My great grandfather started out in Baguio back when it was first built in 1909. This is where my grandfather grew up and also where he continued to raise his family. My dad spent his childhood here up til his mid 20's and after traveling for a good few years decided to settle back down here as well. My siblings and i called this place home. Now, i'm back.Dylan is a 5th generation Baguio City resident.
He starts school on Monday. He had his final meeting today with the Deputy Head and the Lower School Principal. He was given a warm welcome to school... and i was given a very warm welcome to coming back- as Dylan's mom. Some of the Faculty and Admin are still the same folks as when i used to attend school there... so i have to start getting used to calling them by their actual names as opposed to Sir or Ma'am. That's a huge adjustment and i find it to be a bit awkward, so maybe i'll just avoid calling them any name at all... or strictly stick to calling them by their last names, such as, "Mr. (insert name here)" or "Ms./Mrs. (insert name here)". Yeah, that should do. =p haha
My kid is now a 2nd Generation Brentonian. How cute. We're picking up his uniforms tomorrow and meeting his teachers. I hope he loves it as much as i did. I didn't realize how good we had it until we had to leave.
Manila was a tough place. It started feeling a little bit too artificial for me. Being back home reminds me of what really matters and the whole idea of keeping it real. I want Dylan to grow up with a sense of self. I can't fully express myself or put into words the idea i have in my head... but in a nutshell, i wanna encourage the child in my son to come out and play. I wanna nurture his creativity right and keep it wholesome. After all, the perk of being a kid is that you get to act like one 24/7. I may be old fashioned, but i feel like the kids in our generation turned out quite nicely.
Aside from the cool weather, i think, overall, this is a great place to spend your childhood. It's the main reason as to why i decided to move back. There's something about growing up in a small town that feels so... legit.
I could just be old fashioned. I could just be "out" with the times. Hell, i could just be biased for all i know. But i don't see how running around the mall or staying home spending majority of your time in front of the boob tube playing video games can be considered a decent childhood. What happened to playing on your street or climbing trees? Playing with sticks and actually getting to know your neighbors?
I know people fare fine in the big city. I'm fully aware that it's not a bad thing. Don't get me wrong... all i'm saying is- it's not for me.
At this day and age, kids are growing up so fast. At least they try to. Why is everyone in such a hurry to become adults? I wish they could understand that it's overrated. I know a part of me is doing this Small Town thing as an effort to make the most out of Dylan's childhood and to preserve his innocence for as long as i can. I like keeping it simple. It instills a certain kind of humility that i truly admire... and is very hard to find these days.
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It's official. Welcome to the next phase of my life.
*D & Me*PS: i so do NOT look like a parent. I'm gonna have some difficulty getting people to take me seriously.
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