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About Me — keng
Veteran silent reader, not so newbie writer.
They say every reader is a writer at heart, and perhaps it’s finally my time to let those words out. I’m so grateful to the Medium team for finally adding the Philippines to the Partner Program — this is a dream come true for many of us here.
I’m kengkay, from the Philippines, 39 years old. Mother of two wonderful girls.
My eldest, kaykay, just turned 17 years old last March and the youngest, is 4 years old turning 5 this coming October.
I’m sure by now you can guess where I got my pen name, kengkay.
Yes, it’s a blend of their nicknames, which is very common in Filipino culture.
We often give our children these cute, repetitive nicknames as a sign of our love. It’s something deeply embedded in our way of life, like calling someone Junjun, Totoy, Langlang, Dodong or Bengbeng. It’s our way of showing affection.
Kaykay is currently in grade 12 (senior high school). I’m always so proud of her for being a consistent honor student , while Kengkeng is in kindergarten .
Kengkeng is a preterm baby (32 weeks) and had to be intubated to survive, and we spent 30 days in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) for her recovery.
