Playing With Your Kids

Last night I was asked to promise my kids that we will play bahay-bahayan. That’s what we Filipinos call when kids would like to pretend, like doing house chores like cooking, cleaning, sleeping and everything. Just make sure those disposable syringes are out of the way. They always like to play doctor, you know. I said ok, let’s pretend I have a home business and I’m here at my “office” blogging. Hehe…they wormly dragged their bodies down in complaint. They said we’ll pretend we had no computer.

Ok, ok, I agreed anyway. How many hours? I said one. Murmur upon murmur…they haggled. Five hours. Oh no. That’s too long. Two hours. Three voices are stronger than mine. Another set of complaints. That’s too short, they said. Four hours. No. Three hours, I said. And that’s final. I have the rank here. They were happy.

This morning they set up the stage. It turned out to be a beauty parlor pretend or parlor-parloran as we Filipinos call it. Not bad! I got my hair, face, arms and legs, and nails pampered. They even prepared snacks with my favorite coffee (real snacks for “clients”) as I entered the “parlor.” I’m looking forward to another parlor-parloran. Hmmm…I’ll not wonder if they would like to take up cosmetology when they grow up.