On growing up and other stuff

My baby is now 7 years old. He’s not really a baby anymore. Sometimes he can be very independent. He brushes his teeth, picks his own clothes, dresses himself up. He’s not ready to give himself a bath yet, but old enough to “punas.” And mind you, he brushes his hair really good. I was going to teach him how to wash the dishes this past spring break, but he wasn’t ready yet. Well, maybe this summer.

When RG was still an only child and would throw temper tantrums at the store because I wouldn’t buy the Ninja Turtle calculator (he was only 4 years old for goodness sake), I was worried that he would be spoiled rotten if I didn’t give him a sibling. Then RC came and he transformed into a responsible “kuya.” When both RG and RC were each 7 years old, they were already “kuyas,” and were helping out with taking care of their younger sibling. RK would never be a “kuya,” but I never worried that he would be spoiled.

In the mornings when I wake RK up, he still wants me to carry him downstairs, doing his monkey hug. And I like that he still wants hugs, but carrying him can sometimes be hard on my back. This morning, I told him that I couldn’t carry him. And he understood.

I have been experiencing tightening of my chest muscles for the past few days. It must be stress. Or looking back, I think it started on Saturday after carrying the sack of rice and other heavy grocery bags. I really need help with those groceries!

My trip downtown has helped me loosen up a little bit. I always look forward to seeing the Red River while the bus drives on the bridge. The river has thawed but boy, was the water high. According to the city, there are no concerns of flooding like the one we had in 1997. And was I excited to see hotdog stands already up and running on Portage. I am very eager for summer and hope that we have a better one this time than we had last year.