A Midweek Weekend

     A lot of parents like me wonder how come parenting has become so complicated nowadays. We grew up watching our moms have one child after another, go to work, keep house, manage to be great and supportive wives effortlessly. They made it look so easy. Now,  I cannot even be proud of anything in particular I have done as a mother. It seems that my finger is in so many pies, I wear too many hats...Hmmm...other idiomatic expressions I can use? You know what I mean.

    In my own simple understanding of my life as a parent, I raise a white flag at one of the culprits that cripple the very essence of family life today. Distractions. Each and every member of the family has one. Against the basics which is work for the parents and school for the kids, we now have the media, Internet, our various hobbies, the consumerist world of the giant malls. The list in endless and far from easy to detach from. 

 

     Last week I stumbled upon a simple, primal (please let me describe it as such) way to counter our life of distractions. We, parents need to continue to be creative....We began with enjoying a weekend in the middle of a week.

     We were to watch The Phantom of the Opera at the Cultural Center of the Philippines last Thursday, September 13. Since it was a school day, figuring out how to effectively map out the route and details of getting to the show was a challenge. Aside from getting ready to watch the play, we had traffic to deal with, where do we get a bite to eat before the show, (for sure the kids will be hungry) the traffic we will sure encounter heading home...Oh, dear! I remembered I had complimentary hotel vouchers at the Midas Hotel. This could work. Sure the kids need to go to school the next day but this will surely make all of us more relaxed.

     After fetching the kids from school we headed to Midas Hotel which is five minutes from the CCP.

     Formerly the old Hyatt Hotel it is newly renovated by Ivy and Cynthia Almario. Check out the impressive lobby.

      Was it me or were the people at the front desk not as friendly as the rest of the hotel? Maybe we were screaming complimentary?

     I loved the hand-painted walls and bird cages on the hallways leading to the guest rooms.

     Our bedroom for the night! I expected the rooms to be big since this hotel is old and it is good that way. But the beds were small. Luckily it was not eons ago that H and I slept with little kids who end up lying diagonal towards morning. Room was comfy enough but we did have to call in housekeeping to vacuum some spots they missed. (Rolling my eyes now.)

    First things first, HOMEWORK!

Room service for an early dinner before getting ready for the show.....The food in this hotel is very good by the way.

And we are ready!

      We were all so hungover from the play, we kept talking about it until the wee hours of the morning. So much for hoping to sleep early but it was worth it. We had a glorious time.

    The next day at 6 am the kids were whisked away to school by the driver and one of the helps while H and I were left to enjoy breakfast and the rest of our stay in the hotel.

    This was my breakfast. I always go for the Asian fare especially the noodles at breakfast and this marinated fish thingy.
   

     The view from our breakfast table was my sister's condo. HEY!!!

The buffet was great by the way,

     As expected H and I got bored without the kids around so we checked out early and went to work....Haha!
 

     I feel quite proud of myself for the short and simple break we were able to afford ourselves as a family. It felt good to enjoy a different environment and we all love hotels, a wonderful play and a renewed sense of family. Yes, it is harder for parents now but you just don't stop trying.