Stage parents

The Mossimo Kids, Baby Mossimo Casting Call 2010 held last Sunday, July 4 to 5, at the Festival Mall at Alabang was a jam-packed event full of excited, playful kids as well as hopeful parents such as myself. It was the first time that my wife, Amy, and I went to such an event and we had no idea just how big events like these were. Nonetheless, we were prepared the for the worst.

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With a huge baby bag full of milk, baby bottles, change of clothes and some snacks, the four of us - Amy (my wife), Samantha, Sophia and myself - braved the humid Sunday morning to be at the event. We got there around 11:30AM but we were shocked to see the long line around the front of the event hall. We were number 473 out of an eventual 622 contestants. So we registered Samantha, picked our number and stood in line. My wife was kind enough to stand in line with Sophia and have me take Samantha to lunch so as to preserve her playful mood. After 2 hours of waiting, both my kids started getting sleepy, hungry and irritated. Amy and I did our best to pacify Sophia through naps and Samantha through toys.

After 4 hours of waiting, we finally got our turn for the pictorial, but had to wait another 2 hours before Samantha would meet the judges. By that time, Samantha was still hyped-up thanks to a power merienda, some milk and bubbles courtesy of her mommy. She responded well to the camera, throwing away her smile and some simple poses. We even got her to wear an outfit we bought from Mossimo just for this event.

But after all the wardrobe changes, snacks and patience waiting in-line, the judges decided to go for some boys - perhaps because the other set of judges already got their share of girls. We left the room with Samantha still cheerful and smiling, but for the first time, I felt so depressed and so sad for my daughter. As a father, I know that I can be very much biased towards my own child, but I know for a fact that my daughter has so much potential. Lucky for me, Samantha is not yet that old to understand the situation, but for myself ... it took a toll on me.

Walking towards the waiting area where Amy and Sophia are patiently awaiting our return, my wife saw from afar the look on my face that says it all. She knew right then and there that Samantha wasn't chosen. Despite the results, we're still both happy that at least we gave it a chance and that there are other opportunities out there for Samantha.Two days later, I still feel depressed. Writing this down certainly doesn't help. I still feel that the judges were unfair and I feel sad for my daughter. I know that these feelings will pass knowing that we did our best; we exerted all the effort that we could. Samantha certainly did not disappoint us. I'm proud of her for being so patient and cheerful the whole time. I'm proud of my daughter, Samantha. I love her so much.