My Grandson

My Grandson

There is “Like father like son”, and so there is “like grandfather like grandson” too.

Last Sunday, I met my grandson after he has his hair cut in a barber shop; he pointed at me and put his little hand on his shaven head, means we both look alike. Couldn’t explain to him that his grandfather is going bald but he was just has his hair shaved. He is just fourteen months old.

From the time he was born, my wife and I would go to visit him on every Sunday. Sometimes my wife even asked me to spend the weekend with our first grandson till Monday morning. I met with him weekly and never expected he would treat me as a stranger when he was about four months old, the period of all babies started recognizing who is familiar and who is a stranger.

As usual, we visit our grandson on a Sunday morning; he started to cry when he saw me, and refused me to carry him. I was unhappy the whole day for I didn’t have a chance to step close to the baby. He cried every time when I try to approach him.

The other weekend when I saw him, surprisingly, this wonderful baby had had a deep inhale and held his breath for seconds, seems he was petrified by something horrible. When he came back to himself; he started to have a strong endless cry. Immediately, I realized that could be I am so ugly to shock him and so I make myself disappeared. Day after day, I was already accustomed staying away from my grandson, in fact, I needed to hide from his sight to avoid making him cry.

For me, that was a special Sunday. When my daughter opened the door for me, she was carrying her baby. My grandson had seen me; amazingly he didn’t hold his breath but smile to me this time. Thus I was too happy and could not hold my tears running from my eyes. My daughter told me that she showed her son with my picture everyday and kept saying to him, “this is kung kung (grandfather).” I was so glad that her method was succeeded and it fastens the relationship between her son and me.

Incidentally, there was a big dancing competition held by a TV station when I was in China last October. There were some children participants showing their talents of dancing. One of my relatives was so exciting to watch them dance. For his curious, he asked me if children in the Philippines could dance as good as them. He was disappointed when I told him that children in the Philippines could dance much better for they could perform their body language much naturally. He doubt for he didn’t believe Pinoy children could dance much better than the Chinese. I told him, my grandson who was just able to stand by himself; however, he already knew how to swing his hip when he heard music plays. Exaggeratedly I stressed, my grandson is not a particular one but all babies being born in the Philippine are dancing genius to be.

Soon after the baby smiled to me, we are friends. Although I have to drive far from our place to Manila; for him, hours of traffic are worth to spend for and visiting him would be a joyful trip to me. I love him and he shows how he loves me by he knew how to say his first word, not “papa” or “mama” but “KUNG KUNG (grandfather)”.