WHEN I REACHED MY AGE, I SEE BETTER

 

 

https://www.fabulousquotes.com/2013/08/12/ive-reached-that-age-where-happy-hour-is-a-nap/

 

I have just celebrated my 48th birthday.  I feel so grateful with friends who have greeted me at social media virtually celebrating with me on this one beautiful yearly experience.  I just feel so special when it is my birthday ( I hope you all feel the same during your birthday).

I just would like to enumerate some things that I see about myself when I reached my age.

1.  I easily get soo happy with little things.

2.  I spent lesser time at social media because I just found much better use of my time.  Please don't get me wrong.  I know many of you love so much to browse.  it is not just me anymore that is why it takes so long for me to respond to comments and private messages.

 3.  I cry a lot.  This means that I get emotional with a lot of things such as seeing my daughter accomplish even a minute thing, seeing a simple smile given to me, seeing kindness displayed in front of me by a stranger and so many more.  I cry with joy in my heart when I drive...when another driver allows me to go first in a very congested time of the day...traffic).  And, I whisper "thank you" and "God bless you" for that driver. 

4.  I spent longer time talking to my husband and my little girl.  I sometimes call it "wasting time with love" and I find it so beautiful.  In fact, I like it so much watching both of them sleep or tracing some expressions in both their faces without them noticing me do that.  And it makes me just smile.

5.  I reached the sort of "peak" of career.  I value work / teaching my college students NOT this time recognition, designation and any other venue where I could be noticed ...soowwwiii ehehe (except that the more I sort of avoid them, they always come to my face such as hosting an online program haha).

6.  I have simpler choices with clothes, type of house, furniture, etc.  I have given up a lot of clothes before house transfer and will give up a lot more.  I will keep what will only be needed including all other stuffs in the house.  What keeps me busy online at times is to search for sites where I would be trained even more on mimimalism and simplicity of life. 

7.  I focus more on paying my debts than acquiring things which will even lump and add more problems to our finances.

8.  I care less about the idea of people talking about me or simply gossips and focus more on improving my craft.   

9.  Competing with others is a huge OFF already.  Even if I seem to be not giving comments about others beautiful and huge accomplishments at social media (which I don't have much of those times spent), In my heart is joy seeing success happening with other people and praying more success for them. 

10.  I care less about pleasing others when I do something.  I don't even want others at least to know that I did them (If I can hehe).  This one truly makes me happy.  In fact this blog site was created for the purpose of reflection and realization until it became a venue to be recognized and then I simply stopped because I got lost in the first goal.  And now, I am back.  It makes me happy just to blog without also being conscious about how many people reads my writing.

In short, I want to keep my life and things simpler this time so that I could focus more on essentials.  I don't even mind repeating wearing my clothes in a week (which was not quite me years back).

A lot has to be given up at my end and will continue to BE that until I see clearly and better.

I just have to continue to pray better... How is that?

My 12 and 8-Year Old Love Story Equals Twenty

"I'm so sorry".  I said that with a twisted low voice to my husband when he passed by in front of me.  He softly looked at me.  Then I added in my naughtiness, "You should say sorry to me, too"  ( with some giggles...and ouch really heheheheh).  He did not do that.  Instead,  he pulled me and embraced me tightly and bent his head to mine.  Now, you could say "Best love story of all time"  (hahahha nag drama lang). 

I think this is one of the best times to share our story as a couple on how we deal with each other.  We got married really late (in our mid 30's or almost late 30s hahahha).  

For almost 12 years in the relationship, we thought we have known each other that well. But, really, a lot of unexpected behaviors can surface still when we got married.  The best parts in our relationship were not really  those fine characters that we show to each other but the not so good ones that turned out to be our challenge on how to best respond to each other.  

The thing is, we are both assertive individuals.  We say things in assertion which left us in pain sometimes taking them too personally and soooo seriously.  Sometimes petty things become serious source of fights or argument which made us realize that we were wasting so much of those energies giving in to petty ones.  

We are 8 - year old married couple.  In the first two years of our being together, we did "bungol" (not talk at all  when not so good things happen) to each other.  But we both realized, we live together in one house and felt like we had  no choice but to stay together ( walking out could be easier when you are both single).  

Then,  the behavior a little bit progressed into putting a little drama in front of our daughter such that when we argue privately, we tried to deal with our daughter as if no argument happened between us.

On and on until, our daughter saw as argue and then she saw us reconcile immediately. So it led me also to realize that our daughter has to see the realities of mama and papa arguing at times and reconciling also.  

Benedictine Monastery - Malaybalay City

You see, the one of the best gifts that I received in our married life is the gift of person of my husband.  He is such a very forgiving person and more than anything prays with me and my daughter every single day.

With our daughter Maria Mikaela

One time in the past, we agreed to still hold each other's hands even if we had a fight or argument.  I felt awkward at first when it happened.  But we got used to it.  And even when we sleep at night, we find each other holding hands until we doze off to sleep.  

All I could say is...ours may not be the best love story..(or however you would call what I have with my husband) but is best founded and anchored in the relationship that we first established with God...This happens when couples pray together and bring their families together to prayer.  That's what I and my husband did to our family.

Now, this is our 12 (when we were still single) and 8 - year Old (married life) love story...equals twenty:-).

PS...I asked my husband this morning why earthquake frequently happens lately and specifically in a particular place in Mindanao.  He simply stated "so that man will go back to God...so that they will remember that they need to pray...and go back to God."  He is simply sooo natural ...

"INVESTING IN LOVE?"

https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/investing-love-gm165743185-13028120

I had a brief conversation with young people one afternoon this week.  My attention was focused with "Angel" (not her real name...our student leader... I like it so much talking with her).  She mentioned about investing in a relationship with a person.  I suddenly said "when you invest, you expect a return...an income".  

When you "invest" in a relationship with a person, the relationship will become a business transaction.  The questions would unconsciously be "How much will I be getting from this?  What possible return will my relating with this person bring me?  or When will I get a total "return" from my "capital investment".

What followed in the conversation was the fear of pain from where I responded "Pain is part of the package of living.  A lot of young people do not like it that is why some go as far as hurting themselves to stop living".

So, let's go straight to the point and illustrate.  When you invest, you get to expect that the person may return the same to  you.  You may even expect to get more from what you give.  

It is not what love is.  It is simply giving and not expecting any return. It does not yield to justification or explanation why you love.  "You just give, even if it hurts or it becomes very painful, and you give a little more"... It makes you "bleed" to the bones (hahahah gross right).  

It purifies you until you become the best version of yourself (oh divah pang beauty queen ang dating).   Until such time when loving another person becomes natural for you to do  ..until you become the expression of Love yourself.    

Just try it...you will witness it happening...in you...