Z and his friend, Jave, who lives in the apartment downstairs were playing together two days ago. They decided to play here in our living room with Z's assortment of toys while S and I were both in the bedroom, with him sleeping because he works at night, and me on the laptop. Minutes later, Z decided he wanted to play inside our bedroom, we had the aircon on and it was almost noon so the heat was unbearable outside. I told him not to go inside because his dad was sleeping but he kept coming back because maybe he can't take the heat anymore. He also prodded his friend to come in and play there. Upon seeing our room was being invaded by two kids, S graciously gave up his sleep and entertained the two kids instead. Our room was filled with screaming and laughter while they play hide-and-seek inside the sheets and jumped all over the place. They had a really grand time playing together that it seemed like I had three kids in there instead of two. Their playing session lasted until 2pm! Our neighbor, Jave's mom, came to pick him up but you could see in his face that he didn't want to go.

The very next day, at around 10 am, I heard Z's friend calling from outside our door. S entertained them again and made them laugh till their stomachs hurt. This time around, it took Jave's mom 3 times coming back and forth before she finally convinced her son to come home. When S asked him why he doesn't want to go home, he replied he doesn't want to go because his own dad would not be home till later. These little boys really adore their dads, don't they?

Yesterday afternoon, Z and I went on a quest to find the nearest car wash station to have his bike's wheels filled with air. The last time he used his bike, his dad told me that he heard a hissing sound coming from the wheel and sure enough when he checked it, it's already flat. So we went out and took a walk, I was walking and Z was on his bike. Because his wheels are flat I was half dragging his bike along. I was not comfortable with the route we took because more cars and tricycles were passing by that way.



I have no choice because they said the nearest car wash is over there. After walking 15 minutes and still no car wash, I was starting to have second doubts. It didn't help that vehicles were passing by. I always tell Z to move right whenever we hear a vehicle coming but sometimes he gets distracted and almost collided with me. There was even a second that I was fearful for my life because I was trapped, Z was in my right and a vehicle passing by in my left. So, I decided to ask a passerby if he knew where I can get the wheels filled with air. He told me that he didn't know if there was something like that anywhere in the area. I was frustrated when I heard that so I abandoned that route and decided to go back home using another road with less vehicles passing. On the way home, I ask the village security guard about what we were looking for and he pointed me back from where we came from. I was torn between just going home and wanting to have his bike fixed. With a heavy heart I decided to go back again and after a few minutes we finally reached it safely. It took just a second to have it filled with air and all our efforts paid off. We went to the nearby playground and I was delighted there were kids with bikes there too. Another mother was there teaching her kids to bike without training wheels. She must have 4 kids with her from age 3 to 8. Z was hesitant to ride with the other kids but warmed up to the idea after a few minutes. He is really shy, I think he got it from me. We were there until 6:30 at night. He didn't want to go home at first but when I said something about mosquitoes he agreed to go home.

After weeks of constant rain, I am so glad this week, it has stopped raining and we are back to sunny days again. So, yesterday, Z and I went for a walk - I was the only one walking while Z was on his bike. We went to the playground that was a few blocks from us but no children were there so we headed back and stayed at the playground near our apartment. Around 5pm two little girls arrived, also riding their bikes followed by Z's friend, Jave. Jave was the first one who got a bike now, all the children have their own respective bikes.While the children were playing, the parents were catching up too. Jave's mom pointed out that Z's bike is flat, and sure enough, it was. I didn't notice it because I was near-sighted, no wonder Z was having a hard time pedaling his bike! We will have it fixed this afternoon before we go to the playground.
I remember a year ago, we would go to the playground as often as twice a day, in the morning and in the afternoon, but we had gone there less and less as the months pass, partly because less and less children were going there. I promise I will try to make this an afternoon habit again because part of the reason why we rented this place is because it is located inside a village and it has three different playgrounds within walking distance. If it were up to me, I want Z to experience playing patintero barefoot in the sand, catching dragonflies with nets, climbing mango trees, and finding beetles just like I did growing up but Z just have to settle for the cemented playground here. It's not that bad really, back where we came from the children have to play in the streets because there were no playgrounds at all.

Z also has friends, a brother and a sister, named Jejo and Jessi. They were both a few years older and were kind enough to assist my 3 year old. This afternoon while they were playing downstairs, Jessi came rushing followed by Z on his heels. She asked me if I could give Z P5 so they could buy gulaman at a house nearby. I have doubts that Z would be able to keep the money in his tiny hands but wanting him to experience different things; I gladly gave 5 coins in his hands. Z held onto it tightly and they went out. A couple of minutes later they returned but with no gulaman in Z’s hands. I immediately thought he had dropped it. But they told me that when the vendor gave the cup of gulaman Z simply refused to take it so the vendor refunded Z’s money and poured the gulaman back in. I asked Z why but he was too busy playing and he did not answer. As the afternoon wore on and the weather became hotter, the kids heard the bell of the ice cream vendor and decided that they got to have one. With Z’s P5 securely in his hand, they run downstairs towards the sound of ice cream. I was also anticipating the taste of ice cream because I was sure Z would not be able to finish it by himself. A couple of minutes later and Z was still downstairs. Not wanting the ice cream to melt away, I peeked downstairs and saw Jejo eating his ice cream. I asked if Z was able to buy one, he said no because Z refused to give his money to the ice cream vendor so the vendor just left. I immediately saw Z’s face looking sad and was about to cry. He ran to me and sobbed, I asked him why he did not give the money but he just told me that the vendor left him. I told Z he was supposed to give the money so he can buy ice cream. Poor Z, I did not have to worry after all about him losing the money, he held onto it as tight as glue. I thought he already knew the concept of buying things because sometimes I ask him to give the money to the cashiers at the mall and the jeepney and tricycle drivers. I just comforted him by saying that the ice cream will surely pass by again. It did not, by the way, Z has already forgotten about it but I am still sitting here thinking about the delicious ice cream.