TRUE FAITH

They say an aging woman oftentimes gets embarassed when people ask about their age. Not true! At least, I do not get embarassed at all when people ask me and I answer, I am 55 and in 4 months, a year will be added to my more-than-half-a-century age. I feel I should be proud, that despite an unhealthy habit of smoking, I've been a long transient in this journey of life. My GOD has given me a long lease on life as it is and for this, I am grateful.

Very young people and some of those younger than me might see me as a person who will be gone in a few years. Perhaps, they have this perception that I may be afraid to die.

Well, when I was a decade younger, I fear the idea of dying. I was afraid because my children were too young to leave behind. Actually I was afraid for them because I feel they still need their mother by their side. Now, my children are all grown up and they can live their lives as they please. I am quite assured that with the discipline and the guidance I gave them through their growing-up years have already been seeded and nurtured and that they will be alright even without my physical presence.

You see, I have this FAITH that so long as they persevere and continue to live by their own faith, they will be alright. Even with the expected twists and turns in their lives, they will be able to face them with the strength that is given by their faith. I always tell them that they should NEVER LOSE FAITH, faith that will carry them through their own crisis. I leave them this when I am gone and it gives me peace.

Guess I'm really getting old. I did not think about this when I was younger. You're right... age does strange things when you're older.

Death

I've been thinking of writing anything that comes to my mind in my blog, regardless of whether anyone reads them or not. My absence in the blogging world for the past three years has caused my readers/friends/fellow bloggers to stop checking on my site. It doesn't matter. This blog of mine will be something that my family may read when I'm gone. Who knows, my one-year-old granddaughter may still be able to read them many years from now. This would then help her form an image of her grandmother.

These days, I'm really into Facebook, or FB as my children call it. It is not really because I long to communicate with old friends again (though I'm grateful I did find some of them), it's because I get to play games (especially Gardens of Time!). But what I like most is that I could post some inspiring quotes in my status, quotes that oftentimes touch the lives of people.

Often, I browse through the net to look for very inspiring or touching quotes. This morning I found something on the site that lists very good Chinese provers or sayings. This site I often visit because being half Chinese, I grew up in a somewhat rigid Chinese tradition. I am sharing this quote here with whoever may read this post.

"When Death overtakes us, all that we have is left to others;
all that we are, we take with us."

Isn't it true? Some people spend their whole lives hoarding material things, trying to accumulate more and more, and sometimes forgetting that there are other things more important than all these. Relationships may break, love may be overlooked, faith may be set aside. Getting comfortable in life is, of course, good but making this your sole purpose of living is not.

Let's ponder the quote above more seriously. Eventually, everyone of us dies and when we do, we leave everything behind for those who still live. Good for them but bad for the one who died who spent all his life for such purpose alone. If this person left broken relationships, never experienced love, or lost his faith, then his death is truly his end. No memories of the dead may linger in the hearts of those he left behind.... what a wasted life!

After Three Years......

Whatever happened within the span of three years since I last visited my blogs?

Good question, but hard to answer. There were so many things that happened to me and to my family that enumerating them here in my site is practically impossible. For one, I already forgot some of them. And I nearly forgot I had three blogs as well!

I think I will go with the "bad" things first.

We closed our internet shop and our game shop. Why? Well, because business was bad and we lost.

My older sister, Elenita, died ten months ago. And just this month, her daughter and my niece, Liza, also died.

Now, for the good news...

My second son got his diploma for Information Technology last year. He just finished his training in a call center last week and he is waiting for the job offer which might be this week or next week.

My eldest son got married and I now have a very cute granddaughter. Her name is Yuriel Naja and she turned a year old last month.

My youngest and only daughter will be graduating at the end of this school year. She has been on the Dean's List of Outstanding students from first year until her third year (1st semester), I don't know if she still was, though, last semester.

My third son is doing fine now, no more health problems.

Well, I guess this just about sums up the three years. I don't know if my blogger friends still visit my site now. But when they do, I'd like to tell them that I will be more visible in the following days.

Ciao and God bless!!!

It's not easy...

It's been a long while since I visited my blogs and the reason is, I was and still am busy. I used to feel bored with my life before, with nothing else to do but the household chores. My long-time blogger friends will perhaps remember that we were planning to open a small business of our own that could, with God's grace, become a "fallback" in case my husband stops working abroad. And now, we are able to achieve this dream.

The first shop that we opened was a gaming shop, a small PS2 arcade. We started with three(3) units and now, we have six and one xbox. Then we opened an internet cafe starting with eight (8) units. Now, we have ten. Starting a business is never easy. Investment is high and with this type of business, you continue to upgrade. Although it is hard to stay afloat despite the competitions, it is nonetheless satisfying to be able to count the daily earnings when you close shop every night. To succeed, you have to give one hundred percent dedication to the project and spend enough time to check on it daily. Huh! Smart talk from a neophyte, some would say. But believe me, it's true. When you set your mind to do something, think of it as reachable, never impossible. It may not be easy but then again, it makes it much sweeter when you get there.

FINALLY, A SHORT BREAK!

Hello again, my blogging friends! I'm so sorry for being out of the circulation for almost two months. The reason is we started a little business which took almost all my time.

Remember when I was asking you guys what business is better, a transport business or an intenet? We sort of decide on the former but ended up with opening the latter. So now, we already have a place but it's not in full swing yet. We're still waiting for our own power supply meter. However, the Playstation Games are now ongoing.

So I hope you still have time to visit my site once in a while. Promise I'll pop up whenever I'll find time ...

Miss you, my blogging friends...

So Much To Do, So Little Time

Have you ever wondered how moms do everything in so short a time? Have you ever thought of how they manage to prepare the breakfast on the table that waits for everyone when they wake up? Have you ever noticed how clean the house is even when you kids are out to school or just merely lounging around in front of your computers or televisions? Were you ever grateful for the freshly ironed clothes you're wearing? Did you, for one moment, appreciate how easy life is with your mom around?

These have all occupied my time for the past number of days. I was busy doing things around the house that I no longer have time to sit down and do my blogging. Previously, I had some free time to do whatever I want even for just a couple of hours because my helper was regularly coming in. These days, she has been reporting on and off, so instead of waiting for her to do the cleaning and washing, I do them myself. When she decides to come in, there's nothing much to do anymore because I usually do these things early in the morning. I wake up at 5:00 AM and she comes in at 8:00! You can just imagine the work I've put in for the three hours before she comes in for work! My husband wanted me to look for someone else but the truth is, it's hard to find someone you can trust and someone who can take care of my invalid father-in-law. So I still keep her despite the constant absences.

At times like this, a mom can only imagine how her children and her husband might fare in case she leaves them for good. I often wonder if they can manage well. True, they will try to do the things that I may have done but not as good as I did. So whenever my children are free, I let them help me with the chores.

On weekends, I divide the housework between us and I let them watch me cook, patiently teaching them the procedure of cooking good meals. I teach them how to do the laundry (white things go into the washing machine first, light ones next and dark ones last), I tell them what fabric should be hand-washed, what can be folded right after they dry, or what should be ironed first before folding or hanging them in their cabinets. I teach them how to get rid of dust, how to get under the furniture, and where to put things. I teach them to give our four dogs a bath twice a week, what to feed them, and getting them outside after meals.

Yes, they are starting to learn how to do things but whenever our helper is around, they don't attend to the chores. And whenever mom is around too, they just take it for granted that I will do everything that needs to be done. After all, aren't moms superheroes?

A Rainbow After the Storm

I'm dragging myself back to blogging today, after days of going around the house and doing whatever comes to my mind. I finished reading three pocketbooks, and spent hours watching shows on cable. Sometimes, I sleep the whole afternoon and lie awake at night. Today, I woke up refreshed and decided to visit my sites. Thank you guys for the regular visits, though I was inactive for quite some time.

Although I still feel lonely for losing Elaine, I feel that God has always been with us. And after the loss, God delivered another gift to us, one that reminds me that life just has to go on.

My husband called me early Sunday morning (that was Father's Day). I felt excitement in his voice, though he tried to sound casual about it. He said he just got a promotion, he is now the manager of their company's new network program. Previously, he was the network administrator but now, a new department has been launched solely for their JD Edward program, and he sits on top of it. I know this didn't come easy for him, he had to attend seminars in different places like Johannesburg, South Africa and more recently, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. I am just so happy for him because the truth is, I had been hoping for such a promotion years ago. Honestly, I lost hope because there has never been a Filipino manager in any important department of their company. I think he is the first ever! So I believe that the company truly sees his loyalty and capacity to manage his own department.

The news is like rainbow after the storm in my life. It gives me the strength to move on, it makes me realize that my family is still here, needing me to keep them together. Storms could shake our lives at times when we least expect them, and they could damage us to some extent, but all we really have to remember is that they always pass. All we have to remember, most of all, is that there's a rainbow after a storm.