Weekly Photo Challenge: HIDDEN

This week’s photo challenge is dedicated to my father who recently passed away and, in celebration of All Soul’s Day on November 2.

A night before my Dad’s funeral, I discovered two little creatures hiding among the bouquet of flowers beside his coffin.

This brown butterfly was clinging on one of the lamps.

A dragonfly was on a stalk and seemed like smiling.

It was the last wake night. There were so many people who came in to give their last respect to my Dad. But only a few noticed these two guards sitting on both sides of the coffin. They were hiding among the flowers.

According to the old folks, these creatures  were not really insects. They were angels who were tasked to fetch my Dad and guide him through the Light. I am sure many people out there would argue as to this is true or not. But this is just one of the superstitions in our place. I don’t believe in a lot of superstitions, but I want to believe on this one. I want to believe that my Dad has been fetched by these two angels, and so at this very moment, he should be in the safe hands of the Lord.

Love you, Dad.

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Check out my eulogy for my Dad HERE.

A Mother-and-Son Story

This one’s really touchy. I got this from Inspire Your Living page. I just thought it’s worth sharing

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My mom only had one eye. I hated her… She was such an embarrassment. She cooked for students and teachers to support the family.

There was this one day during elementary school where my mom came to say hello to me. I was so embarrassed.

How could she do this to me? I ignored her, threw her a hateful look and ran out. The next day at school one of my classmates said, ‘EEEE, your mom only has one eye!’

I wanted to bury myself. I also wanted my mom to just disappear. I confronted her that day and said, ‘ If you’re only gonna make me a laughing stock, why don’t you just die?’

My mom did not respond… I didn’t even stop to think for a second about what I had said, because I was full of anger. I was oblivious to her feelings.

I wanted out of that house, and have nothing to do with her. So I studied real hard, got a chance to go abroad to study.

Then, I got married. I bought a house of my own. I had kids of my own. I was happy with my life, my kids and the comforts. Then one day, my Mother came to visit me. She hadn’t seen me in years and she didn’t even meet her grandchildren.

When she stood by the door, my children laughed at her, and I yelled at her for coming over uninvited. I screamed at her, ‘How dare you come to my house and scare my children!’ GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!!!’

And to this, my mother quietly answered, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry. I may have gotten the wrong address,’ and she disappeared out of sight.

One day, a letter regarding a school reunion came to my house. So I lied to my wife that I was going on a business trip. After the reunion, I went to the old shack just out of curiosity.

My neighbors said that she died. I did not shed a single tear. They handed me a letter that she had wanted me to have.

‘My dearest son,

I think of you all the time. I’m sorry that I came to your house and scared your children.

I was so glad when I heard you were coming for the reunion. But I may not be able to even get out of bed to see you. I’m sorry that I was a constant embarrassment to you when you were growing up.

You see……..when you were very little, you got into an accident, and lost your eye. As a mother, I couldn’t stand watching you having to grow up with one eye. So I gave you mine.

I was so proud of my son who was seeing a whole new world for me, in my place, with that eye.

With all my love to you,

Your mother.

Weekly Photo Challenge: OPPORTUNITY

This week’s WordPress weekly photo challenge theme is OPPORTUNITY.

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It was already my son’s 3rd day in school on these pics. It was very difficult to prep him up in the morning. He didn’t want to get up from bed. He didn’t want to take a bath. He didn’t want to wear his uniform. In short, he didn’t want to go to school. He was constantly crying, just the thought that he was going to school.

I couldn’t blame him. He was not used to being away from his parents. For the last three years, we would always be there for him. His food would always be ready. We would always be there to assist him, to protect him. And now, he would be out there in school, far away from his parents.

As a parent, it actually hurts that I have to send him away, coz I always wanted him near. I always wanted him to be within our sight, because we knew he’s still unable to help and protect himself. And that being away, he might not get help when he needed it,  that he might fall or hurt himself or another boy would push him, and that he’s going to be hurt. Or he might just be alone in one corner that nobody would play with him.

But loving one’s child doesn’t always mean that he should always be within our sight, within our reach. Loving your son/daughter means allowing him to explore the life out there, making him independent to prepare him for more challenges in the future. Loving him means giving him the OPPORTUNITY to let him use his little wings to fly. He might fall or stumble along the way, but that will always be part of his learning process.

And so I am keeping a promise for my son – that although it would hurt to just be on the sideline, and on standby – he will always be allowed to explore the life out there on his own, with kind persuasions and guidance from his parents. He can choose to be whatever he wanted to be, and his independence and sense of self will always be respected.

Yes, we will not be there for him always. And that’s because we love him and we wanted him to grow up with character.

Weekly Photo Challenge: POSSIBILITY

Is “Like-father-like-son” possible even on sleep?

Photography by Mommy

Promise Yourself Everyday…

It was a heavy day yesterday at work. There were heavy cases, and the patient and families do not seem to appreciate my hard work. I went home so depressed. But then I realized, it’s not like this everyday. So here goes a promise…

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Promise yourself everyday  . . . .

To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.

To make all your friends feel like there is something in them.

To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.

To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and expect only the best.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on the greater achievements of the future.

To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living person you meet a smile.

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, and too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

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A Despojo via FB, pic credit: weharmonizeyourlife.com