On our drive to school, there’s one particular road where the sun shines directly towards us. My son would always squint his eyes, and I would remind him not to look directly at the bright light. After a few meters, there’s a bend in the road that turns right, taking along with it the sunlight that slowly shifts to our side. "Daddy, why does the sun disappear when we make a right turn?" "The sun is still there," I answered. "We just don’t see it where it used to be." "So wher

One summer vacation morning, our son casually said, “Daddy, I’m bored. Give me something to do.” He wasn’t joking. But the irony was too funny not to ignore. Because at the corner of our living room is a table filled with unfinished lego sets. On top of the shelves are stacks of books, at least two of them unread. And at the bottom shelves are board games, back in the box after playing with it only a couple of times. I told him, you don’t need new stuff to get busy with. Just

While mommy was opening her Mother’s Day gift, our son turned to me and said, “Daddy, we should celebrate National Kid’s Day everyday.” “What are we going to do that day?” “Kids will have gifts and they can do all fun stuff that they like.” I smiled and told him if we celebrate something everyday, then it might lose its uniqueness and it'll just be another typical day. Special moments are meant to be celebrated once in a while so we would value them more than any ordinary day

Barbershops are my top 3 places to take naps. But not today. Because today is the first time my son is getting a haircut on his own. And daddy feels a little bit worried. I remember the last time we were here, I had to hold him still while the razor ran through his ticklish nape. Then he would laugh hard and move his head away. I can’t remember how many times I said, “Sit still. Kuya is holding scissors.” But today, he sat down like a big boy. And for the next 10 minutes, all

We equate love with joy and comfort. But sometimes, love also means challenges and discipline. A few months ago, our son was struggling how to subtract two-digit numbers. But now, he’s practicing multiple-digit divisions on his own. So I asked his tutor (her mommy) what helped their learning routine. She simply replied, “I just give him harder worksheets every time he finishes one.” Sometimes, the most loving thing a parent can do is to let their child face challenges so he c

Kids are weird. All they want is to have fun. One time, our son was playing with his friend and he accidentally bumped her while running. She tripped and fell on the concrete floor. Her knees got bruised and she cried. She was angry at him. “Daddy, I told her I’m sorry. But she's still mad at me.” “Of course,” I replied. “Because she got hurt.” “I think she won’t play with me anymore.” They stayed away from each other after that and just played on their own. Then after a few

Do we ever make space to think about Jesus? My son saw me reading an online post about a man surrendering his life to Jesus. "Daddy, what's his story?" "He was lonely before He met Jesus." "Why was he lonely?" "Because our life is not complete when we don't know Jesus." He paused for a while. Then he said something that surprised me. "Daddy, when I am playing lego I think about Jesus. Because when I stick the bricks together it's like me and Jesus going together. And it means

“Daddy, I can’t do this anymore. It’s so hard.” It was the last day of the math assessment test and our son was doing well halfway. Not...

A trip to the toy store is a lesson in the art of negotiation. And I witnessed my son slowly becoming an expert in it. Last month, he...

Halfway through the busiest year ever. I was finishing some work while we were having breakfast. It must have been too early to look...

Last weekend, we visited a park so our son can bike around. I let him ride a few meters ahead of me so he could get the feel of riding...

When I drive my son to school, we don’t park right in front of the entry gate. Instead, we drive a few more meters away to park our car a...

This is what a long 2 hour lunch looks like. Our son’s current record is 3 hours. It was so dragging that I even took a nap at our dining...

I'm glad I took a photo of our last hide and seek. At a park last year. I'll never forget his smile while he lifts his head up after...

“Daddy, the prayer didn’t work.” “Was it the one we prayed for this morning?” “Yes. That God would help me control myself if I get...

Fences protect us from outside harm. And prevents us from going beyond safe boundaries. It is never meant to constrain us. As parents, we...

This is how we eat apples. Our son gets the fruit; I get the skin. People say that good parents will always give the best for their child....

One time he played for 8 rounds and spent almost 200 pesos. And on that particular day, he won and grabbed a prize from the pile- a small blue teddy bear. He was ecstatic to finally win while I was relieved that I don't need to give him another coin. I thought 200 pesos is enough, right? Besides, from my estimate, that blue teddy bear won’t cost more than 50 pesos. But for my son, that toy was priceless. In fact, he was still holding it during our car ride home. And even plac

It turns out, he keeps this portrait keychain in his pants whenever we go out. So we asked him why he always brings it. And he replied, "If I get lost, I will show this to people so they will know who am I and show them who my family is." Touching, right? But I pray he'll never get lost at all. But the reality is, he might. Just like we, grown-ups, can also get lost. Maybe not in a mall or a public park. But we can get lost in our journey in life: careers, relationships, mini

Yesterday, our kid told his pedia that he wants to be a doctor like her. Last month, he told his barber that he wants to be a barber like...