As soon as Little Dynamo arrived at the house this afternoon, he was excitedly asked by his nanny:

“Are you going to vote for Gibo?”

Little Dynamo nonchalantly answered:

“No. I only shake hands with him.”

He actually did. He was clueless as to who this man was in his Lolo’s office. Gibo below pointing to Little Dynamo saying:

“Naka-green ka” (You’re in green). Little Dynamo was wearing a green shirt.

 And they shook hands right after.

Presidential candidate Gilbert Teodoro was in Cabanatuan City this afternoon for his campus forums. He had a courtesy call in the University President’s Office where his presidential forum was held. The whole family, including Little Dynamo, had the chance to have a photo opportunity with the presidential candidate. Thus, the anecdote above.

Gibo had been doing the rounds of campuses nationwide and this brings him nearer to the young, and first-time voters.

What’s amusing about the most dominant question everytime Gibo faces the students is the seeming impatience of the students to punish the current president and the desire for Gibo to say that he will. Good thing, he has perfected diplomacy on this topic.

Oh well, there is a need to listen to the voices of the youth…

but there is also a need to curb youthful arrogance.

On the lighter side, Little Dynamo noticed that his Lolo had already spoken on stage. Then Gibo did. And so, he exclaimed:

“Mommy, I want to have a microphone.”

“Mommy, I want to perform on stage.”

His Lolo just arrived here in the house, Little Dynamo welcomed him with:

“Lolo, why didn’t you give me a microphone?”

A road trip last December 26 brought us to Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija. It was spontaneous… we huddled the kids into two SUVs and off we traversed the long road to… wherever. We didn’t know where to stop or where to spend the afternoon. We just wanted to bond and enjoy the holidays in a different milieu.

The scenery was a treat in itself. It was a picture perfect countryside landscape complete with farmers working in the rice fields.

When I saw a long stretch of clear and clean river, I immediately remarked to my husband that this is the scenery that Koreans like. During summer, they would even put up tents along the river and dip into the cool waters. Driving along, we saw several nipa huts and we assumed they are for rent. We rented one and the kids immediately stepped into the water without care of its coldness.

We waited until sunset and we were not disappointed.

It was an afternoon of carefree fun for our toddler and his cousins. It was an afternoon of fun parenting for hubby and me.

We spent the afternoon of December 26 on a road trip… embraced the scenery going to Gabaldon and found a relaxing spot in Dupingan River…

… inspired by the photo, I found a perfect poem. 

Maid of the River by Lovefool Aka

The river meanders
Gracefully passing
Tempting with promise
Calling to me
Beckoning me to dive on in

The river glistens
The riverbanks swell
The river rushes
The river sighs
The river flows
The river screams my name
Drowning in bliss
The river whets my appetite for life