Sailing and the Terrible Twos

Diego Buhay, my grandson, joined us on our 10-day sailing trip to Busuanga, Palawan in Paraluman over the Christmas holidays in 2010 when he was 2 years and 4 months old. This was the first time we brought him on a long boat trip. He sails with us regularly albeit on day trips and had never slept overnight in the boat.  I was nervous about this arrangement. I was worried that we might lose him as he has a habit of unexpectedly jumping into the water. Or that he would get cabin fever in our snail home as there’s not a lot of room for his boundless energy. Or that he would burn his soft baby skin. Or get seasick and miserable and therefore make everyone else miserable.

Inseparable from his Caterpillar dump truck

All our fears were unjustified. Diego seems to have been born with sea legs. Diego was happy and comfortable in Paraluman and didn't need a lot aside from his milk, his yellow Caterpillar dump truck and a free spot for his head when sleepy. He ate when he was hungry, slept when sleepy, jumped in the water when he was hot. He could entertain himself with his beloved yellow truck and when he gets bored, would just move on to whatever is at hand. He would smile or knit his eyebrows with wonder and curiosity at any object around him, whether it’s a broken shell or a piece of seaweed. He particularly enjoyed pinching us with the crab claws after we had eaten all the meat (those claws are painful!). When sleepy, he would just curl up on the mattress on deck or squeeze in an empty corner, wherever the shade is.

With Raul, his grandfather, wrapped around his finger

I will not sugarcoat this and admit that he had his usual share of terrible twos moments- his crying spells, times when I felt like giving him a dose of Benadryl just to make him shut up or go to sleep, when I wondered how many more times he can run around the boat with us chasing him to make sure he didn’t fall off, waking up in the middle of the night when we had just passed out from too much alcohol, or too early in the morning when it was too early to wake up and please oh please can I have just a few more minutes of sleep I’m on vacation. On New Year’s Day, I woke up at 9am after a night of a bit too much of champagne to strange cracking sounds and Diego’s laughter to find him contentedly playing by himself in the midst of broken egg shells. There were broken raw eggs all around him, on the bed, the saloon walls, the floor, with that revolting smell everywhere, and Raul, his grandfather, fast asleep beside him oblivious to the mess on his face and clothes.

Whatever. It was an absolute joy to have Diego, my grandson, the sailor, on the boat with us.

This trip reminded me so much of how Marina, my eldest daughter and Diego’s mom, spent almost all her childhood weekends for about 10 years since she was 2 in Lake Caliraya. We slept in a tent then and on rainy days, slept in our Toyota Corona stationwagon or Lite-Ace. We camped out every weekend, bathed in the lake and had a hole in the ground for a toilet covered with bamboo walls. She enjoyed every minute and has wonderful memories of those weekends. She did not need too many toys and was very happy simply playing with her friends in the mud. 

I realize that kids adjust to their surroundings easier than we think, maybe even better than adults do. That they are born with no fears and prejudices. It made me appreciate that we need so little and need not stress over every small detail or overthink things.

I think we should all find the inner child in us. Life would be much simpler.