When Goldilocks was my playground

Cubao, 1987--- “Mama, gusto ko po yan sa birthday ko ha? Gusto ko po si Cinderella, yung naka-blue na gown atsaka yung maraming gold na bilog!” I beamed as I pressed my forehead on the small piece of glass that separated me from my dream cake. On my birthday that year, I got Thumbelina that matched my peach dress which by the way, also matched the same fabric that my sister, my sister’s best friend, and my best friend were all wearing.


My childhood was mainly filled with excitement brought by rides on a love bus, lovely displays at COD, and checking out the latest cakes at Goldilocks. Pointing to my mom the best cake for my next birthday really gave me the thrill. To actually acquire the chosen cake was a great miracle to me. We were (and still are) not really rich, we just get by.

But the kid who was consumed with so much happiness of simple things in life grew up and faces a different kind of excitement.

Now, my enthusiasm is focused on a new set of things. I am excited to see my dad respond to instructions, seeing Papa’s eyes light up to stories of how my day went, the joy and admiration of finding my mom to have enough energy at 9pm even though she only has 4 to 5 hours of sleep daily, and the everyday laughter I share with my siblings during dinner. I see everyday as a better day than yesterday. But more than anything else, I see the true meaning of life unfold right before my every eye.

The life that was focused on career, partnership, and success has turned all the way around and now, my focus has a new path. It’s family over everything else that I can achieve and acquire when I work hard.


I should have learned back then that not everything you want and wish for will be given to you. But I underestimated the power of a praying child. Because if I only knew the power it held, that would have been Cinderella’s ticket to Papa’s hand made Kamagong table at our kitchen in 1987.