Five Things I learned from Rio 2

April 13, 2014 SM Megamall

It was a very long day for the family as we were only able to get out of the house when it was already night since I had to recover from the long work week which included a client meeting and photobooth event on Saturday.

So we didn't have concrete plans when we went out except to eat our dinner and attend the Palm Sunday Mass.  But after hearing the mass we still have time left and passed by the floor where we the cinemas were.  And since for the past few weeks, Champee was persistently asking us to watch Rio 2 in the big screen whenever we drive by the big Rio 2 billboard in C5, I guess this is the right time for us to take her to her first movie .

We were very anxious as to how she will react with the big dark room.  I remembered our experience in the Mind Museum where there's total darkness in their planetarium.  Champee screamed when the show started due to the loud sound, prompting us to get out of the cinema-like room.  However since all viewers were lying flat on the floor it became extra difficult to go out as we might step on other people's faces.  Me and Champee were able to get out alive :) however, as my wife headed towards the exit she accidentally push the door a little bit strong and the hinge came off so light entered the entire room ruining the other people's planetarium experience.  So we hurriedly pushed back the door and went out to another part of the museum where hopefully no one can recognize us.


So the test begins when we entered the cinema, it was already flag ceremony and it was also her first time to hear our national anthem.  We were able to find a good spot to seat and then fortunately, she enjoyed the movie trailers.  That at least ensured us that she's going to enjoy Rio 2, until Godzilla's trailer showed up.  It has the most frightening musical scoring and scenes so we got alarmed and the mind museum experience flashed back.  However, we needed to be composed so we pretended that Godzilla is just like Barney, so she wouldn't think it's really scary :)  Good thing that it didn't last that long and another cartoon trailer showed up and then Rio 2 started.

As we watched the movie, it's good to know that even though it's an animation film both kids and adults enjoyed the show.  And as I'm writing this blog, I just wanted to share some insights that I learned from Rio 2... 

1. Being a dad is hard enough, but fumbling when your family expects you to deliver is the worst feeling in the world - when Blu went in to play for the Macaus, it was his time to shine.  It was his time to redeem his family's respect that he can win it for them.  But then, when the time comes he needs to score, I remembered the movie "Puto" where Mayor Bistek shoot the ball in his opponents basket.  Similar to what Blu did, he failed.  I remember the times when I failed to deliver my family's needs.  When work took most of my time rather than spending my nights playing with Champee.  When I feel helpless on Champee's fight with constipation... and the list could go on.  One of the favorite quotes I got from Bishop Soc was that "The beauty of the stars can only be seen by those people who walk in the dark"  When we fail, when fumble on the peak of pressure, those are the darkest moments in one's life... but these moments are the ones that could make you fulfill your destiny as these can make you stronger. 
   
2. Different people have different strengths - when Blu met Roberto (being the alpha male in Jewel's tribe) a sense of security sets in.  Probably in our parenting, there might be dads whom other moms admire as a hands on dad, or a very playful dad, or even a mommy-like dad.  Regardless of shape, size, abilities and talents, I would say that one should never gauge his fatherhood on other people's standards.  We each have own abilities that we can bring to the table that our kids would enjoy.  Or to properly put it, God has given each dad his mission based on his ability to take care of his family.  Whether you are the jolly dad or the military dad, God molds us into the perfect dad for our wife and kids based on our God-given abilities.
3. Sometimes we tend to create a big plan out of a strategy we haven't tested yet - during the highlight of Nigel's attempt to kill Blu by having Gabi shoot a poisoned spear based on her saliva, it failed as she is not poisonous after all.  Sometimes, not just on parenting, we have preconceived notions of doing things without checking if they really resolve our problems.  Like if our baby seemed to not respond to our commands, our first reaction was to shout.  And then shout even more until she cries out and both of you are making noises and not getting your messages across.  I learned it the hard way, that the most effective way to communicate your thoughts is by listening first, understanding the other person's concern and then responding in a lower voice.  They say that the greatest tool in communication is your ear rather than your mouth.  And when we listen, we use our hearts before using our mouths.
4. You can find talent in the most unexpected places or events - in Rio's got talent auditions, they weren't able to find the talents in the city.  But when they went into the Amazon, they found all sorts of acts and talents.  I guess this goes the same with our parenting where we shouldn't box our kid's capabilities based on our bias. We shouldn't be limiting their abilities based on what we wanted them to be.  I remember an article before saying to let kids enjoy their childhood.  And that for each activity they do, parents should simply support and appreciate their output.  I remember a story of a mom who had a daughter showing her a story she wrote.  The mom goes proofreading like reviewing a newspaper editorial.  In adult's standards, it was one of the poorly written stories in the world, but for a child it's a starting point of unlocking her full potential when she grows up.  Again, talents can be seen in unexpected places.  Never let our kids be robbed off of that opportunity to discover theirs by limiting their abilities through an adult's ignorance.
5. There's no place like home - although Blu was hesitant to accept that the Amazon is their home, he eventually did when he finds how happy Jewel and their kids are in their natural habitat.  In this busy life that we live in, most couples are now preoccupied with work to earn a living and secure their child's future through logging more hours at the office. True wealth is at home. We learned this the hard way by allowing Champee be reared by a nanny on the first year of her life.  When my wife decided to stay and do business at her own phase and also stay at home with our baby, that was the time we realized we should have done this a long time ago.  There was just a big difference on her development when we had that setup. We could never exchange the time we invested on Champee over the money that we earn when we're both working.  I believe as parents, we owe it to our kids to prioritize building a home that they can love and be loved so when they grow up, they can spread the love as well and create beautiful homes as well.

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