That’s how my laptop is the past few days. Ramil and I are rushing to finish several AVP for the graduation later this afternoon. With all the pictures, videos, and music I’ve been browsing through, my laptop’s memory is suffering. There were times when I had to restart my Windows Movie Maker.  It might be time to look for cheap computer memory so I can finally have the much-needed upgrade I’ve been planning. My laptop and I will be resting for a few days. I think we need a break from each other.

I’ve won in some small raffles before but I’ve never actually won in one of those shop raffles. The ones where you get raffle tickets for buying specific amounts from the shop. I never thought I’d actually win in one of those but I was pleasantly surprised to find a registered mail from Ace Hardware last Wednesday. Upon seeing the envelope with the mark ‘Registered mail,’ I somehow had a feeling that it’s a notification. I immediately racked my brains for any raffles in Ace Hardware that we joined recently but I couldn’t remember any. I hurriedly put down my bag and opened the envelope when I got inside the house. After reading ‘Congratulations! You won an Ipod Touch…’, I let out a shriek that surprised everyone. For one moment, I wished that it was a car that I won. Hahaha! Just when I was about to buy a micro sd for Ramil’s phone so we can store more music files. So I’m trying to complete the requirements that I need to claim my prize, one of which is an affidavit of loss because I couldn’t find my raffle stub. I’m actually still debating whether to keep it or sell it. If only it was a car, then I wouldn’t have to make any choice.

The past few weeks, Ramil and I are discussing the advantages and disadvantages of sending Mateo to school this June. Although he’s been going to school everyday like a real student ever since I went back to teaching fulltime, we were undecided on whether to officially enrol him this coming schoolyear. The youngest preschool level in the school where we work is around 2 1/2 years old. Mateo will be 2 years and 5 months this June so we’re thinking that he might be able to handle it already. Just when I was thinking of being his ‘teacher’ for the mean time, he might be having another teacher. I was even planning on getting arts and crafts for us this summer like custom rubber stamps, character punchers, colored glue, and scissors. We still haven’t decided but I’m leaning towards letting him attend school already. I just hope he’d love it.

It’s slowly starting to feel that way during bedtime. Although Mateo has his own ‘bed’ which is actually a sofa bed in our bedroom, he’d often transfer to our bed whenever he wakes up in the middle of the night. There are also times wherein we’d set-up his sofa bed but Ramil and I would be sentimental and the three of us would end up snuggling together on our bed. It’s perfectly fine with us until a few weeks ago when Ramil and I noticed that our bed is slowly becoming small for the three of us. We have a queen size bed and we only regret not buying a king size one. We are anticipating smaller spaces for everyone when we decide to have another child. Ramil actually brought up the idea of looking at bed frames and consider buying a new one. I really don’t mind except that our room might become too crowded. I went as far as asking my parents if they are interested in buying our current bed. Despite the tight sleeping space we are experiencing right now, Ramil and I are also still savoring having Mateo sleep with us. A few years from now, he might even be asking for his own room. When that time comes, even a queen size bed might feel empty to us.

The past few days have signalled the start of the summer season. The air is hot and sticky, the kind that makes you want to jump in a pool or eat some halo-halo. Although I love the cold and dry season, summer still holds a special place in my heart because I also love to go swimming. Now that Mateo has been growing fond of being immersed in the water, Ramil and I are planning to take him swimming as much as we can. If only I could take some diet pills to have my body ready for summer as well. However, since I won’t be getting any regular salary starting April, Mateo might have to settle for the pail and the basin for most of the time this summer. Oh well, there’ll always be next year.

Getting married and having a child years before our group of friends has an advantage. It means our little one will be given the chance to walk down the aisle. Yes, with the number of wedding invitations we’ve been receiving, Mateo has some special role in at least half of them. The stage mama in me is already planning on getting him a really good barong to use. Not to mention practicing him walking with a book or a small pillow. I hope he does his ‘jobs’ excellently when the time comes.

One of the things that came with the house we are currently renting are the plants around it. The owner likes to keep a lot of potted plants and she left them for us to take care of. Most of them are flowering and ornamental plants and I actually like having them. I even thought that maybe I can get some plants with fruits like calamansi, pepper, or even Blackberry plants. Maybe Mateo and I can get started on a small garden as our project together. It will be a good experience for both of us and it will be nice having more plants around our house.

May grandfather passed away last February 15 at the age of 82. My dad just arrived from abroad a week earlier and he was sad that he didn’t get to spend more time with his own dad. My cousin, who lives with our grandfather, found him dead in the bathroom. They think he had a stroke while he was in the bathroom. Right now, I only have one grandparent left, my mom’s mom. She’s also old already and weak. She suffered a stroke several years ago and she has partially recovered from it, though she can’t move her left body well and she uses a shower chair when taking a bath. She’s still relatively strong right now but I know in a few years it might be her turn already. She’s the last grandparent I have left and she’s the one I’m closest to so I’m praying for her to continue having good health. Death almost always makes people sentimental and reflective. It makes us realize how fleeting life is. There will never be enough time to make our loved ones feel they are loved. So don’t waste time, hug them, kiss them, and tell them you love them.

Starting last year, Ramil and I have found ourselves attending weddings every few months. What makes it weird is that we feel a bit ‘old’ whenever we attend one because we’re already one of the married ones which excludes us from discussions of ‘whos next?’ Preparing our own wedding four years ago seems lightyears away. It’s funny that most of the times, the couple getting married is older than Ramil and me. We give wedding preparations advice to our friends now. He will be attending bachelor parties, I will be buying honeymoon lingerie for bridalshowers. Ramil and I are turning 28 this year, the age that we originally envisioned ourselves starting our own family. We’re happy that finally, more of our friends will be catching up with us. We got older earlier and we wouldn’t have it any other day. As for the weddings we will be attending, bring them on!

Last Saturday, Ramil and I celebrated our 9th year as a couple. I can’t believe it’s been nine years already. Nine years of seeing each other almost every day and I can’t believe we’re still this good together. It’s great to reminisce about our non-married years and realize how far we’ve gone already. However, it does not mean we had a good celebration last Saturday. On the contrary, it was a mixture of bad timing, lousy car aircon, bad moods, and road rage. The last real fight we’ve had that I can remember was when I was still pregnant with Mateo. That makes it more than two years of being a ‘fights-free’ couple and we just have to break it on the day we turn 9. Hehe! Good thing the car problems didn’t need any emergency lights and the road rage was contained inside our own car. It may not be a good 9th year celebration but it has been a great 9 years.