Just 5 days…and dwindling…
Today is the 15th birthday of my daughter, Jedzel…wow, 15, huh….my baby is no longer a baby :(…she is turning into a young lady. In fact, she is as tall as I am now ( or as short perhaps?) I would love for her to grow another inch or two but, oh well, that is just me, shorty, talking…I will still love her whatever or however she is. It just doesn’t stop to amaze me how my girls have grown and how many months and years have passed by without me watching their every inch of growth. That is why it is so important for me to spend as much vacation time I could get with them.
Today, Ron and I went to a salon and while having my pedicure, Jedzel joined us and had a trim on her hair (she has no classes today, a welcome coincidence so we get to spend time together on her birthday). While my husband enjoyed his hour-long Swedish massage (actually, that only sounds fancy), Jedzel and I went to the nearby market to buy her a pair of doll shoes, as per request…..darn, size 39 and I am still and will always be size 35, otherwise referred to as 5 1/2….my girl may have changed in size and figure but one thing never changed, she still asks me for the color or style of shoes and shirts as she used to when she was younger, she still wants me to rub her head while sleeping, she still wants me to hold her while walking, she still likes to cuddle with me, she still fights with her sister, Jednel as to seating arrangements….(thus, I always sit in the middle of them to eliminate the problem)……poor husband has to make do seating somewhere and I know how he always likes to sit with me instead of across in any restaurant but, of course, he understands my desire to be with the girls.
After the massage and the trim and the pedicure, off to Shakey’s for lunch at 2pm. Speaking of food, goodness gracious, Ron has been having a terrible time with our food here :( We have been everywhere fancy and expensive around San Fernando but fancy as defined by San Fernando standard is how much money you spend on food around here but it does not necessarily mean delicious or to die for. It is funny how the city got to grow so fast and got so crowded but the quality of restaurants and funfares to me seemed constantly deteriorating by the minute…or is it because I got so used to finer things in life?….
However, there are two things that at least Ron and I personally enjoyed while we’re here, entertainment-wise…..he is having fun fighting the surf as we are nestled at the surfing capital in the north, he is just bodysurfing for the most part…he is leaving the big, angry waves to the professionals to surf….and it is always fun to watch. I always wish I can do what they do and, man, don’t they just make it look so easy? Another entertainment for me is going to the salon for my hair and nails. I couldn’t help but giggle one time coz I managed to have a powerdose for my long hair (two bottles at that) considering the length, a trim, a highlights, a foot spa and pedicure plus tips for 3 people for the prize of one simple haircut in the states….man, I am scheduled for a hair spa before I leave…call it spoiled but, geez, I can’t get to spoil myself this much when I’m in the states…not that I can’t afford it but only because I can’t afford to throw all those money in bulging US$ just for my girly pleasures….I can’t help thinking of better ways in using that amount for my family instead.
Then tonight, off to Casino Filipino…we were just curious as to what that place might offer….of course, we no longer have our hopes up high….but we were surprised indeed. It is a nice place located just around the vicinity of the Wallace Station. I haven’t been far when I ran into a school mate in high school who got quite lucky so far with her pail brimming with coins threathening to burst out any minute. After a long chitchat and swapping of addresses and phone numbers, I came across another person I knew…well, my mother knew…growing up, I never actually remembered myself talking to her ever but my mother and I ran into her on several occasions in the marketplace..I was just a shadow in the background while she chatted with Mama. Tonight though, she specifically went and said hello to me and started chatting like we were old friends and in two minutes asked for some money…because she said "I am already rich"…or, "I have a lot of money"….or…goodness, I downplayed by saying "NO" to ""all-of-the-above" with a forced smile….and said I have no pesos in my wallet but, grrrrr, she was not embarassed at all and even said to give her "ONLY five hundred pesos"…..good god!!! Just to make her stop I said I probably only have a hundred (but no, she said 500 because I am rich, and blessed and…ggrrrr)….but I stood my ground and opened my wallet and made her look….I pulled out a couple of hundred pesos and gave her that……damn, the nerve!!!! I have always considered myself a very generous person…but never to those kinds of people really….damn, I don’t even know her name…and damn me for giving in….I should have just stuck to my gun……but, oh well…….
That really pissed me off and my mood soured after that….I didn’t play at all and was on the verge of snapping at my husband for a very benign thing….(watch out girl, no sense throwing out your bile on someone innocent). Good thing that he steered me to the Vegas Cafe for dinner…it is right around the corner and by far the best in the city, by decor and food combined….not to mention that the band playing within the casino can be heard of. My mood improved a lot and completely pushed the ugly thoughts of that woman out of my mind…(until now coz I am writing about her).
Ron and I already made a schedule to go back to the Casino Filipino tomorrow for dinner and on weekends with the girls. Too bad my brother, Michael left today to go back to Malaysia. He helped us in many ways, mostly drove us when we needed to go somewhere and did a lot of errands for me. I wished we could have treated him for a fine dinner at the casino.
In 5 days, it will be another bittersweet day for me…it is always sad to leave my daughters behind but I am happy I got the chance to spend time with them. It doesn’t matter, in a year or so, if things go right, my daughters will finally be with us in the states. For now, I just have to be grateful for the wonderful chances I have with them. After nine years one would think that by now I should have gotten used to the coming home-and-going back scene with my daughters…but everytime is always a bittersweet time, devastatingly hard, really….but I guess, I mastered how to lock my pain inside when it is time to say goodbye simply because I don’t want my daughters to see me cry when I leave them…instead, I want them to have that happy face of mine to linger in their young minds so that when they see me again the next year, I still carry that smile with me, only then the smile reaches my heart because happiness is lacking to describe how I feel each time I get to see my beloved daughters.