And before she was 5, I saved these sweet conversations between us:

 

My little one: Mommy, you hurt my feelings!

Me: Why, where is that feeling? (I joked around. Was telling her not to cry like a baby.)

My little one: It’s in my mind!

 

            Made me realize… our hearts only feel what our minds think. 

 

Me: I love you my love.

My little one: I love you too, mom

Me, teasing: No you don’t

My little one: Yes I do!

Me: Why?

My little one: Because I love you.

 

This is the answer I’ve been waiting for from my past suitors. They all failed. Either because their answer was: “Because you are beautiful” or “Because you are intelligent”. My husband answered both. He failed, but I loved him, because I love him.

 

Living under your parents-in-law’s roof you have to abide with certain rules, especially if you are a foreign spouse. And if you are a foreign spouse, although you are a “daughter” of your husband’s parents, still you are a stranger because of cultural differences. This is what my fate has become. And while each day I dream of us to move on (soon as I get to work), something bad happened. Really bad. My daughter had a peeccident on her couch (peed on my MIL’s couch) while sleeping. I was forewarned by my MIL (mother-in-law) to potty train her whenever she is ready. I thought if that is how it works, then she could be ready by when she is 10 years old. That’s awful! So I started training her when she was 3. T’was on that age that accidents happen quite constantly. My FIL (father-in-law) simply told me (after I said, “Sorry.”) that accidents do happen. But my MIL was too shocked, too sad, had a super bad day and said this to me, “Apology is inappropriate this time.” I sobbed washing the after-dinner dishes. For sure I wanted to leave that house right then with or without my husband, if only I had a safer home for our daughter to stay. I went upstairs continued crying in our bedroom. Daughter saw it and gave me her wipe saying, “Ma, what did I do?”

 

“Nothing honey, you just peed in the couch. It made gramma upset.”

That moment, I realized, help her to remind herself to never commit an accident on that precious little couch. And she never did. Not because gramma will get upset, but because she didn’t want to see me to cry again. My daughter and I are inseparable. How could I live without her?

 

And oh, what she was blowing above, put on top of her cake were not really candles. Those were big matches, as we did not prepare to get her birthday candles. Why? She will have another birthday bash with her best friend in our neighborhood. But blowing those big matches was too exciting for her she had no time to make a wish!

 

 

Thanks to my dear sister for creating her this special cake. I want her to make this again when we are really around them. Yes, that is the prettiest birthday cake I’ve ever seen. Sorry guys, her business (my sister’s) is based in the Philippines (http://cakerycakes.peachburst.com).