The Glitch By Divina P. Maming Dela Cruz family came together for breakfast. Each had his own story to tell about his experiences for the week. This is the usual scenario every Sunday morning. “Good morning kids!” greeted the mother who had just finished setting the table for five. Tonio and Maria could not wait to reach for their chairs with a big grin on their faces as they said, “Good morning, nanay!” Criselda walked out from her room, still sleepy, her hair unkempt, her sleepwear on but appeared equally thrilled as her siblings shared the table with their mother. “Nanay, I can smell the aroma of your best delicacy, adobo,” she remarked. “Yeah, I know. It is the favorite of the family so adobo is what I prepared today,” she answered. Criselda replied, “I can’t wait to taste it!” Mang Cardo, the man of the family, is a clerk in one of the rural banks in town. He was talking to somebody over the phone; his voice echoed excitement but later on, his positive mood gradually vanished. As he turned towards the table, he shrugged his shoulders for disappointment. “Let’s eat!” mother exclaimed, wanting to turn the situation around. But everybody seemed to have been overwhelmed by their father’s silence. It was the first time they saw him in a really low spirit. “What happened?” at last, the wife asked. “I may lose my job,” he said with a croaky voice. “But why?” Aling Terie was surprised and so were the children. She quickly walked towards him and patted his shoulder. “It’s okay. You can still find another job,” she said offering him a seat. The children also let their father feel their support as they smilingly uttered, “Tatay, don’t worry, we are here to help.” “Yes, we will assist nanay in selling fish in the market after school hours,” Tonio said. “Maybe we can add vegetables to sell too, for additional income,” Maria added. Criselda, on the other hand, volunteered to do the home chores. “Thank you, my dear children,” was all Aling Terie could say. Mang Cardo was moved by his family’s gesture. He was not expecting for such an all-out support. He felt good about it. He started asking his kids about their activities in school and how they fared in their subjects.16 Each of them excitedly told his own story. Criselda declared, “I got highest score in Math, so my teacher rewarded me with a bar of chocolate.” Tonio then mentioned about their project in Science which could eliminate foot smell and everyone poked fun at it. They asked him whether they could try the product to see if it would really work. Maria spoke about their field trip to the town’s historical heritage and talked about what she learned from it. Exchanges of stories persisted until someone gave Mang Cardo a ring. The ringing lasted for some seconds and finally, he stood up to answer the call. As he returned to the table, he was smiling. He was informed that the retrenchment was not for him; it was a mistake. Now, the glitch is fixed and he is to report to work the next day again. All of them could not contain their happiness. And so, they sat down again to eat all together. “We will go to the church after breakfast, as usual,” Mang Cardo sighed with relief. Now, answer the following questions: 1. What are the different communication instances in the story? _________________________________________________________________________ 2. How did each communication scenario develop? _________________________________________________________________________ 3. Did a conflict arise in the story? What kind of conflict is it? Did it affect the communication process? How did the rest of the family members react to it? _________________________________________________________________________ 4. How can we establish a good communication? _________________________________________________________________________ 5. What is the importance of communication in our daily life? __________________________________________________________________​