Maximum Security Cell | 2010

I remember the days when I started making the house a safer place for babies. That was the day Jakjak first fell off the bed. And to think he wasn't even 5 months old back then. Over the years, I thought that we have already outgrown the need to make things safe. I mean, it was almost always second nature to us already to keep sharp things away from child's reach, dangerous liquids in high cabinets and all that basic safety ideas. So last night, Jakjak managed to cut his pinky-finger with a fold-away trolly.


I have already surrendered to the fact that a toddler, a boy at that, would be an active and adventurous little critter. How wrong I was. He is active, and he is adventurous. Just not as active and adventurous as I would have thought. As he was growing up, Jakjak had always been playing catch up with me. During his "training" years, he would be able to run a few meters and then sit down. Today, dad can run a few meters and then sit down. It's a sad thing when age comes clawing up your lower back. Still, that is active play, and I know that kids need it. As much of it as he wants as far as I'm concerned (because if he manages to tire himself out of playing, the chances that he would go take a bath and straight to bed is much more a possibility). But sometimes there are no kids his age at the playground, so he plays with an adult with a brain his age (yes, he looks at me that way - in fact, even Judy does - waitaminute! sounds like a conspiracy to me!).

And in the hours upon hours of playing and being silly, he manages to get bruised, scratched, cut, you name it. Jakjak shrugs most of it off. In fact, in his dictionary, it's "no blood, no foul". Of course, in mum and dad's dictionary it's "that won't come off until Tuesday". At the back of it all, we do our best to remind him to be careful, to watch where he's going (this one, it seems, he has absolutely no drive to do) and to watch out for that tree. It's amazing how tough he is though. It's like he was carved out of marble. It really takes quite a wallop to stop him in his tracks. And at the very least, we are thankful that he is as tough as nails.