Wala si Winter sa bahay ngayon. She was called to work in their office since their big bosses from Australia came to visit. May meeting din daw sila and have some important news to share. Buti na lang wala akong work, so I can take care of Luna. 

It’s been a while na din sice I’ve taken care of Luna alone. Minsan kasi when I’m off, Winter is still at home to help me out kahit na sinasabi ko sa kanya that she should rest. She does most of the childcare plus nagwowork pa siya, so she deserves some alone time. I don’t know how she does it, really, pero wala naman siyang sinasabi sa akin na nahihirapan siya. And I know that sometimes mahirap alagaan si Luna since she has so much energy. Minsan clingy din siya at ayaw magpa-iwan sa living room with Ginger. Plus, we limited Luna’s screentime to an hour per day lang since we noticed a change in her behaviour kapag nasobrahan siya sa panonood ng TV. She would get extremely fussy, tapos parang hindi niya alam ang gagawin niya kapag hindi siya nanonood ng TV. 

So, Winter and I decided that she should only watch TV for an hour long. It was hard at first kasi hinahanap talaga ni Luna, pero we managed naman. She was able to entertain herself by other means. May nabasa din ako na dapat i-encourage ang mga toddlers matuto how to be bored para ma-avoid ang fussiness nila. Nagwork naman siya. 

Pero again, hindi ko alam how Winter managed her time. Kasi naooverwhelm na ako kakalaro with Luna. Hindi ko na rin alam kung paano ko siya i-entertain and how to help her expel her energy before she goes down for her nap. Hindi naman kasi malaki ang apartment para tumakbo si Luna; short distance lang yung matatakbuhan niya. 

Luna had gotten bored enough that she started pulling Ginger’s tail. 

Meow! 

Napatalon na lang si Ginger at lumayo kay Luna. She hissed at her baby sister and at me! Parang ako yung may kasalanan?

“Luna, ‘wag mong awayin si Ginger, baby,” pangaral ko sa kanya. “Don’t hurt Ginger. Ginger is sweet pero cat pa rin si Ginger, okay, baby? Pwede ka niyang kalmutin if she gets hurt, Luna. ‘Wag mong awayin si Ginger, okay?” 

Hindi siya sumagot at patuloy lang paglalaro niya sa mga stickers niya. 

“Okay, Luna?” I repeated myself.

“‘Kay!” Luna finally replied without looking at me. Busy na busy sa stickers niya suddenly eh. 

“Okay, thank you, baby.” 

I allowed myself to relax on the couch when I saw that Luna got busy by herself. Ayaw ko na siyang pakialaman since she’s in the zone at mas maganda talaga that she learns how to focus. Mas nakakabuti daw yun sa attention span nila if they are able to focus on things for a long time. So, nag phone na lang ako saglit. Bigla naman akong tinabihan ni Ginger and purred before lying on my lap.

Tsundere din si Ginger eh. Kunwari di niya ako like. 

Hindi rin nagtagal ay nag-request si Luna ng gatas niya. 

“Mik-mik, Mommy!” Sabi ni Luna. “Mik-mik!” 

I looked at the time. Malapit na pala mag 11am. Luna asking for milk is usually her cue na inaantok na siya. Tumayo agad ako, but before I went to the kitchen, I asked Luna to clean up. “Ligpit mo na yung toys mo, Luna, para mag nap na tayo, okay?” 

“‘Kay!” Sabi niya pero she continued playing.

We taught Luna how to clean up after herself ever since she could walk and make a mess sa bahay. Ginawa na namin na routine yun para alam niya na dapat maglinis siya sa mga kalat niya. It also just teaches her how to be responsible. Minsan it takes a lot of convincing pa to make her clean up, pero, most of the time, naglilinis talaga siya. Alam na niya kung ano ang dapat gawin. 

After kong makuha yung gatas niya, I found her still sprawled on the floor. Hindi pa siya nag clean up.

“Luna, maglinis na tayo, please.” I started picking up her toys. “Tulungan mo si Mommy, Luna, please?” 

Hindi pa rin siya nakinig sa akin. Instead, binato niya ng doll si Ginger. 

“Luna!” Galit kong sabi sa kanya. “‘Wag mong gawin yun, baby. Ano ba ang sabi ni Mommy sa pagbabato, baby?” I asked. Pinatingin ko siya sa mga mata ko, so she knows that we’re having a conversation. “Nakakasakit tayo ng tao kapag nambabato tayo. Nakakasira din tayo ng gamit kapag nambabato tayo,”