not since the 4-hour scheduled brownouts of the 90s have i been in the dark for so long. the last typhoon to cross manila's path, milenyo, not only knocked down trees and power lines; it literally knocked us back into the "dark ages" for 3 days! and with a 6-year old in the house (who that morning said he loved tv more than he did his ninang, me! i ranked no. 3 after his mom and the boob tube), entertainment becomes quite a challenge - both for the entertainer (me again) and the entertained (him).
it bogs my mind how our "forefathers" did it back then. we'd eat dinner before it got dark (although we had emergency lights, my brother refused to use them... in case there was an emergency. duh!) and be in bed by 6:30 p.m.!
some notes on what darkness brings:
- conversation, good or otherwise. with the tv dead, we actually spoke to one another again. call it my sweet revenge for placing me in number 3! ha! we were back to making silly stories and composing senseless songs too!
- piano lessons from a 6-year old. short of giving a concert, migueli practically played all the piano pieces he's learned... and then some. the kid's pretty good and i admire his industriousness for practicing his pieces. such a far cry from what mama aly and i went through at the same age... but that's another blog altogether.
- singing the piano. miguel would sing / hum the right hand notes; i, the left hand. then switch. it's hilarious to hear!
- flashlight tag. an old class favorite when i used to have pajama parties in my preschool classes. for variety purposes, you can also do flashlight marksmanship. similar to pin-the-tail except you use flashlights and furniture.
- arts and crafts in the daylight... from stenciling to create your own pokemon.
- naps galore! it's been a while since the kid's taken a 2-hour nap. perfect scapegoat while i run to school to juice up the cellphone. i even got to have pizza with mama aly and the kids in the process too!
- dress up. i have new-found respect for the versatility of a thin sheet blanket. sandygirl has pictures.
- count your blessings. surviving the storm, i could not get over how blessed i was / am to be surrounded by family, to be where i was, to have a roof over my head and food on the table, to have ice in my water, to be safe, and much, much more.
God's light surely dispels all darkness!
