Running with Zayne

My daughter GG, Zayne at the center when he was still a toddler and me at a playground.

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

You thought I’ve forgotten all about Zayne Mojica, my ward and little best friend with all the other blogs I’ve written about. It’s just that we’ve been busy running for a race that I forgot to update you about his story and mine.

Well, today I’d be talking about running through the eyes of a child, specifically Zayne’s eyes. Nearly everyday, Zayne and I have to run inside the second floor of his family’s house.

The house is carpeted so there are no worries about any stone, dirt or sharp object that may hurt our feet. As to how we race, it goes something like this.

Usually it would be him who’d say “we have to do a race Nanay (mother).”
Like any other games with him, I treat this race like a game. When he runs I would run. You can just imagine me trying to keep up with him, lightning fast as he is.

It starts with the usual “ready, on your mark, get set, go” or “let’s start our engines.”  There are times when I would pretend that I am panting and out of breath and he would ask me if I’m all right.

“You need a booster Nanay,” he would say.  “Oh yeah--okay pretend I got the booster,” I’d reply. “Come on, you can do it,” he would say. This is the usual dialogue between us. 

In running or playing games with any kids, I learned some basic truths.

1. Play when he plays. Meaning if he runs, run with him. Times like this the child thinks you are a child.

With Zayne I taught him little moral values while running and there are times when he would cry when I run ahead of him.  While he’s energetic due to the sweets he eats, I can still outrun him when I want too.

I would tell him ”Don’t cry baby, there are times when you run you lose- not all the time you win. In life, baby, sometimes you win sometimes you lose- but remember it is how we run that makes us win.”

I think he gets my point because he would tell me “okay you win nanay.”

2. Teaching children moral values would help you develop their moral compass in life. You can shape how they would look at the world and behave towards others. And learning these lessons early would shape their character.

While it seems impossible to explain the importance of winning or losing in life, showing your children how good morals affect others can be a great influence on them.

As a nanny who takes the role of guiding her ward seriously in the absence of his parents, it’s my duty to teach morals to Zayne and other children to help transform into capable, responsible and mature adults in society.

My daughter GG and Zayne. 

(Susan Palmes-Dennis is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines who works as a nanny in North Carolina. This page will serve as a venue for news and discussion on Filipino communities in the Carolinas. Read her blogs on susanpalmesstraightfrom the Carolinas.com. These and other articles also appear at http://www.sunstar.com.ph/author/2582/susan-palmes-dennis.  You can also connect with her through her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/)https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063. )