After much cloud-seeding and artificial rains, the natural ones arrived and soaked our province. Three typhoons came and went in a span of two weeks. The good news are, there is enough irrigation for the new rice paddies and the typhoons didn’t carry signal number 4.

Now, the bad news… the health problems that struck me and my family due to these rainy days could very well be signal number 2. Not a soul was spared, not even me. I, who have always been proud to claim high resistance to most illnesses. Last year when everyone in my family caught the flu virus, yes, including the two kids, I only sneezed for a day or two. But this year is different. Well, at least, no one’s got the flu virus yet but believe me, everyone is barking out loud especially in the early morning and at night time. My two daughters found humor from it that they made me listen to their coughs one at a time. Sounded like an off-note DO-RE-MI, which was why I also found it funny.

The youngest was our first casualty, he has been coughing for almost two weeks now. Hey, bring the eyebrows down, I had him checked-up last week right after he had the fever. The diagnosis? Bronchiolitis. The prescription, amoxicillin drops and one week of nebulizing solution. The fever’s gone, the cough remains and has transferred to his elder sisters and much older yayas. I guess the virus that I have now must have originated from him. One pediatrician told me that virus from babies are more lethal. Must be true, what do you think?

I am not the type to take medicines for cough and colds. I prefer to just take lots of water and juices and expectorate the phlegm as hard as I can. I caught the colds virus last Sunday and by Tuesday, I already used two rolls of bathroom tissue to unstuff my nose. Now I knew what Rudolph and those other red-nosed babies in TV commercials feel. Ariel and Maverick of that other anti-colds drug commercial should be commended for telling the truth, at least about that part saying when your nose fails, your ears do too. I can’t smell the bathsoap, the chlorox and the cologne. When I went to the office last Monday, I didn’t smell the carbon monoxide nor the piles of garbage along the road. But I also didn’t smell the aroma of Jollibee chickenjoy, so I settled for the dalandan juice instead.

Unlike my capacity to smell, my hearing didn’t suffer much. Yes, I had to turn on the volume of the TV but thanks to text messaging I didn’t have to listen to phonecalls.

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Me and my children and the yayas declared our own holiday… err more appropriately called… sick leaves since Thursday. I brought the kids back to the pediatrician and found out that they’re not only having the simple cough and colds, they’re having their allergic rhinitis and asthma attacks. Goodbye P2,000 for the PF and the medicines.

Last night, while I lie in bed thinking about my children’s health problems (more my problem than theirs really) I suddenly understood why moms and dads make a big fuss when their children waste their lives like when they smoke or take drugs or simply bum away. Parents (like me now) do everything in their own powers to extend the lives of their children, biologically and philosophically.It’s must be really frustrating to see that very life wither away when the kids are big enough to live their their own.

Hah, I hope my children reads this blog when they’ve grown enough to understand it. I will keep this and give it to them when they go to college, the age of smoking and bumming away.