying there until Sunday. Actually, it's her last camping activity since she will be graduating next month.

You could just imagine how nervous I felt, letting go of my youngest child and only daughter at that, to some place all on her own. When her three older brothers went off to camp during their high school days, I wasn't as nervous at all. Perhaps it's because they were boys and I knew they would have managed.

So last night, before she even reached her destination, I have already called up my husband's cousin who is living there and asked her to check on my daughter. The problem was, it was raining so hard that she couldn't go to the campsite but promised to do so today. I felt like flying, thinking how she could manage to set up her tent and be comfortable with the heavy downpour. I sent text messages to her on what to do and how to do them, and not quite satisfied with the short replies, I called her. And wonder of all wonders, she sounded really cooool! She told me not to worry and that everything's fine, and security-wise, a big group of police officers and even some army personnel are deployed to watch over their camp. I felt relieved, and I felt that my baby is now a lady, and that it's okay to let her go SOMETIMES.

This morning though, when I woke up, there was a text message from her. And her message? "Mom, can you ask Tita Inday if it's okay for me to take a bath in her place? Bathrooms here are so eeowww!!". Oh well....

Friday, February 22, 2008

A Little Fight About Our Dog

KIBA



My husband came home from the Middle East for a vacation during the Christmas holidays. When he left more than a year ago, we only had two dogs, one male pitbull named Koga (who unfortunately died of leptospirosis) and a black female labrador. He didn't complain much about them because the pitbull was still a puppy and the labrador was his, meaning he bought it. They called her Sasha and she was a lovable dog but she had a trait which made us keep her inside. Three times she bolted out of our gate and three times, she went straight to our neighbor's place and chased and bit his fighting cocks. Good thing the neighbor just forgave her and asked us to keep her in chains. We didn't though, instead we became very attentive and cautious when we open and close our gate.

This time, when my husband came home, we already have four dogs, two pitbulls (male and female), Sasha, and a cute mixed pug/shi tzu named Aiko. The male pitbull is Kiba and the female is Yuki. When he first laid eyes on Kiba, his comment was, he was a very big, handsome dog. At first, he tried to get friendly with Kiba but because of his size, he doesn't like it when Kiba jumps on him while he is sitting in front of the TV. And he doesn't like the dog licking his face either. He knew I love the dog, in fact, he tried so much to bear with such hassle. Naturally, he wasn't able to hold it much longer, he asked me to let Kiba out of the house. I tried but the dog went on barking and whimpering, begging me to let him come in. I couldn't help my "motherly" instinct and it gave me a bad mood, hearing his cries. So, when I see my husband in a bad mood, I let the dog out and when he's in a good mood, I let the dog in. My husband also tried his best to adjust to him too, until his vacation was over. When he left to go back to work in Saudi Arabia, the dogs came back to rampage inside the house.

Now, we are planning to move to another house near the school where my children study, I have this decision to start disciplining the dogs not to enter the main house so that when my husband comes home, he will be able to rest and enjoy his vacation. I love my dogs but I love my husband more and he just can't help it, he hates big dogs.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

The Unfaithful "Wife" (Part 2)

Thinking back, I remember that even while Mark was still home, Anne was into internet chatting with American men. I tried to understand that the reason was perhaps financial, because as I have heard her say, American men are generous, which means that they send her dollars whenever she needs money. There was even a time when they had a fight over this and Mark went home, leaving his wife and children in their home. But of course, they made up again like they always do after they fight.

Now that Mark is working abroad, Anne kept on with her internet "connection". Mark's family thought that she was seriously trying to hold her family together despite the distance. Then it was perhaps late October when we heard that she has left for the US, leaving her children behind with her sister. I called her family to verify if it was true and they said that it was. At the same time, they also apologized for her action. So I called Mark in the Middle East to give him the news that his wife got married with an American and that she has already left the country with her new husband.

Mark was shocked and he wanted to go home right there and then. He thought that Anne was going to apply for work abroad but he did not realize that she was planning all the while to leave him. He is scheduled to go home next month and I hope that he will stay calm when he faces his "in-laws" after what Anne did to him. And I still do not know for sure what his decision will be with regards to their children.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed until next month.