I can’t believe how time flies by too fast – too fast to the point that memories from years ago seem like they happened just yesterday. I say that because Kuya Miguel turned 6 earlier this month and, for any parent, it felt like six years passed by in a snap. All the same, it’s one of the high points as we welcome the year 2024. Being six means that Miguel is not so little anymore. Thinking about it, he’s about the age of a Grade 1 pupil.

I remember that at that age, I was already trying to be “independent,” like going outside on my own to go to my playmates’ house, eating by myself, and making choices when it came to toys. Also, I was already preparing to enter school at that age.

It’s a different scenario with Miguel, though. With our recent visit to the developmental pediatrician, it became clearer that we need a lot of catching up to do. In any case, I would have to reserve stories about that for a different post. I’d like to talk about a happy milestone in this article.

family celebration at home for Miguel's birthday

So how did we celebrate Miguel’s birthday? In a modest fashion, I would say. We ordered fried chicken, sundae, and spaghetti from Jollibee and a chocolate cake from Caramia. The children love fried chicken, so we made sure to have that. We also didn’t have any visitors since it was a Friday, plus we figured there were already many of us who were there at that time.

Anyway, we also wanted to have a “bigger” celebration for Miguel, so we decided to have dinner at Yakimix in Ayala Fairview Terraces. It opened some months ago when things began to normalize after the lockdowns.

Miguel's birthday celebration at Yakimix

We’ve had previous birthday dinners at Yakimix, and they were all satisfying, so we were quite excited. While the food was delicious, it was obvious that the choices were not as generous this time as compared to the pre-pandemic years of Yakimix. Still, we enjoyed the food. The kids had their favorite chicken and candies for dessert.

Miguel playing in the fountain at Ayala Fairview Terraces

After dinner, the fountain and lights in the Ayala Fairview Terraces’ garden were on display. Miguel loves fountains, so we allowed him and Rafa to have a little fun and touch the spouting water. They were definitely ecstatic; I had to hold Miguel to prevent him from showering in the water. The boys were all wet by the time we took them away from the fountain. Good thing we were ready with spare shirts.

We ended the day satisfied because we had a good time. We spent the whole day, that special day, with family, and there couldn’t be anything more beautiful than that.

While we are still on the topic of Miguel’s sixth birthday, here are the things that I wish for him:

I wish for him the gift of speech. Miguel is still non-verbal, but he is currently enrolled in speech therapy classes.
I wish that Miguel would someday be independent. Independent in the sense that he can take care of himself, be able to do basic things for himself, and be able to live on his own.
I wish that Miguel would someday find his passion as well as the things that make him happy.
I wish that people would treat Miguel kindly.
I hope that there will be opportunities waiting for Miguel in the future.

I know that we have no control over what the future awaits. Still, I’m hopeful that it will be a bright one for my son (and for other children like him as well).

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Miguel turns 6