Mango's Cheeks

 

 

‘Tis the season for Ataulfo mangoes!  Whatever it is called in the groceries, be it Ataulfo mangoes, Champagne mangoes or Manila mangoes (an obvious hint), it’s a must buy.  It is often sold in cases of 14-18 pcs at the chinese grocery.  But for a family of just three, which already includes Stefan, I buy it loose, even if I'm lugi. Because Mom would always remind me that mangoes, despite its nutritious element and superb taste, are diyet.  Eaten too much will increase the body heat, hence cause your skin to break out in the form of the dreaded pimple or singaw.

 

Despite the warnings, mangoes have always been a staple in our dishes/meals.  It is julienned with crabstick and cucumber with Japanese mayonnaise to make California Maki.  It is diced with onion and tomatoes and spiced-up with bagoong for an appetizing ensalada.  It is balled as with watermelon & melon, and mixed with strips of coconut for that lovely fruit salad.  It is pureed into the mango sago dessert that punctuates a Chinese laureate feast.  It is also be processed further to make dried mangoes, sherbet, mango chutneys, gelatin and many others.  But I find that mangoes are best eaten naked.  And I like it sliced sagad sa buto to have the biggest cheek possible.

 

In the absence of Philippines mangoes, the Ataulfo is truly a wonderful discovery, because if I haven’t done so yet, my mom would not stop at bugging every person coming to Canada to bring me mangoes (because she stops over USA in every of her visit, she cannot do the personal delivery).  The Ataulfo is smaller than its relative, the Philippine mango, but it has the thinnest seed of any mangoes which makes the meat portion large for its size.  And for a bonus, the meat is string-less. 

 

I have always loved mangoes for as long as I can remember.  Back home, the extra piece or slice of mango, no doubt, goes to my plate.  When I was still that little picky-eater, mangoes with rice makes a meal (a combination I would only eat now if at a sushi house).  My dad would often tease that I have eaten thousands of kilos of mangoes already to this day.  Thanks for spoiling me!

 

The three of us would normally share two pieces of mangoes.  Stefan gets his fair share of one cheek which leaves an uneven portion to split between me and Sherwin.  Three mangoes would have solved the imbalance, but then one of us would be eating beyond the acceptable serving size with the diyet warning in mind.  But knowing my track record with mangoes, Sherwin surrenders 2 big cheeks to me, leaving him with a cheek and two seeds that are messy to eat.  If this is not an extension of spoiling me with mangoes, what a sweet and luscious compromise! 

Everything Happens for a Reason

Last month I met our neighbors Tarek & Heba for the first time at the playground where our kids were playing.  They invited us to their house for tea.  We talked mostly about the neighborhood since we moved here almost the same time last year, and of course we talked about our kids.  Their 4-year-old daughter Maya goes to daycare while both parents work.

It suddenly dawned on me, as if I was awakened from my coma, that such an arrangement does work after all. Papa has always wanted me to go back to work after I had Stefan, and I kept dismissing the thought all along.  My reason, I will be putting everything I will earn just to pay for Stefan's daycare.

One month later.  I now have the preschool's Parent Handbook in my hands.  My days with Stefan are numbered.  No, I'm not going to be in coma, not again.  He's just going to start preschool next month, while I am finally going back to work.  I am still job hunting at the moment. But that will be an entirely different story to write about.

Heba & Maya had already left when we got to the playground after dinner on that evening last month.  We only caught Tarek who was checking the mailbox on his way back to their house.  Moments later, they all came back to the playground. 

I have always believed that everything in this world happens for a reason, even the smallest details that merely pass us by.  If we had not decided to go for a walk that evening, or if our neighbors had not gone back, we wouldn't have met them.  The conversation would not have taken place and we would not have arrived at the decisions we have made today.  Papa may still be convincing me to go back to work.  And his words could still be falling on deaf ears.  And I may still keep wondering when I can ever put Stefan in an environment with other kids for social interaction and more active play, which are harder to teach and learn at home.

Yesterday I was slammed with pages of forms to be filled-out and a list of "Items to bring in" to school.  While I am excited about the thought of Stefan going to preschool, I am also getting emotional to see him thrive in the world outside Mommy's arms of love and protection which I have gladly and so unselfishly provided for almost 3 years.  I am comforted though by the fact that 'to everything there is a season,' and for everything there is a reason. 

And the season is now; the reason, big enough to just let it all happen.

 

My Daily Dose of Happiness

 

-         Waking up and snoozing for another 10 minutes

-         Toast with butter, sugar and cheese

-         Checking email and receiving anything but none

-         Email-ful of photos from family and friends

-         Getting an offline message from YM

-         Text messages from friends back home

-         Finishing that last load of laundry

-         Finishing just any chore you’ve been putting off in your to-do list

-         Stefan singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars while pretending to wash hands (from the Potty Power DVD)

-         Stefan reading out anything numeric around the house, eg. microwave clock, calculator buttons, model code on the telephone shower, ml of his shampoo, telephone numbers in leaflets, prices in the IKEA catalogue, page numbers, etc.

-         Blogs that keep me entertained on boring days

-         Showbiz gossip as if I’m back home

-         Finishing a meal with Stefan

-         Having the last piece of chocnut and polvoron from Aunt Judith’s pasalubong

-         Stefan eating a whole peach

-         Stefan excited over his glass of milk

-         Taking Stefan out for a walk

-         Updated photos of my Friendster friends

-         Checking on Stefan to find him still napping, which means more “me” time

-         The sound of kids playing on the street

-         Rain pitter-pattering on the window

-         Phonecalls, except from telemarketers

-         Finding that last Thomas & Friends DVD at the library

-         Sherwin coming home from work

-         An excited Stefan to see his daddy

-         Daddy and son doing storytime

-         Stefan’s asleep which gives me and Sherwin our own personal time

-         Stefan sleeping through the night

-         Midnight snack of ice cream, chips or just green tea

-         Watching Friends reruns          

-         The highway/grassfield view outside the window

-         Aircraft noise, that I have become immune to, that makes me imagine a trip going home or a vacation

-         The tons of magazines that Harriet has lent me, she got from Phils

-         Self-help books that help me become a zen parent

-         Classical music or Enya that put me to sleep

-         Waking up to another day where greater happiness awaits        

 

The secret to finding eternal happiness, to me, is finding joy in the most simple things.