Sweet

Raj (age: almost 10) drew me this picture using MS Paint. She's become quite computer-literate.



Not to be outdone, little Alden (age 8) also drew me this the next day:

Selfish

When I woke up this morning, I asked myself, where would I rather be today: the wide open spaces of UP, or inside a crowded classroom? What would I rather do: sit for hours in boredom, or run?

It was a no-brainer.

It meant being absent from school, but I guess it was worth it. These days, I notice I tend to be a "nurturing mom" to myself. I've been placing priority in taking care of myself, in doing things that make me happy. I guess it's a survival tactic for me. And anyway, who says we shouldn't take the pursuit of happiness seriously? Who says we shouldn't be selfish once in a while?

My target was to run just 10km. I started out late, and when I got to UP, it was already 8 am. I told myself I should be done by 10:00, tops, or I'd get fried under the sun.

At the start of my run, I felt so exhilirated, so on top of the world! I had been inactive for five days, and it felt really good to be on the road again. This is freedom, I thought! This is what it feels to be alive! I was in a such a high that I high-fived another runner who was a complete stranger to me. (Good thing he wasn't a snob.)

About an hour later, it got warm, and I could feel my legs starting to rebel. Fatigue was setting in. I slowed down to a jog. My legs were really tired. To keep moving, I had to literally instruct them to move, one in front of the other. Then about 10 minutes later, I decided that was enough for the day. I had done a little over 12k in total.

I sat awhile on a bench at the Sunken Garden. I rested and listened to my Ipod. It was a perfect time for this meditative practice that I've started doing, from Eckhart Tolle's "The Power of Now." I just sat there, tried to keep my mind still, be in tune with my body and with the present moment. I felt refreshed, and very much at peace afterwards.

What a wonderful day. Up to now, about 8 hours later, I'm still in a great mood. My body feels a bit sore but strong and rested, and I have no complaints.

Thank You, once again. Thank You indeed :-)

Productive

I just finished a tedious task for my daughter. She's with their school's student council, and they are sponsoring a Quiz Bee on Tuesday. I made this huge scoreboard, spending some 60 minutes or so on it. I had to do it the old way, measuring and drawing out the lines on gold ol' manila paper! I used up three pentel pens. Tiring! But I like the finished product. The lines were crisp, the lettering was good :-) I know it's not that big a deal, but heck, it made me happy. I almost wanted to scribble my signature at the bottom like an artist would. Ha-ha.

We sometimes forget to pay attention to little things that could bring simple joys. There's always something in our lives that we should be thankful for. This is true, no matter how burdened with problems we might believe we are at the moment.

I am going through a painful time in my life right now. But the experience is teaching me new things. I am learning to be happy with what there is. And there IS a whole lot out there that can make us smile. This I'm finding out. We only have to open our eyes more, hear more, smell more, and feel more.

Again, thank You. I AM so blessed.

Happy

Little things make me happy. I just finished putting those little objects on the right panel. My profile picture is a drawing of my 7-year-old daughter.

This took quite a while. Now, looking at this page, I'm happy. I like what I've created.

Thank you, Universe! :-)

A New Blog!

Due to privacy concerns, I had to suddenly delete my old blog. I felt sad doing so. I had worked on that blog for quite a while, over a year or so now, and it held many good memories.

On the other hand, it feels good to start anew! There have been major changes in my life lately, and a fresh start seems to be just what I need.

I am going through the breakup of my 13-year-old marriage. <> It's very sad, and unfortunately very true. I'm still in the process of letting go and getting up, picking up the pieces, and I think I'm doing pretty well. But as there are good days, I have to navigate through some bad days as well.

So I just take it one day at a time. See how it goes. Give myself what I think I need at the moment and try to pick myself up. Sometimes a good long cry does the trick. Sometimes I just try to put on a brave face and tell myself to suck it up.

I'm also almost at a major "finish line" in my life. I am taking up a second college course (BS Nursing), and I hope to graduate in about a month's time! Yehey! It has been rough, especially these past two months when I had to deal with serious personal stuff at the same time as I was tackling major exams in school. But I'm almost there! I can almost feel the diploma in my hands!! :-)

Aside from my three lovely daughters, an old dream is keeping me alive through all these. I hope to run my first full marathon this October. When all the home and school drama subside and I can breathe more freely, I hope to resume training and running again. It looks like I won't be as ready as I would have wanted for a full 42-km run this October, but... who knows? Maybe I can summon enough bravado to run, even though I'm woefully not ready, this October 18, the date of the QC International Marathon.

Life is exciting. Life is fulls of surprises. I might add life is full of shit too, but I do have millions of things to be thankful for as well.

So here we go. Life goes on. And lookie here, a new blog for me! :-)