Everything Under The Tropical Sun

I wrote about Justin, my sister-in-law’s kid not too long ago. I’ve mentioned that this kid’s especially rambunctious. It really is so difficult to keep his attention but when there’s a simple mention of decapitation, lots and lots of pain, and of the supernatural… we tend to have his full and undivided self.

In celebration of my Halloween hangover, I’ve had a brilliant idea to scare the bejesus out of him.

A few weeks ago, we hung out at my in-laws’ house to celebrate the graduation of my sister-in-law from college (I commend her for pursuing her studies… we’re all so proud of her. Congratulations, Alicia!). So it was a photo extravaganza for me. I took photos of her kids. I had ammo for my little operation.

So I decided to pick a photo, edit it and make it seem like there’s a monster peering at him from a window. But in the middle of that little project of mine, it didn’t seem all too realistic to me because I had to change his background into something completely different. And I didn’t think I could scare the kid that way.

Then I got another brilliant idea… I’d scare him with Sadako. You know… the scary girl in The Eye? I had the perfect photo of it too…

Original Photograph

I will have the edited version printed and tell him that I photographed something really weird. The girl obviously does not look like anyone in the household and looks like a white lady. So I will ask him who that girl is at his back. Can you imagine how wild eyed he’s going to be? Might be enough to scare him out of sleeping in his Mom’s room and finally move into his own room. I just can’t wait!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

Operation: Scare the Kid collateral (hehehe)

Kids are so amazing. One thing I love about them is their imagination. They can travel the whole world (and even galaxies) inside their heads. Their curiosity runs as wild as their imaginations. I think it’s because they formulate this whole story in their head when they see something before asking what it is. It’s funny how sometimes they’d look so disappointed when a “mysterious” object loses its mystery once it’s explained to them how it works.

Justin, my sister-in-law’s son, paid us a visit yesterday (with my sweet mother-in-law). He reminded me how beautiful it is to be a child with such a wild imagination… When everything is still so new. He came in with his usual boisterous voice and bellowed: “Tito (Uncle), is this your office?!” and without waiting for an answer he says: “What’s this?” (pointing to his Tito’s measuring tape).

Justin. He found a way to entertain himself.

I found myself thinking of ways to entertain him inside the office… but what could a six year old do in such a play-forsaken place? Just as I was about to barrage him with a question and answer contest (just to keep him from being bored), he went straight to the white board and started doodling (he found a way to entertain himself, as usual).

He started by writing his name in one corner then decided to draw a house in the other end. Which, came complete with windows, a door, and yes, a tree right beside it. All the while declaring the things that he’s been drawing.

“Tita (Aunt), this is my house, I’ll put my name on it… ”
“Look Tita, I drew a tree! I’m putting it outside so these people will have shade…”

When he said people, he meant those little stick figures he made by the tree. Two stick figures became eight then he drew this odd shaped thing beside the house which he claims is a monster which is to be fought by the people who arrived in a truck.

He carried on and on while drawing. I was so fascinated with his wild imagination. It seemed like he never ran out of scenarios playing in that cute head of his. The great thing is they all tied up together. It had no ending, though. By the time he started running out of things to say, he found something else to do.

He saw all these machines in the production area and one by one he started asking what each of them did. When he was satisfied, he’d ask some gory question like: “If I put my hand there, would it cut off my fingers?” Little boys can be so different from little girls. Fascinating nonetheless.

Life would be so boring without kids around. Having Justin in our office for a little while gave such life in our ordinarily drab office. I remember a time when my own imagination would run as wild as his… my own curiosity would lead me to search for answers (or formulating one myself) instead of assuming the way things worked. I used to daydream for hours on end.

As we all get older, we tend to lose our fascination with imagination. We tend to assume that we have seen it all and that we know it all. Thus, forgetting to see the mystery in the things around us. Justin’s visit reminded me to never lose that little kid in all of us because our imagination and wonder gives color to our otherwise drab day-to-day routine.

Nurture the child within!