when i trained in cnn as a participant in the international professional program, i was 4 months pregnant with my first child. that child is now 6 years old, and worrying about my upcoming month-long journalism fellowship. everyday, she asks me about the trip.
"mommy, saan ka pupunta?" (mommy, where will you go?)
"nak, i'll go to hawaii, pakistan and india."
"mommy, di kita maintindihan. di ko alam ang sinasabi mo." (mommy, i dont understand. i dont know what you're saying.)
"nak, pakistan is a country. india is a country."
"(teary-eyed) di ko nga naiintindihan e."
i felt something pinch my heart...
and this morning, when she woke up, my trip was the only thing on her mind.
"mommy, reporters ba ang kasama mo?" (mommy, will you be travelling with reporters?)
"yes, nak."
gabby is completely the opposite.
"nak, alam mo bang aalis ako sa february?" (do you know that i'll be leaving in february?)
"oo. (while playing, looking oblivious)" (yes)
but come february, i know that the roles will be reversed. alex will know how to cope, as she always does. and gabby will refuse to talk to me on the phone because she's afraid she might cry coz she's missing me a lot.
