What can I give my Nanay?

What can I give my nanay who’s given me so much?

 

I know there’s been a lot

of give-and-take

in our relationship.

Mostly it’s been you giving

and me taking

Now that I’m grown, though,

I’m trying to do

my share of the giving.

It’s harder than I thought

it would be –

 

What do you give someone

who has given you everything?

Maybe the same things you gave me.

A hand to hold.

A hug whenever you need one.

A heart that knows

what you mean without

you having to say a word.

Whatever you need – it’s all yours.

Because you dedicated your life to me,

I return back by making sure

I will always be there for you, too.

 

Happy Mother’s Day po.

 

 

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There are four mothers in my life today.

 

1.  MY NANAY – My biological nanay never got tired taking care of me and my siblings. When I was with her and was just growing up, I took for granted the things that she did for us. But working abroad and away from home made me realize how much my mother has been doing for us to live a comfortable life. To her I owe the biggest part of who I am today.

 

2.  NANAY REMY – Nanay Remy is my mother-in-law. I can see from my wife and my wife’s siblings that they were all taken cared of. I am proud to have her as a new parent.

 

3.  MA’AM O. – Ma’am O was my college English professor who has now become a friend and a second mother. She has inspired me with her words of wisdom. She is somebody I will never forget.

 

4.  MY WIFE – This will be the first and only mother’s day when she is already a mother, but she cannot see her child yet. But I can already see how she takes the role of a mother while nurturing our baby inside her womb. I am so happy knowing Inigo will be well-taken cared of. I am so glad to have her as my son’s mother.

 

I am so blessed to have them in my life.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there.

My Wallet Story

Personal wallets contain, not only money, but other interesting stuffs. People would put in something they think they will need again in the future, or something they need to remember. The wallet is something that we open every now and then. If it gets lost, it is like a part of your body was taken away. That is why to open a person’s wallet is like opening one’s self to another. To sort out what’s inside is to unravel a life story.

 

My wallet is a brown Walley Maucker made of leather. Unfortunately, I can’t remember if this was a gift to me, or if I bought it myself J. I just know that I got this while I was in Saudi Arabia and it has been with me for a while. The leather color is still the same as when it was new, and never faded.

 

Allow me to open my wallet for you and together let’s check out what’s hiding in there. Here’s a listing of what I found inside:

 

1. 820 bucks. That’s all the cash I have at this time J
2. an old 10-peso bill – I’m not sure why I still keep this
3. one dollar bill – For luck, perhaps
4. 3 pieces of a one-riyal bill – memories of my stay in the Arab world
5. my graduation picture – taken 5 years after I graduated
6. my latest prc license
7. my old prc license
8. a small piece of paper where I wrote my Saudi atm and credit card pins. I don’t use those numbers anymore, in case somebody is interested J
9. a small piece of paper where somebody wrote my name in Arabic. I already forgot the name of my Egyptian colleague who wrote that for me.
10. a small card with an image of St.Ildefonsus. This was given out in Guiguinto last year in celebration of our parish church’s 400^th year.
11. a small picture of a saint given to me by a friend. Unfortunately, I forgot the name of the saint.
12. Saudi British Bank visa card
13. Arab National Bank atm card
14. RCBC atm card
15. Hewlett Packard shopping card for printer ink
16. King Fahd National Guard Hospital Medical Record card
17. a small piece of paper where a Saudi student wrote the Pizza Hut and KFC home delivery hotlines. I helped her organize a small farewell party.
18. Ate Aie and Kuya Reizen’s address and numbers in the US written in a small yellow card. At the back, I wrote the time difference of KSA and USA.
19. Calling card of my Saudi friend Saad Mohammed Al-Ateq, one of the the few Arab friends I liked in terms of attitude.
20. Calling card of my dentist, Dr. Dominic San Diego
21. OFW bank card
22. DXN membership card
23. an old prescription of a medication I used.
24. two Jun’s studios wedding promo slip
25. SM Foreign Exchange transaction slip dated 20 June 2007
26. Bancnet transaction slip dated 03 July 2007
27. Express Teller transaction slip dated 16 January 2008
28. My wife’s PRC license. She requested me to renew it for her.
29. My wife’s OB-GYN appointment slip
30. Shopwise card
31. Silverworks Card
32. Metrobank atm card
33. Timezone Powercard
34. Medicard

 

While inspecting my wallet, I decided to do some sorting out since I found my wallet becoming bulky. I took out the cards and pieces of paper that I do not use, but is worth keeping. The other stuffs I decided to throw away since I don’t use them anymore and they only keep my pockets heavy. And the rest I returned inside my wallet.

 

And that’s the story of my beloved wallet.

 

 

Love Story #3: Unconditional Love

A story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home from the war. He called his parents from San Francisco.

“Mom and Dad, I’m coming home, but I’ve a favor to ask. I have a friend I’d like to bring home with me.”
“Sure,” they replied, “we’d love to meet him.”
“There’s something you should know the son continued, “he was hurt pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on a land mind and lost an arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live with us.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we can help him find somewhere to live.”
“No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live with us.”
“Son,” said the father, “you don’t know what you’re asking. Someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden on us. We have our own lives to live, and we can’t let something like this interfere with our lives. I think you should just come home and forget about this guy. He’ll find a way to live on his own.”
At that point, the son hung up the phone. The parents heard nothing more from him. A few days later, however, they received a call from the San
Francisco police. Their son had died after falling from a building, they were told. The police believed it was suicide.The grief-stricken parents flew to San Francisco and were taken to the city morgue to identify the body
of their son. They recognized him, but to their horror they also discovered something they didn’t know, their son had only one arm and one leg.
The parents in this story are like many of us. We find it easy to love those who are good-looking or fun to have around, but we don’t like people who inconvenience us or make us feel uncomfortable. We would rather stay away from people who aren’t as healthy, beautiful, or smart as we are.

Thankfully, there’s someone who won’t treat us that way. Someone who loves us with an unconditional love that welcomes us into the forever family, regardless of how messed up we are.
Tonight, before you tuck yourself in for the night, say a little prayer that God will give you the strength you need to accept people as they are, and to help us all be more understanding of those who are different from us.

 

 

 

Love Story #2: True Love

This story was forwarded to me by a Malaysian colleague named Meng Choo Wong. She used to be my colleague in the neurosurgery unit until she decided to transfer to another area. She was an excellent nurse.  

The story begins like this:

It was a busy morning, approximately 8:30 am, when an elderly gentleman in his 80’s, arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He stated the he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am.

I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would be able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound. while taking care of his wound, we began to engage in conversation. I asked him if he had a doctor’s appointment this morning as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife.

I then inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer’s Disease.

As we talked, and I finished dressing his wound, I asked if she would be worried if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now.

I was surprised, and asked him. “And you still go every morning, even though she doesn’t know who you are?”He smiled as he patted my hand and said. “She doesn’t know me, but I still know who she is.”

I had to hold back tears as he left, and thought, “That is the kind of love I want in my life.”

True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.

Love Story #1: Untiring Love

Allow me to share some of my favorite love stories, which I have saved in my pc. Forgive me that I am not sure of who the original authors are, as these were just forwarded to me by friends. I hope the stories touch your lives, as they did to me. 

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! 

This is a true story that happened in Japan. 

In order to renovate the house, someone in Japan tears open the wall. 

Japan houses normally have a hollow space between the wooden walls. 

When tearing the walls, the man found that there was a lizard stuck there because a nail from outside hammered into one of its feet. He sees this, feels pity, and at the same time curious, as when he checked the nail, it was nailed 10 years ago when the house was first built. 

What happened? 

The lizard has survived in such position for 10 years! In a dark wall partition for 10 years without moving, it is impossible and mind boggling. 

Then he wondered how this lizard survived for 10 years without moving a single step – since its foot was nailed! 

So he stopped his work and observed the lizard, what it has been doing, and what and how it has been eating. Later, not knowing from where it came, appears another lizard with food in its mouth. 

Ahh! He was stunned and touched deeply. For the lizard that was struck by nail, another lizard has been feeding it for the past 10 years… Such love, such a beautiful love! Such love happened even with this tiny creature … What can love do? It can do wonders! Love can do miracles! Imagine? The other lizard has been doing that untiringly for 10 years, without giving up hope on its partner. 

Imagine what a small creature can do that a creature blessed with a brilliant mind can’t. 

I was touched when I read this story and started wondering about relationships between family members, friends, lovers, brothers, sisters. 

As information and communication technology advances, our access to information becomes faster and faster. But the distance between human beings … is it getting closer as well?

My Reflection for Christmas

It is barely a week before Christmas.

 

I was trying to wrap some gifts this morning, while watching the early morning show, Umagang Kay Ganda, when the news about the fire in Pasay City hit me. Around 250 families were left homeless after the blaze destroyed a squatter’s area in the said city yesterday afternoon. What struck me further was when the fire victims were interviewed, and appealed for some basic stuff for them to be able to live decently – water, food, banig, blankets and used clothes.

 

My heart just sank watching a young couple embracing and comforting each other while looking at their burning house. An old lady was teary-eyed as she told the reporter that she has nowhere else to go. The children were hungry.

 

What if this unfortunate event happens to us (knock on wood!)? And it is barely a week before Christmas…

 

Just last week, I wrote my last post about the many blessings I received this year. I tried counting the wonderful gifts from God, and I found it difficult to stop counting after I realized that I was indeed blessed with countless miracles. But then, after enumerating and appreciating all these blessings, where do I go next?

 

Sometimes we tend to complain about the holiday season. There is so much traffic. It is difficult to get a ride. The malls are so crowded. The schedules are so hectic because of the number of Christmas parties that need to be attended. New clothes need to be bought for the occasion. Etcetera etcetera.

 

The fire yesterday in Pasay City made me reflect on my blessings – that I should not merely count them, that I should not just appreciate them and thank the Lord for them. I think I should open my eyes wider and look at the people around me. Not everyone is as blessed as I do, and some does not even have the most basic stuff that I am enjoying. I am sitting here at the comfort of our living room, on the carpet watching tv and at the same time typing on my laptop drinking coffee – while there are people outside whose stomach are crowing.

 

I saw some aetas asking for some alms along the busy roads of Meycauayan – they do not have a decent place to sleep in. Some of my patients might not even get out of the hospital in time for Christmas. My work colleagues in Riyadh who did not get to come home this December are surely missing their families. Some of my friends who lost their loved ones this year, will surely be having a not so joyful Christmas. Carlo Cruz, who lost his wife in the Glorietta 2 blast, will be longing for the warm company of a spouse this cold holiday season.

 

I know I cannot change the world, and I cannot make every living creature in this place comfortable. But I think it would help if I start in myself being contented in what I have, and stop whining about little things. The world is not perfect and not everybody gets a very good life. I am lucky to be alive, with all the wonderful blessings around me. I may not get all that I wanted in this life, but I am getting what I needed. I think that is more important.

 

The holiday season is a time to share our blessings with the less fortunate – not just the poor – but to those who might be needing other than physical gifts. Some might be needing just a simple company, or somebody whom they can talk to. Some might need a hug and be reassured that things are going to be okay.

 

Let us, in our own simple ways, contribute in putting up smiles this Christmas season. Share a piece of yourself, a piece of your blessings.

 

 

Have a blessed Christmas.

My Second Mother

Yes, I have a second mother. And no, she is not a stepmother.

 

I got to know her first as my English 1 teacher on my first year in college. Professor Jovita H. Orara was a very strict teacher. She was like a visiting professor from UP then. My classmates feared her because she would use her UP style of teaching in her classes. But later on, we found her very friendly especially outside the classroom. She was like everybody’s grandma.

 

After the first semester, she was appointed Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. During that time, there was no CAS existing in our school, and that meant that she needed to start her office from scratch.

 

That time, my parents have told me that our finances cannot support my nursing studies anymore because of the expensive tuition fees in our school. I was told that I should transfer to Bulacan State University, and shift to another course, hence I will not be able to continue my college studies. During that time, tuition fees in BSU is very cheap (as compared today) and so affordable especially for less privileged students. I felt terrible then, because I really wanted to finish what I have started, and become a nurse.

 

Having been regarded Professor Orara as a friend, I told her about my dilemma during class cards distribution. She was quick to suggest that I work in her office so that I will not have to pay my tuition fees, so that I could continue my nursing studies.

 

My parents did not object, and I promised to them that I will try my best to balance work and studies in order to graduate in time. They supported my decision and believed that I can pursue the goals I had set for myself.

 

During my stint as a student assistant for Dean Orara’s office, I came to know a lot of things that I still value up to this day. My tight schedules taught me how to value time. I would wake up very early in the morning to study, and prepare for my nursing internship in hospitals. After my hospital duty, I would rush to Dean’s office to do some errands, and some paper works. Later, I would be seen attending my classes until 7pm. I would also accompany Dean Orara home, a trip from Bocaue to Quezon City (where she lived), and back, on Mondays and Wednesdays. I would be home by 9 to 10 pm.

 

Ma’am O (I got used to calling her this way) also taught me how to become organized.  I absorbed her system in running her office. I made sure memos were signed by receiving persons, corrected even the smallest typographical errors, and made sure files were labeled and in order. I was made to manage a small library, which further improved my organizing skills.

 

I was made to deal with people more often. I was a timid person initially, but got over it after I dealt with different kinds of people as part of my work. I helped in the enrollment process where I got to deal with students. I assisted teachers with their work. I circulated memos. I was made to visit teachers in their respective towns. I was introduced to the UP community. I got to watch quality movies, stage plays, and ballet performances.

 

My values enriched as she taught me a lot of life lessons. She would tell me stories about her struggles in life and how I should get inspiration from hurdles and impediments. She trained me to become a strong person, enduring the sometimes harsh realities of life.

 

After graduating, I was then absorbed by the same office as an Office Assistant. Later on, I found a nursing job, and I found it difficult to leave the place. But even after leaving my office work, Ma’am O  and I never lost contact and she remained my mentor for life. Whenever I needed to make tight decisions, it was her that I would consult. She considered me as the son that the she never had.

 

She would also call me if she needed some help. And I would always come running at her doorstep. We started a unique friendship. When I went to work abroad, we remained in touch through phones, letters and cards.

 

When I was about to get married, I found it difficult to tell her. I knew I would break her heart, as real mothers would. And break her heart, I did. She felt so sad when I announced my wedding. But I knew that was just an initial reaction. I knew that she was just worried if I was making the right decisions in life, just like any parent would think in that instant.

 

She does not usually attend weddings, unless it is her daughter’s, I know that. But she attended my wedding. Mine was an exception to the rule, ah!

 

Today is her 81st birthday (Nov 15). We celebrated her birthday in her office yesterday, together with her faculty members. I think this is my first time in five years to be in the country for her birthday, so I really made an effort to be present. I bought her a cake from Red Ribbon. She just sent me a text message this afternoon telling me that there has been a lot of food during the day, but yesterday’s cake was still the best, not because of the taste, but because it has full of love. Whew! So inspiring…

 

I owe a lot to Ma’am O and words cannot just measure how much her contribution is to my life. She made me become who I am today and she will be part of who I will be tomorrow. I will forever be grateful for having been blessed with a second mother.

Catharsis: What’s Behind the Name?

Some friends emailed me asking what the meaning of catharsis is, and why I chose this title for my blog site. Here’s a cut-and-paste meaning of the word courtesy of Encarta Dictionary:

catharsis ca•thar•sis [kə thrsiss] n

1. emotional release: an experience or feeling of spiritual release and purification brought about by an intense emotional experience

2. THEATER emotional purging through Greek tragedy: according to Aristotle, a purifying of the emotions that is brought about in the audience of a tragic drama through the evocation of intense fear and pity

3. PSYCHIATRY purging of complexes: the process of bringing to the surface repressed emotions, complexes, and feelings in an effort to identify and relieve them, or the result of this process

4. MEDICINE purging of bowels: cleansing or purging of the bowels [Early 19th century. Via modern Latin from Greek katharsis , from kathairein “to purge, cleanse,” from katharos “pure, clean.”]

Source: Microsoft® Encarta® Reference Library 2003

I am not sure when and where I learned about this word but I have been using this since time immemorial. I used it as a title for my editorial column for my English class school paper project. I also used it as pen name in college when I had to write articles, essays, and oratorical pieces.

The word itself is not appealing since not everybody knows its meaning. It isn’t catchy for a title. Neither does it give you an immediate picture of what the content is all about. One has to dwell on the word itself before you get its meaning.

And this I guess is a reflection of myself. I maybe unknown to many. I may not catch your instantaneous interest. But once you get to know me better, you’ll find a best friend in me (I hope, Hehe!).

The word’s meaning has also something to do with the purpose of my writing. By expressing my thoughts and ideas into words, I am able to release my inner self and I am able to reach out to another person and touch somebody else’s life. The process gives me a sense of emotional release, a feeling of joy, and a certain degree of fulfillment.

I hope that through my blogs, I will be able to express myself better, creating a clearer and better impression of who I really am. I also want to touch more lives in this world. I do not want to walk on this planet, then just leave. I want to leave an imprint. This blog could be it.

The Cookie Story

Somebody sent this to me and I just thought of sharing this to everybody. Nice one.