Ol' times. Ol' times

We went up to Tagaytay this weekend. My father asked for it --- maybe it's his way of "waking up and smelling the roses". I've ever been to Tagaytay for the longest time, last being with my college friends for some bonding time post-graduation. This from a girl who's used to be up there every weekend with the whole clan for some picnic. And guess what we did there this time?

No, we didn't eat in leslies, had a drink in Starbucks, or entered in any one of those very commercial establishments that lined up the main road. This is especially hard when we all know Tagaytay is now oh-so-manila-with-a-view-of-a-volcano. All my father wanted was an old-school picnic. So, we found our old little nook in the midst of urbanization, the only one I think that still rents out old tables that creek whenever you make the slightest move. Beb and Mark set up the gas stove (yes, we bring an LPG tank when we picnic. This is our version of 'roughing it'.) and while mama cooked sinigang (O di ba picnic? May mainit na sinigang? Sarap!) and inihaw, we took the time to introduce to Ouie what Tagaytay had to offer besides the 'bolkayno'.
This time, we awakened her senses to the wonders of hard core playgrounding. She was so used to air conditioned plastic houses setup in malls that charge by the hour. Those where swings and slides have cushy pillows and carpeting to soften her and other all the kids' fall.They play with little kitchens for the miniature martha stewart's and little cars you can actually ride in. The kids today, they're so spoiled! Our day, we played at noon on monkey bars and slides made of steel and galvanized iron that burns your hand and butts so much so that the possibility of procreating the next generation became impossible.

You land on construction-grade sand, the plain old lupa that turns to mud heaven when it rains, or just the good ol' cemento. Then after us going at it with all the other kids for some time, you go home smelling not-so-baby-like, looking as if they had us sent us mini-troops in the 90's version of the Iraq war.

But Ouie enjoyed it. And we enjoyed the picnic. And Papa was happy. Just like old times. I didn't know I'd actually say this, but, sometimes, I just love normalcy.