Memoirs of an Amnesiac

"Can you come over to the hospital after work?" my brother timidly asked while I was at work juggling through loads and piles of paperwork. Baffled I asked, "What for?" He replied, "You have to teach me how to change diapers."

Oh the joys (and pains) of aunthood.

It had been more than a year since that baby I changed diapers with had been born. I remembered how I had cuddled him and commented how much of a cute little angel he was. I was even afraid something was wrong with him as he slept soundly in that blanket the nurse carefully wrapped around him and he's never even budging.

Now he's all grown up.

He's the most demanding yet adorable little creature that I know of. He stands barely two feet but his cry for milk and the reverberations it effects on us can equal to that of any known destructive tsunami. He knows exactly what he wants and he is sure he will get them. His demanding nature has made him such a precocious child. He learned how to speak basic words as "milk" and "up" (when we are lying down and he wants us to go with him outside the house), "chicks" (when he sees a cute baby girl and begins to admire her) at such an early age. He can be the most manipulative baby one can meet. When he knows a slight noise in the house (of teachers) would usually disrupt us, he would use it to his advantage. He is actually very good with it. Being the first apo and nephew, one cry and he makes obsequious mortals out of all of us.

I'm pretty sure toy factories would really hail him as their top-grossing major customer for there had never been a time when he wouldn't get to destroy or dismantle his toys. With his talent at destroying his toys and tinkering with things, I have dubbed him as the family's "The Destroyer." But this does not stop me from buying him toys, especially when he had developed the habit of asking "something, Ta Mi?" when I get home and my clothes smell of mall air conditioner. (Yes, he is that clever.) And for the life of me, I keep buying, even when I know, the toy would only exist in its perfect state for the next thirty minutes or so. What I am most proud is that he really takes care of his toys and he can be very protective of them (even in their "broken state"). This I noticed when I placed both my feet on top of his toy car and he freaked out, making such wild noises which I had a hard time understanding. It was only later when I took off my feet that he stopped. Talk about communication.

Once, when he was at a neighbor's house, he accidentally hit his face at one of the rungs on the stairs. When I reached home (as his welcoming voice, "Ta Mi," [Tita Mommy, as he fondly calls me] is the one I always look forward to after a hard day's work), was no longer as vibrant as it had been, I almost cried to tears when I saw his delicate face all scarred.

He is an expert at pleasing people so I bemused when he grows up he can either be a politician or a lawyer or be a teacher like his parents and his aunt. But whatever he plans to pursue later on in life, my prayer is that may he always be a good person, whether he becomes the best or just average in his field.

But seriously, I just don't want him to grow up just yet. I want him to be forever small and cuddly, even when he's demanding and all.

While I busy myself taking pictures of him playing around, I am amazed at how much he had grown.

I couldn't believe I was actually the one who changed his diapers the first time around.