Congratulations are in order for my younger brother, Jojo, and his better half, Idee. Jojo and Idee have finally entered the world of parenthood! They are proud parents (and I’m a proud uncle) of Seth Dylan Philip S. Bacolod (wow, it’s such a long name). Seth was born last January 28, via C-section, in Cebu City.

The brothers four now have a basketball team in their hands (plus one cheerleader). And here’s the lineup:

Center: Jervis
Power Forward: Melvin
Small Forward: Indigo “digoy”
Shooting Guard: CJ
Point Guard: Seth

Cheerleader: Purple

Here’s to Jojo, Idee and Seth! We love you! Best wishes and God bless….

CJ’s growing up real fast. I can’t believe he’s a year old already. We’re glad that he’s at the pink of health and his development in terms of mental and physical capabilities is astounding. Watching him grow up is definitely one of my life’s joys.

We’re very thankful for this first year. CJ’s journey from infancy to toddlerhood has had its ups and downs. He had a few bumps and bruises here and there, but this hasn’t stopped him from being the brave, confident, bubbly and curious toddler that he is.

His interests vary. He’ll rather have the entire house as a playground instead of being couped up with toys in one corner of the room. We tried putting him in front of a TV, but it’ll only last a minute. He’d rather run, jump and make noise and play with the grownups. But he really lights up when there are other kids around.

There are days when he’d dash to the window and do a full scan of the sky with arms a-pointing if he hears a plane jet by, “maaamaaa” “deeedeee” “whoooo-whoooo”. The same routine holds true if he sees lizards in the ceilings too. (Did I just make a rhyme?)

He’s growing up to be a handsome and adorable kid. Strangers even ask to have his picture taken with them at public places like malls. And we’ve gotten to know quite a few people this way. It’s really quite funny and interesting. :)

A typical weekday routine goes this way: He’d wave and say “bye” every time we leave for work. What’s hard is he’d cry too. And when we come home at night, he’d rush to meet us and squeal to his heart’s content. And if we happen to come home late, he’ll make an effort stay awake as much as possible to greet mom and dad. This makes us particularly look forward to the weekends to spend more time with him.

Parenthood definitely has its challenges and perks. And I’m definitely looking forward to the coming years.

To my anak, CJ, daddy’s here to say, “Happy Birthday! We thank the Lord for bringing you into our lives. We love you!”

I spent the entire All Saint’s Day at home. I don’t usually go cemetery-hopping to honor and pray for the dead, since I don’t have a relative’s grave nearby to go to in the first place!

My dad, a fighter pilot, was presumed to have died at sea in the vicinity of the Palawan Islands. This was were his plane was assumed to have crashed on March 16th of 1983. After a few years of searching, the government wasn’t really able to pinpoint where his plane went. And so his “Missing-in-Action” status was finally changed to “Presumed Dead” five years after that fateful day.

We would have loved to have given him a proper burial. And I understand and empathize with people who cry barrels-full of tears at funerals, especially coming from the departed’s next of kin. Well, at least they get to see their dad finally rested. And I guess this is why, for so many years, I hated going to cemeteries and “envied” people who partake of the yearly tradition.

It’s a good thing Conne and CJ were able to keep me company at home. I had them all to myself. Oh well, I can always try the graveyard rounds next year. This year is for praying at home.