Life, Day by Day

I became a mom in February 1991, the month my father died. I did not plan on motherhood, not for lack of a maternal instinct but mainly because I was already in my 30's with no relationship that was serious enough for marriage...yes, I believe that children should be born out of love and marriage. At a time when my family was experiencing a strong sense of loss, this 3 month old baby boy came into our lives. He brought laughter when we found very little reason to do so. His presence at home made us forget our sadness and we all began focusing our attention on him. Before long, I was spending more time with him than any other aspect in my life...even my work and friends. In fact, this was the year I started being late for work almost everyday because I was putting him first before anything else. In other words, I fell in love. He was God's gift to me and he made me a mother before it was too late. Two days from now, on November 3, 2008, this baby turns 18. Looking back, he...

The Wish... Two years ago I celebrated a milestone and one of my fondest wish was to be gifted a yellow labrador. I started sending out hints to my guests-to-be...but they all ignored me, for the simple reason that these dogs were too expensive for their wallets. The argument was...if I was not willing to part with my hard-earned money to buy one...why should they? But...but...it was my birthday! Anyway, I didn't get it...until... The Better Late than Never Gift... Last Sunday, 2 years, 5 months and several days after that all important birthday, my son's friend casually mentioned that he was giving away 2 more puppies of his yellow lab. Now, imagine me looking disinterested but deep inside my heart was pounding with excitement saying to my son... why don't you get one ? And his friend said he can give us one if we want it...before my son could say anything, I said with a big grin... we'll pick it up tomorrow . The next day, after my meetings in Bacolod, I went s...

My parents had 3 children, 2 sons and a daughter, but only one got married...the oldest son, my younger brother. He has 2 children from this marriage, a boy and a girl. This marriage was doomed from the start and eventually ended. The kids are now 14 and 11 respectively and are really bright and gifted...their parents are so lucky to have them. Unfortunately both my brother and his ex-wife are the kind of people who should never have children. Why? Well, because in their hierarchy of needs, their number one priority is themselves. Their needs, wants and activities come first before their children or everything else for that matter and so, my nephew and niece do not experience the kind of nurturing that growing children should have. Today was the beginning salvo of my nephew's high school intramurals. He was participating in the cheerdance contest and I found out yesterday that none of his parents will be watching him perform. The reason? His dad couldn't get off from wor...

By now, I should have learned that phrase by heart...God knows I have said it to myself a hundred...no, a thousand times for years now. But somehow I never quite got it. So many things still disappoint me...People most especially. I don't know if it's me...or them. Maybe I expect too much, hope too much or I'm just a person who is very hard to please. I know that to a lot of people I may come across as a "difficult" person...because I follow certain standards that are different from theirs. I used to wonder if my standards were too high or hard to do...and someone told me, not really...it's just that they are different. Through the years, I believe I have mellowed. This does not mean I have lowered my standards, on the contrary I think my standards of behavior, ethics, my idealism etc...have even grown higher and stronger. I still get exasperated and frustrated everyday of my life...I still have the propensity to try to solve every problem that comes to...

After Dr. Seuss, there's Spencer Johnson . I first read...well, scanned actually his book Who Moved My Cheese approximately 2 years ago when this was given as a reading assignment in a seminar where I was one of the facilitators. At that time, I thought it was a cute little story but did not really impress me. Last month I bought a copy and this time gave it a good read and suddenly, what I was reading was making a lot of sense. I guess that what was written in the book was something I needed to hear at this point in my life when I feel that I am at a dead-end, and therefore I need to get moving or else! Not everyone who reads this book the first time will appreciate the message...like me, for example...unless it relates to one's life experience. I finally understood the wisdom of it's message because for the past few years my life's direction has not been going anywhere. I feel like I have been going around in circles day in and day out. This year I had a light ...

Congratulations! Today is your day. You're off to Great Places! You're off and away! You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go. You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care. About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there." With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street. And you may not find any you'll want to go down. In that case, of course, you'll head straight out of town. It's opener there in the wide open air. Out there things can happen and frequently do to people as brainy and footsy as you. And when things start to happen, don't worry. Don't stew. Just go right along. You'll start happening too. OH! THE PLACES YOU'LL GO! You'll be...

I got caught in the middle of Typhoon Frank (international codename: Fengshen)...something that I never expected when I left for Bohol via Cebu on a sunny warm Sunday last June 15. I've been caught in storms before but those were the days when I was much younger and energetic, so it was more like an adventure then. This time, I'm older, well rooted in my comfort zones, predictable...and so, it wasn't exactly the kind of adventure one middle age lady would like to find her lonesome self in.