of lolas and lolo

Sometimes, it's really hard to keep my ground on how we would want to raise our Aquim around his doting Lolas and Lolo (lolo, singular, ‘cause I’m only speaking about Aquim’s grandparents on my side. Aquim has not spent that much time with his grandparents on Jason’s side, so I cannot say about them). I'm not complaining, just...well...I’m just...well.. basta!

Of course, I really appreciate their love and concern for Aquim, but there are times that their way is not the way how we want it to be.

Case in point, they want to give all those stuff that I think, and I believe most moms my age would agree, is not yet fitting for his age. Say chocolates, candies and all those sweets. At first, I was really stern about this, I don’t want to mess up his baby taste buds yet. But most specially, I would want sana to raise a healthy eater. I want Aquim sana to favour good food over the not so good ones (personally I love sweets that’s why I can’t say that sweets are bad food heee). I want him to be able to enjoy all kinds of food din naman. Cakes, ice cream, chocolates. But later na lang sana. Not at this stage. But then, I gave in. I allowed Aquim to taste little by little those sweet stuff. Sabi nga ng mga lola, konte lang naman, para matikman. O siya!

On disciplining Aquim, when he has tantrums, I would say, no one is brave enough to countermand me, good thing. When Aquim and I have the fits, his Lolo and Lolas are there, siding by me. So we still see eye to eye on this. I’m dreading the day when one of them would stood against me. Hay…

With Aquim’s Lolo and Lola, I would say, I really don’t have that much problem. I know Nanay and Tatay and Auntie appreciate and understand how we want Aquim to grow up. I’m having more of this issue with my own Lola.

You see, my Lola is around 70 years old. So explaining things to her is quite an act to do. Of course she can still hear me, she can still understand things clearly, but she’s quite sensitive.

Everytime that Aquim is with her, she would give him bread. Never mind if Aquim has just taken his milk and is already full. Okay lang. Not bad, ‘di ba? But she is manning her store, selling things, holding a lot of things, holding money. And she would hold the bread, and put it on Aquim’s mouth. Yay! All those germs. So really, I’m not wondering why Aquim has this intermittent thing with diarrhea.

I would tell her, ''la busog pa yan. Wag mo na lang muna subuan’. She’d say ‘konte lang naman’. And would continue to do so. Hay.. I don’t have the heart kasi to tell her, ‘'la madumi ang kamay mo, maghugas ka muna’.

Just yesterday, I was feeding Aquim pan cakes. She sat beside us, holding french fries and about to give it to Aquim. I told her, ‘'la bawal yan ke aquim kasi mamantika’. She stood up without saying a word. I know she took it against me. ‘Cause that was not the first time that I turned down the food that she wants to give Aquim. Earlier that day, she wants to feed Aquim ‘ginataang langka with bagoong’. I also told her, ‘'la bawal yan, me bagoong’. She replied: ‘dami naming bawal!’. And walked away.

There are a lot of other things, and sometimes, she just sneaks up on me. heee just this morning, he was able to give Aquim chocolate porridge. Hay..

I don’t know. Sometimes, I’m thinking, what if I just let her do what she wants to. But then again, this concerns Aquim. And I am her mother and I have to stand to what I believe is right and good for him. I’m just reminding myself that giving in once in a while is okay, just to make everybody happy. But at the end of the day, if something’s wrong with Aquim, I’m still the one who’s responsible for him because I’m his mother. I’ll just content my self that lola will somehow forget all those ‘bawal yan’ I told her. Heee


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