NEW YEAR, NEW ME

New Year, New me! Nope, don't mistake this is for an advance post for New Year's Day.  Rather, it is for my birthday which I will be celebrating tomorrow October 20.  Don't ask how old I'll be for I've started counting backwards from the day I hit 30. Hahahaha! Not that I'm in a state of denial but rather when you think about it, how important really is age? What matters is what as they say in tagalog "meron kang pinagkatandaan" , di ba? Besides, nowadays forty is the new twenty so if you feel old then do something about.  With the numerous wellness programs and medical technological advances available, it would be  a sin to look ugly nowadays.

But what urged me to go back  to blogging? It certainly  is not because of the political affairs currently playing in the country which I truly find sickening.  Besides, while it does affect me personally, I have no control over it since I am not a player in the scheme of things. What led me to go back to writing is my desire to share a couple of stories which I wrote some months back but failed to post for all to read.

I was cleaning up my inbox this morning as part of my yearly ritual of cleansing before my birthday.  I then came across this story which i wrote entitled The Special Ingredient.  It is a beautiful anecdote which got a lot of reactions and I now reprint it here for all.

  THE SPECIAL INGREDIENT

It was one of those rare occasions when I had to
cook since all the helps went out for their New Year's
day off. I prepared a simple fare for lunch
consisting of beef mechado and some macaroni salad. I
called everyone to eat and first to come to the table
was my precocious five-year old Matt who never ceases
to amaze me with his questions.
When he came to the table, he asked me what the food
was and I replied,
" Your favorite. Beef mechado".
I put some rice on his plate and lots of sauce on
it because that was how he liked to eat it. After his
first bite, he looked at me and asked, " Mom, do you
know Tita Mayie's mechado tastes better?"
Wondering why and somewhat hurt at his question, I
asked him,
" Why does it taste better naman?"
"Kasi she uses a special ingredient."
A special ingredient I thought to myself. How
can it taste better when we use the same recipe handed
down by my dear mother to all of us.
I then proceeded to ask,
"Really? Eh what's her special ingredient ba?"
"Love."
I was flabbergasted to hear about the so called
special ingredient and urged him to continue eating
hoping he would taste the same secret ingredient.

After a while, he gave out a big burp and said,
"Uhmmm. Sarap! That was good.
Curious now about what he was thinking, I asked
him
"So, you like my beef mechado?"
"Ya, its good!"
Did you also taste the special ingredient?
"Ya."
"Love?"
"No."
"Huh? What is it then?"
In all candor, he replied, "Patis!"

Funny as it may seem, it dawned on me that you
can never cheat on kids. They know it when you are
sincere or when you are just faking it. Many times,
we do things perfunctorily just to get things out of
the way. Quite understandable! With a million things
to do and with so little time, no one is to blame. It
really is a question of time management. That is why
the little moments you can share with your family and
friends count a lot. A few minutes of sincere and
devoted togetherness goes a long way. While it does
not make up for lost time, the quality of those
minutes makes up for a memorable and significant
moment.

That simple encounter has left a deep mark on me,
deep enough to write about it for all to read and
learn. It made me go into a period of introspection
to find out if I have been insincere all along or just
plain tired of the routine. Have I been doing things
out of duty and responsibility or out of love? I
thought I was doing it out of both but it took my five
year old to tell me that I probably need to do things
more with genuine affection, to slow down and let
things figure themselves out. You cannot solve all
the problems of the world. Choose your battles and
win each one, one at a time. Most important, remember
that the ups and downs make up the spice of life. You
just have to learn to adjust it to your taste. Happy
eating all!

            ****end of story****

Of course that's not the end of story.  There are many more tales borne out of my mis/adventures with my son Matt.  I must confess I am guilty for sometimes thinking had I been given a second chance I would opt not to have kids anymore.  How selfish of me! What was I thinking? All in the name of vanity and greed. I do take that back and I pray the Lord forgives me for even thinking that way.  For while there are hardships and responsibilities that come with parenting, the love and satisfaction i derive from seeing how happy and healthy my beautiful sons have turned out to be is immeasurable.  They  are God's greatest, most precious and most invaluable gifts to me which I hope I am worthy of.  Need I ask for more.