The Night Babysitting Taught Me Fearlessness
True to my mother’s unpredictable decision-making style, I found myself caught off-guard on a windy beach one night.
I took a swimsuit with me, hoping for a relaxing time. What else would you expect when spending the night at one of the finest Cebu beaches?
Thanks to karma for whatever I did in the past to deserve this, I ended up being the makeshift caretaker of three pint-sized, energetic kids… instantly promoting myself head honcho of the Beach Babysitters Commission.
As if treading into the darkness wasn’t challenging enough, I’m plagued with a condition called Visual Snow. In the dim seaside twilight, my eyes struggled to maintain clarity, which only added to my anxiety.
It also doesn’t help that I don’t know how to swim.
Hands on hips and channeling my inner basketball coach persona, I kept a keen eye on the lively trio.
Kids have no idea how fragile they are
With their brazen spirits, they splashed and battled against the surging currents, which weren’t too fond of their invasion, courtesy of the distant Super Typhoon Mawar’s wrath.
The typhoon was having its moment that same night miles from where we were, and I can’t help but imagine its rage still pulling those same waters.
The nagging thought of Poseidon himself appearing from the depths to shush these noisy devils also kept me on high alert.
Children are Living Lessons
As I stood back for a moment, squinting through static-filled eyes, I marveled at the sight of these tiny brave warriors facing off with the seemingly infinite expanse of the dark sea.
Despite the vast black canvas of water, the children’s skinny arms reached up to challenge the world itself to a duel. They shouted at the sea, as if asking Poseidon himself if that’s all he’s got.
Their laughter echoed into the night, a testament to their fearless hearts, the incarnation of the spirit of adventure.
There I was, rooted to the shore, a self-appointed lifeguard with no swimming skills. The echoes of triumphant laughter danced over the roar of the waves. Something stirred within me.
Watching their childlike excitement in confronting the unknown, I couldn’t help but ponder my own battles with life’s uncertainties.
I realized that we all have our own dark seas to face — waves of challenges or worries that threaten to pull us under. These big, unprecedented moments can tempt us to wrap ourselves in our own safe corners, resigned to avoid risks and terrors altogether.
Their gleeful laughter sang a defiant anthem, proving that courage, even when wrapped in the tiny frame of a child, can make the biggest of waves seem surmountable.
Staring into the hazy backdrop of the night, I found myself reflecting on my own life’s uncertainties — the wild storms and the riptides that I’d faced or those still looming on the horizon.
And yet, there I stood, in all my flawed, inexpert glory, having survived every challenge that the past had launched my way.
It was somehow comforting to tap into my inner child from time to time. The child who sees life as play and who has faith in the identity he defines and associates herself with.
The kids’ audacity, their complete disregard for the boisterous sea battering at them, inspired me to embrace my own little battles this way.
How many missed opportunities lie in the shadows, collecting dust, all because I chose the security of the shore instead of leaping headfirst into the tide?
That night, by the wind-whipped sea, as the laughter of three excitable children filled the air, my heart swelled.
