You know what summer means to me? It is a grim reminder that my wife throws footballs better than me. From last weekend’s summer camp to this past Saturday’s picnic, my decent throws were proven to be no match for her perfect spiral throws each time. It should be no surprise though. My wife was the athletic type in high school. She was a tomboy by her own admission. I was the nerdy type that got his lowest grades in P.E. We chuckle now at how she would never have had given me the time of day if we were the same age and went to the same school.
The picnic we had this past Saturday is a yearly tradition started by my parents that lands on or around Father’s Day. Our relatives from my father’s side gather at the San Pablo Reservoir to have a mini reunion. We weren’t able to make it last year because we were in the Philippines at the time.
Left: The fathers. My dad, second from right, appears to be as tall as me. It may not be obvious but this shot was taken at a slope and, unfortunately, I happen to be at the lower end of the slope (Ha!). Right: My brother with his friend from Holland.
Left: The United Triplets of Benetton. Right: My cousin Rikki and I.
A funny thing happened as the kids were playing at the playground. My second son came up to me and said that he’s met two boys who have the same birth date as he does. He brought them over to our picnic table and we were able to confirm that this indeed was true. They are pictured above with their faces blurred to protect their identity. What I’m more amazed about, however, is the fact that my son, who is normally shy, was able to make friends so quickly and ask his new friends effortlessly something personal as their birthdays! Kids…
My cousin Rikki pictured above (not to be confused with the other Rikki) was recently interviewed by fiction and photography site HeavyGlow for his photography work. A couple of our cousins from his branch of the family also excel creatively. There’s Nikki, a PBBY-Salanga Prize winner for her story “The Yellow Paperclip with Bright Purple Spots.” Betsy is a producer and director of commercials and films in Vietnam. Her brother P.E. Dy-Liacco’s amazing photos can be found here. The ballet photos of our uncle Conrad (from a different branch of the family), who himself is a ballet dancer, can be seen here. I eagerly await for the photography site of another one of our cousins, Marco, to be up soon.
