My Plants in Our Little Apartment

A Fireman and a Garbage Truck: Christmas Gifts For Moms

It was a long day for my little friends at my part time day care job today. It was a rainy afternoon so we were not able to go to the playground to play. The kids are about 2.5 years old and most of them are full of energy. They wanted to run and wrestle in the classroom. I decided to play some dance music so they could jump and shake a little bit. We were doing this dancing (jumping and turning) for about 20 minutes when they started to get bored with the activity. I asked everyone to sit in a circle. I read the book about "Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?” Everyone was listening to the story and every now and then we would make the sounds of the animals. 

After reading the book, I thought I would like to talk a little about Christmas. I know it was not a good idea because we are not supposed to promote any religious events. Well, I decided to focus on gift giving. Most of the kids, know about Santa. One even said that Santa gave him a toy train. The other kids don't really celebrate Christmas because they have different religious orientations. I explained to them that their parents also deserve some gifts  from the children whether it’s Christmas time or not. 

I asked the question, "What will you give your mom for Christmas?" They were all talking at the same time and saying different things, which made it hard for me to hear. Then I added, "Okay I would like to see a drawing and you need to tell me what you draw for mom." I called them one at a time, I let them choose what color they want to use for their drawing. 

One girl drew green circles for mommy. Asked her what she drew and she said, "This is a Christmas tree for my mommy. 

One boy who was sitting beside me couldn't wait and he kept on calling my name to let him go next. When it was his turn, he asked for a red crayon. 

"Here's your red crayon, "Bryan", what will you give your mom?" 

He hesitated, "Hmmm, I'm going to give my mom a fireman!" 

I was not sure if I heard it right so I said, "You want her to have a fireman toy?" 

"No, no, a fireman like this!” he said impatiently and started scribbling some circles on our big paper at the center of the circle. 

"Oh, I see, so you want a real fireman! Do you think mommy would like that?" I inquired. He said yes and calmly walked back to where he was sitting.

Another boy came next and he also asked for red crayon. I thought he would imitate the previous boy, so I told him quickly, "Draw something else don't do a fireman." He took the crayon and again started doing circles, (well they all made circles) so I asked him. 

"Jack", what did you draw for mommy?"

"A garbage truck!"  He replied quickly.

"Why a garbage truck?"

"Because it's for my mommy?" Jack answered.

"Okay, do you think mommy will like it? I asked.

"Yeah!"

The session ended up with kids saying different things, most of them talked about giving their moms some toys. At the end of the day, I was smiling thinking about the two boys who gave funny answers. One mom will wake up on Christmas day with a fireman in her house and the other mom would end up having her own garbage truck.  What if adults think like 2.5 years old? I think we will have a crazy, but fun and exciting world! 

Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) Shows Me Some Thoughtful Americans

This happened at my part time job today at a grocery store in Georgia, USA.  While I was scanning for goods and talking to the customer in my line, another customer walked in and directly went to my register. She said, "Hi Angel, I am so glad to see you today! I was worried about you and your family in the Philippines. I haven't seen you for a while. I thought you went home. Is everyone okay?" I was touched and it took me a moment to reply. Before I could say anything, the customer in my line said,  "Oh, you're from the Philippines? I felt so bad about what happened to your country." So, I looked at them and said, "Thank you so much! Yes, everyone in my family is fine..." Then, another customer overheard our conversation. This third customer was young and he looked like a college student and had a subway sandwich in his hand. He said, " I felt terrible when I saw the news on TV. I remember when we lost hundreds due to Hurricane Katrina.  I can't imagine America if Katrina was three times stronger. I am going to send my donations for the Filipino victims today." I sincerely thanked the young man after I gave him his receipt. A few other customers said that they would make some donations to the Philippines because they were concerned about those survivors who don't have shelter, food and water. They thought that it's a terrible condition to be in. I sincerely thanked them for thinking about my beloved country, the Philippines. I just hope that my fellow Filipino brothers would also think about sharing some of their extra cash to the victims of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda). Thank you sweet Americans for extending your blessing to my Filipino brothers and sisters. Hopefully, the money will reach the survivors.