Wish I Could Be In Two Places At The Same Time

November 26, Saturday

With two important activities lined-up for this afternoon, I knew there was going to be a tough juggling act to do. In the morning, I was home with Kyle and Jake. We were just parked in front of the tv, or playing and enjoying each other's company. Jerry was with Matt at the Sports Complex where Matt competed with his team against other runners from different schools in Cebu. So far, everything was good. This was the proverbial calm before the storm.

As I was just at home, the digicam was with Jerry to take pictures of Matt. Unfortunately, he was too engrossed watching Matt run that he wasn't able to snap a pic of him in action. But he managed to snap a few during the practice sprints of the Jesuit team and here's one of them...


Matt is on the right, running with Sejie.

An hour before lunch, Jerry and Matt came home with the news that Matt won a gold medal for 400 meter dash. Woohoo!


He said a short prayer while waiting for his turn in the 4 x 100 meter relay.

After an early lunch, I left Kyle and Jake to the care of the nanny. Jerry dropped me off to the mall where I could buy something for my newest "inaanak" (godchild), Marti. Perfect as this was a good time as well to have my pedi for the baptism at 4 PM, the same time Matt was to compete for 3 more events.

I already knew the gift I wanted for my godchild so I purposely walked in a jewelry shop in Ayala. Hmmm, the bracelets were too expensive for my budget, I thought (Hahah! Sorry cousin Mimi, I'm a tight-wad like that!), I downgraded to a pendant instead. Nope, still too expensive. Then right before I stepped out, the gleaming little golden hoops caught my eye. Aha! Those were just the right size for Marti. I bought a pair, and then another one when I learned these earrings were on sale, 50% off! Alrighty! Heheh...

With 2 pairs of tiny gold earrings in little red boxes in my bag, I proceeded to have my pedicure. Ugh, my nails were discolored from wearing polish, not a good time to go bare. So I still had them painted with my favorite touch of beige. I was still relaxed about the time until it was 3PM. From then on, everything just flashed by like a big blur.

3:00-3:30 Jerry picked me up from Ayala then drove home to get ready for the baptism
3:45-4:00 I dropped Jerry off at the Sports Complex where Matt was.
4:00-5:00 Baptism of Marti at the Sacred Heart Chapel.

Change of plans. Instead of Jerry staying with me as I stood as one of the godparents, we thought it best for him to stay with Matt for moral support. Hence, I drove to the chapel by myself. When I got there a lot of cars have already filled all the parking space, to my dismay. It turned out to be the wedding of one of the prominent mayor's kids so the guests were naturally the who's who of Cebu.

I was running late now with no space to park the big SUV. Oh dear. Then I saw the guard motion me to the back of the church where I maneuvered the vehicle to fit in a small gap between the church and the corner wall, making sure there was enough space for other cars to drive by. Haa, I did it.

I walked all the way around the church while the wedding was going on and walked some more to the chapel for the baptism. I was panting and breathing heavily when I got there. No joke walking in high wedge slip-ons, I thought.

I greeted Aunt Didi and went over to cousin Mimi and cousin-in-law Minoy, the proud parents. The happy look on their faces was evident. And I guess they have all the reason to be. Marti who was born premature at 7 months and weighing only 2 lbs (just like Jake) is now 2 months old and looking pretty in her baptismal gown.

The ceremony was meaningful but short. Marti was a good little baby and didn't fuss one bit. When the priest asked one of the godmothers to carry Marti, I heard my name being volunteered by my cousin. Oh sure! Most of my new "kumares" were single and were scared to handle baby Marti so I gamely walked over to the font where the parents stood. I scooped Marti's neck and head with my left hand and slid my right under her legs and back and soon was holding her with just my left arm like a football. "Sanay na sanay ka ha," teased Minoy. "Of course, I had a lot of practice, remember?" I replied.

After the customary picture-taking, we were invited to a 6 PM dinner at Big Mao. It was already past 5PM. I was torn between getting Kyle and Jake from the house for the dinner invite or driving to the sports complex to catch Matt run. What a dilemma! After saying a quick goodbye to the parents and my aunt, I got out of the chapel and had to walk and run alternately to the car to avoid getting wet. Darn the drizzle.

I chose to watch Matt compete so I retraced my way to the Sports Compex, found a slot to park the car in, and walked and ran again to the tracks. I was just in time for their final event, the 4 x 400 meter relay and he was the last runner.

When the gun fired, all the 1st runners sped. the Jesuits lagged second by the time the 2nd runners ran. When it was the 3rd runners' turn, the Jesuits gained speed but was still on second. When the baton was handed to him, Matt ran as fast as he could to catch the 1st placer. However, the other runner looked like he didn't want Matt to overtake him, he kept changing lanes to block Matt's way. Matt found a way to outrun him and he did. In the process, they almost fell to the ground. I saw Matt lose his balance but was able to regain it back. He's a big guy luckily. The other runner was not as fortunate for he came crashing down on the track. Poor kid.

Matt ran all the way in the lead, glancing a few times behind and running like a gazelle. When he shot past where I stood I cheered like mad and kept shouting "Let's go Matt, run!!!".

The team finished 1st! And I'm glad I was there to see it. I even managed to capture a shot using my mobile (darn, my digicam was still with Jerry who's on the other side of the oval) and came up with this...


Oh yes, that's his winning form...

Matt's gold medal haul for the day:
100 meter dash - GOLD
400 meter dash - GOLD
4 x 100 meter relay - GOLD
4 x 400 meter relay - GOLD

The wins qualified the team to represent Cebu in the upcoming Central Visayas running competition.

Oh what a proud mom that made ME!


1. The competing teams... 2. The victorious Jesuit team with the coach...

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After rejoicing over the victories, Jerry, Matt and I were back to the mad scramble to get home, freshen up and change for the dinner party. We got to the venue at 6:30 PM. We were actually one of the late guests to arrive. Out of sheer exhaustion, we all finished quite a big meal that night with all of us going back to the yummy buffet a few times more. Hehehe...


2nd-degree cousins, Jake finally gets to meet Marti


Father and son


and the rest of the brood