In a Race that Matters

I sometimes feel disadvantaged being the only “girly” at home. The boys seem to have a special bond I cannot penetrate. It doesn’t help either that the little boy always reminds me that I am not one of them. “Mom, we are three boys, ikaw one lang.” “You have no daughter. You just buy a daughter.” The boys also have regular fart-y times with Dad as the initiator. I don’t know what makes noisy farting fun, but the combined shrieks and laughter of the kiddos every time Dad lets out his butt whistles do tell me they sure have a good time. Of course, I can’t relate with something I find gross. The boys though, regard their Dad’s icky habit normal if not enjoyable. Yuck! In fact there were two occasions when, while we were inside a mall, Orvik just blurted out, within earshot of a saleslady, “Mommy, si Daddy umutot naman. Ang lakas! Ang galing!” And, at another time, while we were inside a classy restaurant waiting for our order, the unsuspecting kiddo again exclaimed, as though he wo...

I am now at a stage where I get stricter by the day. My son, Rovik, on the other hand, is at a stage where he starts to try dipping his feet on stuff tweens get themselves into. I will point out 11 things that stand out: 1. His taste for clothes has changed! He no longer wants to wear shirts with cartoon character. He has also started to whine over wearing the same type of shirt as his younger brother’s.Where before, he used to be delighted when Mom dressed him up like a twin of his younger bro, it is now a taboo to him, “Mommy, I don’t like to wear uniform shirt with Orvik, ha?” 2. He has bought two tubes of hair-styling gel from Bench in just a month. He doesn’t go out without his top looking like the plates of a Stegosaurus –standing stiff and ready to pierce anything that gets in its way. 3. When we go the mall, he is drawn to the high-end shops of Crocs, and Haviannas while I cringe and bite my tongue (to prevent it from cursing) every time I flip open the price tags. (One...