ULOG #1: My Daughter's Lucky Fin

The weather has not been so good lately hence the suspensions of classes for two days straight. Not that I fuss about it, I think it's fine. I've always loved the feeling of rain. The sound of the falling rain that gets you into a cozy mood, the warmth of a hot drink on your hands and the extra time you spend with your loved ones at home - who wouldn't love that. I also used to love walking under the rain with a big umbrella just playing and stomping around muddy puddles.

Today was another rainy day spent at home. Classes were announced cancelled as early as 5 am. This morning, I only had one to send off - Jay, as work weren't suspended. I just let the kids sleep in a little longer and enjoy the feeling of curling up under the sheets. I did my morning rituals, chores with a little challenge as the power went out around 3 am and didn't come back until around 9 am. By the time the kids woke up, I was already done cleaning the house, and washing the dishes. I had them have their breakfast so I can make the room they slept in. The rain has been non stop and our walls and the floors near our walls were a little flooded. It has been our problem every rainy season. The carpentry of our house being very close to our neighbor's firewall wasn't that good so as the rain falls outside, it also lets in some inside.

Fast forward to our nap time after having lunch and washing the dishes, me and my kids were at the terrace watching the rain. We talked about how life was then - how local governments weren't that pushy with class suspensions then and how I used to walk home into the flooded streets of Manila after school. I told them how one time my foot got cut as I stepped on something I couldn't see. I showed them the scar I had from it and they both showed up their feet.

"I don't want that to happen to my lucky fin," Kiera said. Lucky fin, you ask? It's what she calls the pinkie of her left toe because it has an extra finger. When I gave birth to her, it was the first thing Jay checked with the nurses because Jay has them too - on the same toe. It wasn't very visible then, probably due to her being so small as a baby. When we got home after a few days of recovering from the hospital, we confirmed she also has it. The question whether we get rid of it or not came up. We discussed it with her pediatrician and our elders. The reason being is she might grow up insecure because of it. But, I thought it was special. It was something only her and her dad has. And sure enough, the doctors and the elders discouraged it. The pediatrician said it will be done under a general anaesthesia and she's too small to go through that. She advised the just let her be and if she grows up and decides she doesn't like it then she can have it cosmetically removed then.

Going back, I told her it won't happen to her because nowadays, classes get suspended even when it's sunny. It won't happen again because I won't let her walk in to the floods. She sighed with relief.

I've always wondered how she feels about her "lucky fin." It has been a challenge for us to find her shoes because the left pair needs to be one size bigger if the shoe isn't wide enough to room it. So, today I took the chance to ask. "Does it hurt when you wear your shoes?", "What do your friends say when they see it?", "Do you like wearing flip flops?" Just some of the things I was curious about.

"It hurts sometimes but that's fine. My friends have not seen it yet so, I don't know," she said.

"I love flip flops. Especially when they have My Little Pony trinkets. Why do you ask," she added.

I told her I was just curious. Then she surprised me with her most interesting response. Something I never expected from a four year old. "I want to show them to my friends so they'd know what makes me special. Me and Daddy are special because we have lucky fins!"

sorry for the dirty toes.

I have been nowhere but beside them for the last 10 months or so. Never left them since I became a full time mom but, it had me wondering where was I when she learned that.

Tell me... Just how a 4 year old can come up with that thought.

Thanks for reading!

Love,
Jonah (and Jay)