Note to new readers: This post is part of my 30 Days of Writing Practice. I am allowing blocks of 10, 20 or 30 minutes of my day solely to putting my swirling thoughts on paper. No going back to edit which will only serve to stop the stream of consciousness. My writing buddy and I, we call it writing from the heart. Please read my introduction for the full story.
After Day 4’s spirited outburst, I decided to chillax today. It’s a Sunday morning after all.
It’s 10am and I am in bed with Kuya Migo (my 14 year old) beside me. My 10 min timer is on. I have a blank page and I have no idea what I am writing or where I am going with this. I do have plenty of topics in mind. I have written complete posts in advance as well. But today I thought I’ll just go with the flow and see where my mind and fingers take me. We’ve had our breakfast. Ariel and Gabo went for their usual Sunday morning bike ride. I started the laundry early, at 7am. I do my whites on Sunday mornings. The colors are washed on Saturdays. That is my thing, the way I organise laundry is in that order on lazy weekends. On crazy weekends, laundry is done in one day.
Early this morning, I went to the kitchen and decided what’s for breakfast. Ariel suggested last night that I should make waffles if its not too hard. This morning, I decided that it was too hard. I opted for easy. Preferably one that only involved assembly of ingredients yet still healthy and filling. So I decided to go with my favourite. It’s smoked salmon with butter sauteed spinach over cottage cheese on toast. Plus poached eggs of course. The poached eggs will take some time to cook. An avocado will have made it cafe quality, but my avocados from Aldi are not ripe yet. Why does it take so long? I sighed. So while cooking I surfed the web, checked emails (for my blue lights), browsed IG and wrote in my head. Super distracted mega mega. Cruise control cooking to the max.
I asked Kuya Migo if he wanted to watch a concert DVD. We normally watch one on Sunday mornings while I prepare breakfast. He said “No.” Oh ok. Let’s listen to…. Rickie Lee Jones then. Hmm I should ask IG community if anyone knows Rickie Lee Jones. Am I the only one who listens to this lovely woman? (Note to self: Add YouTube link to Rickie. Click and listen while reading, people.) I have not heard her for a very long time. While Eddie goes “Chuck E’s In Love”, I told Kuya Migo to prepare his milk. He came to the kitchen, grabbed his mug in the cupboard, then SMASH! Something broke. He nudged one sawsawan (small plate) to the floor. OH NO. Linis linis si Cha. Used the walis. Then the vacuum cleaner to ensure there’s no broken glass on the floor. I was calm all the time, never yell at Kuya. Kuya Migo was a bit upset with the smashing sound. Agitated. He went “Oh no no NO”. I shooed him out of the kitchen. Calmed him down and gave him his milk.
I heard the laundry finish its cycle. So I pulled the clothes out of the laundry tub. At this stage, Kuya Migo took over and hang the washings outside for me. He likes to do chores. He doesn’t wait to be told. It’s routine for him. He is called The Radar at school. When I first heard that, I was gobsmocked. It was the perfect word for him. He has sharp observation skills.
Just yesterday (Saturday), Ariel sent me an image via Whatsapp showing what Kuya was doing. I was in the shops with the Gabo, while Ariel and Kuya Migo just came back from the butcher. Apparently as soon as they arrived, Kuya decided its time to vacuum the kitchen and meals area. He even cleared all the chairs, bin and rugs before starting out. He remembered how I do it. This was the first time he vacuumed the kitchen as this was normally Gabo’s task. It looks like Kuya Migo wants to take over! When Gabo and I arrived home, Kuya Migo was vacuuming the upstairs rooms na.
Ha! Its been 15 minutes of non-stop kwento. And Migo is still lying beside me making his funny noises and giving me kisses to the mouth from time to time to get my attention. I put down the iPad and give Kuya my full attention. Cuddles cuddles cuddles. I shower kisses all over his face. My 14 year old teenager who will always be my baby!
I’ll stop right here. And push out of bed. There are things to do around the house I’m sure.
See you tomorrow, my darlings.
Always from my heart,
ChaR-g
PS: If you don’t know it yet, Kuya Migo has autism. Say HI to him in his very own space > Thinking In Pictures.
PPS: Say “HI” to my writing buddy, Chiqui*Kat Daily. She is apparently stuck with her Day 4. I reminded her what she said at the very beginning of our “buddyship”. She said, “We will allow ourselves to write the worst junk in Canada and Australia”. That’s our writing disclaimer, to be whipped out during bad writing days. Kat’s inner struggle makes for good reading. Go click!
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