11 August 2007

And We Were Kids


"What were you like as a child?"


A friend once asked me this question and then she went on narrating gleefully how she used to play tumbang preso, chinese garter and shatong until she was drenched in sweat. I could only offer her my half-nod. Her question made the little cogs of wheels turn in my head.

Albeit the games sound familiar to my ears, I have never really gotten to play any of those. I can only remember vague mental pictures of me watching other kids play through the comfort of our window contented with my plastic pots and pans and a doll that cries "mama" if you take out its rubber pacifier. Perhaps, back then I had a budding OCD or I was (am) just really a klutz. I never really had the urge to run nor play hide-and-seek under the scorching heat. Unlike the other apos (grandchildren), Lola (grandmother) need not scare me of lice infestation which was pretty common for kids at that time.

I sighed in relief as memories of my playtime as a child flashed before my eyes. It may not be the most spectacular childhood (boring, even) but at least I have the license to say I was a child once. For that, I'm grateful.

But do we really shed the skin of childhood and metamorphose into adults fully?

An old video capturing our hyenic laughter as we all got doused have fully answered this question.






12 comments:

eastcoastlife said...

My family was very poor when I was a kid. I have no fancy toys except for the ones I made from materials found in the house and its surroundings. But my brothers and I have a happy childhood. We make do with whatever we have. :)

Issa Jimenez said...

Thanks for sharing that tidbit about your childhood. You must have grown to be a very resourceful person. Feel free to drop by again!

Anonymous said...

Hay childhood, sarap balikan no?

Abaniko said...

I remember we used to play with earth and mud when we were still kids. All our toys were improvised using wood, tin cans and disposed tricycle tires. But we had so much fun back then. Ah, childhood.

Issa Jimenez said...

mitch,

you can say that again!


abaniko,

"playing with earth and mud" sounds like a great childhood to me! but we can be kids again, if we allow ourselves not to complicate things so much.

Anonymous said...

i was quite the loner when i was a kid. nobody wanted to play with me in school because i was tiny and uncool. little did they know, i was a member of BIOMAN! woohoo!!! i was Green Two, my brother Blue Three. sadly, it all ended when i turned eleven since our cousins (Red One, Yellow Four and Pink Five) left for the states. *sigh* i miss those days.

Issa Jimenez said...

Oh brother! My cousin told me he was Green Two and I believed him all along. Oh well, two Green Twos... that would be fun.Ü

shle3pyb4by said...

hi there! good to have the thought of how we were when we in kiddie times! *wink*
i always remembered that we were having so much fun in those years. happy times, and always been. nothing much to think about, rather than what should we do next to have fun! nice post! i like tht! *wink*

Issa Jimenez said...

shle3pyb4by,

nothing really beats the good ol' carefree days of our childhood...

Anonymous said...

I'm a very lucky person. I actually hv enuf toys for 2-3 kids my age at that time. Anythin i wan, my parents will buy for me. :)

That's why when i look at the poor kids now...i feel bad and will try my best to give them someting better.

but i think, sometimes, people can make the most out of what they have n have fun.

p/s... oh, and there's a child in every1...it's just a matter of whether we hide/show :P

Issa Jimenez said...

We are certainly blessed for having such doting parents and I wish I can say the same for all kids. Each one of us has the responsibility to make this world a kinder place especially for those kids who are not as lucky.

Well, reading all of the comments on this post made me realize that a part of us will always remain childlike. Which is a good thing.

Issa Jimenez said...

thanks for your thoughts, alvin!

 
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