Bro, Welcome to the Real World.

I dote on my brother..very much. He's nine years my junior and for that, no matter how tall he gets soon, I'll always see him as the cute baby boy who I used to carry around at home. I remember how excited we were when he came and how each of his 'firsts' gave us and continue to give us, sheer joy.

Now here he is, tall and big (almost as tall as I am now), making his way to his classroom in a public school near home.

It might be a mormal day for some, but this was such a big step for him. We did all we could to shield him from all the harsh realities of life. We make it our business to keep him safe and comfortable. We spoiled him but thankfully, he's not a brat. He may have his misfits but he's obedient, cautious, thoughtful, kind-hearted, unbelievably confident and friendly around people, and his nature of seeing the good in people. When we think of this, we smile and say, we brought him up well after all.

And so, starting that day, he'd have to fend for himself as their adviser won't allow parents or guardians to hang around outside the room. I resented this at first but was enlightened after. This setup will inculcate independence in him.

Another addition to his firsts is cleaning. These kids clean the school grounds in the AM and clean their rooms before going home. When my brother got home from his first day, he told me everything with glee. HE WAS HAVING FUN. He's happy to have a lot of classmates (another first. His previous school control the number of students to less than 20 per teacher). As I listen to his stories of school, I felt relieved and rested my concerns for a while. He was literally glowing with excitement on his new environment! Awwww.

Currently he's taking tutorial classes to make up for topics his school did not take up and he needs it for Filipino too. This child, bless him, finds it hard to understand and speak Filipino fluently. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Amidst all the catching up he has to do, I hear no complaints. Major surprise. My brother hates doing homework. He steers away from them as much as possible. Today? He even lays out his homework voluntarily. He says he cannot afford to have his adviser send him to Section 2. Haha!

I love my brother to bits. I hope I can reign it in to help me from spoiling him rotten. The last thing I want is for him to get an impression things in life come easy.

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