CHRISTMAS IN OCTOBER

Aha, you probably thought this was another bribery story what with all this news about ZTE and money changing hands and "sec, me 200 ka dito", didn't you?  Well , it's not! Rather  it is another feel good story care of my son Matt.  Like in my previous post, this is another anecdote which I failed to post and now am posting for all. You'll fall in love with this. Happy reading!

A CHRISTMAS STORY

The Christmas Holidays while tiring and hectic provide
that brief respite from the daily grind. It gives us a
chance to spend time with family and to think back of
the year just past.

On our way back from a trip to La Union, I was caught
unawares when my five year old son Matt asked me why
we needed to hurry back to Manila. I told him I had a
Christmas party to attend to that same night and that
is the reason why we had to head back. The traffic
was light all the way until we reached Malinta. By
then it was almost 11 in the evening already. Matt
then asked me,

“Mom, up to what time is your party?”
“12, I replied.
“What time is it now?”
“Its 11:00”
“And you’re very late na?”
“Ya that’s right.”
“When its 12, your party is finished na?”
“Yap!”
He then looked to the front and shouted, “Driver, slow
down ka!”

I burst in laughter amused at my five year old and ask
him, “ Why did you tell the driver to slow down ?”
He answered, “So you can have more time with me”.

I didn’t know what to say but the traffic seemed to be
on Matt’s side as it moved at a snail’s pace. It was
then that I decided to just forget about the party and
just go home straight. When I told Matt I was not
going anymore, he gave out a big smile and fell asleep
snug by my side.

It is moments like this that make us think.

I did not realize my son was wanting for attention
until that moment. I thought I was giving him enough.
Of course, I could give him more if I had more time
but alas, that is the difficulty for a multi-tasking
mom like me.

Lesson learned: MAKE TIME. Its always been said take
advantage while your kids are still young and wanting
to be around you because once they reach their teens
and have their own barkada and issues, you’ll never
see them around as much as you would want to.

That moment also made me think back when my siblings
and I were the age of Matt, young kids who tried to
understand why our parents had to spend Christmas eve
and New Year’s eve with other people to answer to the
call of public service and as part of our dad’s job as
a military officer. Now that we are older, things
have not changed. We are forced to celebrate the
holidays just among us since my dad has to be with his
constituents in the province this time. An adult
would understand but how do you explain it to kids who
believe that Christmas is for children.

To all you out there, listen and listen well. Be more
sensitive to the feelings of people around you. Maybe
if we listen more intently, we can communicate more
clearly even without having to utter a single word.

The other lesson which I learned is do not ever
underestimate your 5 year old’s intelligence. Young
as they are, they can be your life’s best teacher.
Draw inspiration from them. Ask them the questions
that seem difficult to answer for you and see how
simple the answers really are. It may be their
innocence that we adults have lost that allows them to
come up with a solution fast without any bias or
partiality.

Here’s to a peaceful and more spiritual journey in the
new year

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.