Naki informs me that he wants to become three things in the future -- scientist, artist and rock climber. What these things have in common, I don't really know but since he likes to draw, paint and climb a lot, I don't think it'll be a problem for him. There are days' however, when I think he's bound to become something else.
I present to you a couple of cases to illustrate my point.
Case no. 1 - To show the importance of learning to put his Pokemon action figures and trading cards away, Ned told Naki that we would no longer buy him any toys. The punishment came after a loooong lecture on how to value toys. To Naki's credit, he listened and seemingly absorbed everything while choking back a few tears. "Hindi na tayo bibili ng toys", his tatay stressed. Naki nodded in agreement and kept silent over the next half hour. Not long after, however, I heard a voice telling me , "'Nay, Pokemon doesn't really belong to the toy category..,"
"Ha?" I said.
"It's under collectibles", he added, and smiled as if challenging me to contradict him.
Alas, the argument didn't work with us, creative though it might have been.
Case no. 2 - the economic crisis brought about a slowdown in our book budget. During a visit to a bookstore, Ned informed Naki that due to budget constraints his limit for books was P100.
"Is that for this store?" Naki asked promptly. "How about the next store?" Naki countered. His flabbergasted tatay could only shake his head in disbelief.
Case no. 3 - My method of punishment is usually to make my son stand in the corner. Naki usually stomps his feet a little, pouts his lip a little more but will then willingly goes to the corner. The last time around, before heading to the corner, he spun around to negotiate and ask for MORE details. "Nay, how many minutes? Can I sit? Can I read a book?"
So do I have a lawyer in the making? Hmmm. More like a Pilosopo Tasyo in the making ata.
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Update:
I'd forgotten all about this period in my son's young life until I chanced upon this column in my files. Funny, because just last week, I was talking to my now college student son if he was happy with his course. We were discussing other possible options and if he wanted to shift or consider any other field. I then teased him if he wanted to follow in his great grandfather's footsteps and become a lawyer. It turned out that he had been thinking about it (news to me!). So what made you change your mind, I asked him. "Ang daming mememorizin." :) Sa nanay pala nagmana.
