I remember a lot of things about my childhood. I had a pretty sporty childhood, it’s a wonder why I never made it to any serious sports as I grew older. I guess sports were simple back then, for me at least. All the games I played consisted of running around, playing tag of all sorts with my cousins and other playmates. Some games were girly, most were boyish. I played all sorts of games, depending on my mood and whatever the situation permits.
I remember waking up early in the morning to catch the sun rising over the mountains. My cousins and I, still groggy from sleep, would head to silangan (a short distance from our houses) to catch a glimpse of the rising sun. Silangan is really a vast cornfield, sometimes it was a rice field. We’d walk all the way up a low hill, the highest we could go. Then as the sun slowly rises, we’d turn our backs to it. It’s funny how we struggle to get out of bed in time for the rising sun only to turn our backs on it when it finally rose over the mountains. The oldies say sunshine is good for the body. I just didn’t understand why our backs (they say it’s for our lungs). But what the hey, that’s just how it goes when we were kids.
I remember going back home after sun-bathing and having breakfast. In this day and age, I’d probably go back to bed and get more of my deserved sleep, considering the blasted insomnia I suffer from. Back then, going back to bed after warming up under the sun is like putting your swimsuit on and never swimming. After breakfast, we kids gather round our toys (ranging from a jump rope, jack stones, Barbie dolls, rubber bands, Chinese garter, etc.) and prepare for the day’s top priority in the itinerary: play time.
I remember playing girly games with my cousins. These took place in my house, since our paraphernalia were stored there. We’d go over the items before we start. Little pots and pans, check. Ingredients (most biscuits and candies), check. Little plates and glasses, check. Now, we’re cooking! The session would go on for a few minutes. Back then, 30-minute meals were unheard of. In fact, we were better than Rachel Ray. We’d be finished cooking AND eating in half an hour. Then, after we’re “full”, we’d go play with our dolls. But this doesn’t last long because everyone knows it’s better to play with your dolls alone, where you can control your dolls, give them voices and names, and think up of a situation – all by yourself. This isn’t much fun when you’re in a group, because ideas tend to clash and arguments as to what profession your doll is can result to fight, and even tears. So after a rather boring doll play, we’d take it to the next level. We’d go outside to meet the boys!
I remember playing really boyish games as a kid, and going home really dirty mwahaha! I used to play tumbang preso, agaw base, patintero (which I hate – I don’t know why), syato (where you flick a stick as far as possible, and the farthest distance from the base wins – sorry if it’s vague, I’m not good in describing such things), supo (it’s a game where you draw a square on the ground and put bottle caps inside it, and the goal is to try to knock as many bottle caps outside the square as possible using a flat piece of stone), touch ball (but we used hard plastic ball, and you really have to be good dodging the ball because damn, it hurts!), marbles, rubber bands, the list goes on.. I remember biking with my cousins. Sometimes, we’d take turns, climbing up the hill and biking down as fast as possible (gosh, it felt sooo great).. and sometimes we’d race each other down the hill. When a new subdivision opened up nearby, we had a blast biking ’till it’s dark already. I remember one cousin who’s driving a sidecar and still managed to hit the gutter. Ouch!
I remember playing piko (hopscotch) with my cousins, and we would team up in pairs. If memory serves me right, May and I – we’re the team to beat bwahaha! We’d also play another version, but I can’t remember what it’s called (arrghh!). Jerome, if you’re reading this, ask Gail what it was! Haha! We’d play the traditional sungka, where each team not only aims to win, but also aims to get the biggest and the most beautiful shells! God, that’s frustrating.
I remember taguan, habulan, langit-lupa and a lot more. It was a pretty athletic childhood alright. But all in the name of fun. Gee, we had so much fun I wish we can play again. But the original “kids” aren’t complete anymore. And when we do get complete, we’d be too busy catching up on things that we don’t have time to play anymore. But one thing we always have time for: it’s reminiscing the good (and bad) times we had playing those games. =) I guess the little kids in us will always live on… no matter how old we get.
