The best things in life are not always free. Sometimes they’re cheap. Like that kite up there. It only cost me .99 cents at the 99 Cents Store. Flying it at the beach – priceless. I’m starting to sound like a credit card ad here, but it’s the truth.

It’s automatic. A grin pops up on your face when you look up at the kite you’re flying. Somehow, the thin string that connects you to that glorious, soaring thing in the sky makes you feel one with it. Flying a kite makes me feel birdlike. It lifts my spirit off the ground.

And while I stand there, filled with awe, my toes digging in the sand, and my neck stiff from craning backward, I would silently recall the lines of a poem that, as an eight-year-old, I had recited for Ms. Cajelo, my stick-wielding second grade teacher.

I often sit and wish that I

Could be a kite up in the sky.

And ride upon the breeze and go,

Whichever way I chance to blow.

Then I could look beyond the town,

And see the river winding down,

And follow all the ships that sail

Like me before a merry gale,

Until at last, with them I come

To some place with a foreign name.

When I see my kids enjoy it as much as I do, that’s an added bonus. I give myself a pat on the back. I’m a good parent.

Have a closer look at my little girl’s face below. She’s holding a string. That’s the first time she ever flew a kite. And she knows exactly what I’m talking about.

]]> http://chiquibaylon.net/2010/05/flying-kites/feed/ 10 http://chiquibaylon.net/2009/03/beachballs-in-winter/ http://chiquibaylon.net/2009/03/beachballs-in-winter/#comments Wed, 04 Mar 2009 20:21:04 +0000 Chiqui http://chiquibaylon.net/?p=877  

Nope, I wasn’t  planning to take my kids for a dip at the beach when I bought a dozen inflatable beachballs last December.  I’m not that crazy. Even in the summer, seawater can feel like it had been placed  in the freezer for two hours.  No  thanks,  American beaches  are not for me.  I’ll wait ’til I get enough money  to go home and splash at Boracay.  So what’s with all the beachballs then?

My son is very inquisitive, always asking where this and that country is. I’ve been thinking of buying him a globe, but it’s very expensive.  It can cost from 40-60 dollars.Good thing I saw these  balls designed to look like a globe. I bought twelve of them for only seven dollars at Rhode Island  Novelty. My kids can kick them and toss them around. They can have fun and learn from them at the same time. 

Long, long time ago I read somewhere that kids in the States lag behind in knowledge of geography.  I noticed, when I got the chance to live here, that many people think of America as the center of the world, that everything here is the best and everyone out there (especially in developing countries) is still swinging in trees.  I’ve always wondered why they call their baseball championship  the World Series when , except for Canada, there are no teams from other countries playing in it.  Smells like  arrogance if you ask me.  And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.   

I don’t want my children growing up with that kind of mentality.  Hence the need for the globe — to teach them that there’s an interesting and maybe even better  world outside of America’s borders.  It’s a nice addition to the geography games I make my son play online .

Of course the world map is not very accurate, but it’s good enough to satisfy the curiosity of my eight-year-old.  I’m giving away four of them to three nieces and one nephew.  I still have eight more left for my kids. Plenty of reserve just in case they kick too hard and destroy one. Definitely one of  my best purchases.