Lesson Learned on a Mixed Prayer

Everyday, before I go to my office, I drop by the chapel to say a quick morning prayer.  Since I often feel stressed at work, the first thing that I pray is for Him to give me strength and will to go on with my job and to guide me in my everyday tasks and projects.  With all my energy focused on this hope, I would always feel better once I'm on my desk already and my days become more manageable.  It shows that God really lifts our burdens and produces miracles to make our prayers come true.

However, my mistake, I think, was this: What comes last in my quick morning prayer is for my family, to keep them safe, happy and healthy.  And to be honest, my heart usually is not really set on this prayer because my focus is on my career worries.

This new year, I promised not to be late for work because I had too many tardiness and leaves last year and I am quite worried that my attendance would affect my career.  My tardiness and absences are all because of family matters, especially when either I or my daughter was sick.  And of course, I couldn't help but to excuse myself from work if my daughter is sick because...well, I am a mother and I want to personally take care of my daughter.  Anyway, just last Wednesday, I broke my new year resolution--- I was again absent from work because my daughter suddenly had very high fever (and I didn't know why.  She was her usual self the day before).  I informed my officemates and they replied positively.  The next day, my daughter still had fever and I had to bring her to the hospital for check up (thank God it wasn't dengue.  Actually her CBC and Urinalysis tests were normal).  That was the 2nd day of my absence.  Then Friday came, she still had the fever and I was planning to take her to another doctor for second opinion.  That was the 3rd day of my absence from work.  My work colleagues didn't already reply to my texts and probably they were already pissed off because we still have a report to work on.  My conscience nagged me whether to go to work and leave my whining and crying daughter who was begging for my embrace or stay at home to take care of my daughter and get ready to be nagged by my officemates (or boss!) next week.  Obviously, I decided to be with my daughter for those 3 days.  A mother's heart is truly stronger than being a career woman.

On the afternoon of my daughter's 3rd day of being sick, her fever suddenly cooled down and she became her normal self again.  I guess she just wanted to feel secured and loved because her daddy just went abroad last week and will be back after a few months.

In this light, I learned that  no matter how much I prayed for my own self growth at workplace, if I do not put the well-being of my family first, everything that I've worked hard for will crash down.  I guess I had my prayers all mixed up.  I should first pray for my family's safety, health and happiness then other personal hopes should come next.

And of course, though I knew this all along, I would always remind myself that being a mother is a mother's main job.

My Helpful Toddler

Despite of my one year old (going two) daughter being in the stage of wanting to be the center of the universe, it made me proud to see the values I am inculcating in her--- selflessness and helpful attitude especially towards other kids.

*****

My family and I went to Nueva Ecija early this year to visit our grandparents and relatives there. We were with my parents, aunt and her adopted three year old girl. On the way there, we stopped at a gas station along North Expressway to eat lunch. It was a cheap but yummy lunch because my mother prepared it for us as our baon--- rice, adobo, barbeque and softdrinks---so that we wouldn’t have to buy food along the way. We all ate at the parking lot of the gas station which was just beside the low wall which separates the place and the grassy area over it. As we took our lunch, a little girl in rugged clothes appeared infront of us, begging for food. My cousin (the adopted kid of my aunt) cried aloud upon seeing the strange girl. My aunt asked her why was she crying and she replied, “Ang panget kasi nung bata e!”. She also pleaded to shoo off the rugged girl. I chuckled under my breath. Kids.

Rian (my daughter) was watching my cousin all the time. Afraid that she might absorb her attitude, I took action. I grabbed a barbeque and handled it to her, and then I encouraged her to give it to the poor rugged girl. "Look Rian oh, wawa yung bata hindi pa kumakain. Give mo siya ng food.” My little Rian just stared at the girl who was also looking at her, pleading for food. I slightly pushed my daughter towards the girl, but she won’t move. Knowing that I shouldn’t push her too much if she doesn’t like to, I took the barbeque on her hand and handled it to the girl. “Look Rian oh, Mommy is sharing food sa bata.” The rugged girl took hold of the barbeque, said salamat po, sat beside the low wall and started to eat. My father also gave her some adobo and rice. Rian saw the whole thing. Later when she was drinking water in a plastic cup, she suddenly saw the rugged girl again, and to my surprise, she gave her water to the poor girl…without me telling her to share! So proud of her action, I kissed my daughter and told her that she was indeed a very good girl.

*****

My family and I went in the park in Laguna one afternoon, so that our little Rian can play ball there and so that she can meet other kids there. Rian was very active, playing throwing and kicking the ball all over the place.  Later, two kids about her age walked closer to her.  The three of them was staring at each other.  My little toddler girl smiled and slowly stretched out her arm, with her ball on her hand towards the toddler boy infront of her.  Awed by the situation, I forgot to take a shot of them with my digicam.  The little boy didn't make a move, however, probably because he wasn't aware that my daughter was actually inviting him to play with her ball.  Rian didn't stop offering the ball, hoping that they could play with her...until another toddler girl came running towards her (Rian was shocked that there's a kid running towards her, she suddenly ran towards me and hid her face between my legs while the other girl hugged her. I laughed with pleasure because of the cuteness of the situation.  Toddlers!).

*****

Arcades have this mini car wherein you have to insert a coin to let in run (or cradle, that is!).  I placed Rian on one of those with two seats which has also two stirring wheels.  Since there were two seats, a toddler girl started to climb on the car to take the other seat.  Her mom helped her climb on it.  I observed that my little girl offered the seat to her because she patted the vacant seat, just like saying, dito ka umupo.  She also stretched her arms towards the other girl, offering her hand so that she can climb on the car easily.  The other girl probably wasn't aware that Rian was trying to help her, but anyway, my daughter didn't mind.  She looked at the girl with enjoyment as they rode the cradling toy car.  My daughter Rian was very happy indeed to have find a playmate that time.

*****

As a mother, I am very happy to see my daughter growing up to be a kind person.  Hopefully, those values that we instill to her which she already practice during her early development ages will make her someday be a mature person, with a big heart to share to the world! :)


---Vhan--- 

Mommy Moments: Pamana for my kid

I couldn't give away my precious pocketbooks and novels because I always think that I would like my children to read them when they grow up.  Hey, those books might not be available when they grow up, would they?  Hehe.  Actually most pocketbooks that I have are Sweet Valley books (as in, they are still intact and with plastic cover pa! Parang high school notebook! Haha!).  They still smell bookish because I really take good care of them (as in pag may humihiram sa kanila, I make sure that they would return them to me).  I admit I was a huge major major fan of Sweet Valley (I also had SV shirt, socks, and cassette soundtrack of SVH TV series).   Now, since I'm big enough not to read those cheesy teen stories anymore, they are kept nicely in a big box, waiting for my daughter Rian to take hold of them someday.  My Harry Potter books are also waiting for her to read them, though those books are still hanging around my parents house because my brothers still enjoy to read them up to now.  I hope Rian would be a wide reader of different books (but I hope she wouldn't be a bookworm...but just a book lover like me!).  And I hope she would enjoy one simple pamana I plan to give her.  :)

This was my very first SV Twins book, I had it when I was in grade school.  I hope my daughter would enjoy reading this as well. :)

I have Sweet Valley Unicorn Club bools #1 to 15 (but I wasn't anymore completed the whole books of it..I tried but I lacked funds anymore that time...and I turned college that time too, so I guess the kind of book was not right for me anymore. Hehe)

Most of my SVU books were about Lila Fowler, because I like her!  She may be a spoiled brat and bitchy sometime, but I got to know her better through continuous reading of Sweet Valley books.  She's also nice person, just misunderstood sometimes. She taught me that not all things can be bought by money...not all, but most. Haha! :D

***My actual SV books are not with me right now...they are in my parents' house.  So I just got the pictures from the internet :D

Happy Mommy Moments meme blogging! :)

Toy Story 3 Experience

It was last June 27 when my husband Jeff and I watched Toy Story 3.  We actually liked to watch it a weekend before but cinemas were all jampacked!  Even on the day we watched the film, cinemas were still crowded, we ended up buying a ticket for a 3D (which we really planned to), in IMAX at Mall of Asia (which was a hundred pesos more expensive than the regular 3D but sobrang sulit naman), and in the last full show (as in that was around 10:00 pm to 12:00 midnight!).  At least we still had a lot of good seats to choose from.  And yes, we got nice center seats.

A shot after the movie, in 3D glasses

I loved the film, and I admit, I wept towards the end of the movie.  But husband just chuckled at me when he heard me sniffed.  I didn't know where my mother put my childhood toys but I hope my mother didn't trash them away because I would surely be sad.  I would want to think that she had given them to unfortunate children and those kids took care of them. But come to think of it, if they were given to other kids before, those kids are now grown ups too...and ooohh...I don't want to think of this anymore.  I suddenly missed my childhood toys (and I remember, I only have 1 Barbie Doll back then.  No Ken's).

Now I'm a mother, and my daughter has now a collection of her own toys.  Someday when she grows up, she would stop playing with them anymore.  And before deciding on how to dispose those toys, I would ask my daughter if she wanted to trash them or give them to other kids.  And I hope, knowing that she has a big heart, she would decide to donate them to the less unfortunate children, like what Andy did in the movie.

Here are some of Rian's current toys.  Her other toys are in Batangas and Laguna.

These toys have their own stories to tell.  And they all know that they belong to Rian.  And their mission in life is to play with Rian and make her a happy happy baby! :)