It’s one of those days when migi does not feel like going to school. Between Mark and I, I am the ‘traditionalist’ ‘follow-the-rule’ person (I finished school while Mark did not). So when my kids are starting to act like it’s owkei to skip classes, as much as I would like to think that ‘hello, they’re just 4/5 years old. give them a break,’ my ‘you-must-not-absent-because-you-are-lucky-enough-to-be-in-school’ instinct is upset. When I-do-not-like-to-go-to-school happens at home, I would usually let Mark decide if this ‘behavior’ is still owkei before I go on raging war with my kids. Since Mark comes from the delinquent side of the world, I’d usually let him do the talking to the sleepy 5-year-old who immediately thinks he is sick (so he can skip school).
So Mark trying to be some responsible father gave him some pep talk, something like:
Mark: Mag-unsa man ka igka ‘tiguwang’ nimo?
Migi: Di ko. Di ko gusto ‘tiguwang.’
Mark (rephrasing the question): Di ba igka ‘dako’ nimo, mag unsa man ka? Ig ka big boy nimo parehas ni papa.
Migi: Mag opis (office).
Mark: Di ka ganahan mag ‘astronaut?’
Migi: Di ko. Opis ko.
Mark: Nindot man na astronaut. Moadto man na moon ang astronaut.
Migi: Ngano moadto man sa moon? Layo na moon. Unsa naa sa moon?
(After throwing back and forth of ‘ngano moadto sa moon’ from migi and mark’s ‘nindot man moadto og moon.’ Migi kind of accepted the ‘astronaut’ idea. But without asking back Mark again with another question.)
Migi: Naa ang God sa moon?
To which Mark has no longer an answer.
Migi’s question probably explains his ‘A-‘ in his Christian living subject. You know the only subject he got a high mark. The rest of his grades are ‘B and B-‘ on other subjects, C- on conduct (which makes me wonder why he got an A- in Christian Living but C- on conduct. Aren’t these 2 subjects supposed to be related?), and thankfully, a B+ in his Math — a flicker of hope for his traditionalist mother who thinks her kids are geniuses.
For adults, when talking to kids, it is not enough you know the facts, but you must also know the non-facts. =)