Aint No Button Getting Me Down

In an older post, I talked about Nina's fascination with buttons and how she would work on our shirts until she was satisfied that they were all properly fastened.

Just the other night, as we were preparing for bed, she chanced upon one of my button down shirts which was hanging by the cabinet door.  Instead of getting ready to sleep, she began threading the tiny buttons of my shirt into each hole.  I knew for a fact that once she started with something, she wouldn't stop until it was completed so I quickly got my phone and started recording her progress.

It probably took her a little under a minute to complete the top button and her kuya and I were becoming a wee bit impatient (Don't you think that we adults have that need to have everything done as quickly as possible?  I know I do).  But in the spirit of trying to be a good parent, I decided to wait it out (and leave kuya with no choice but to do so as well).

While I watched her, I realized that had it been me, I would probably have stopped even before finishing the first one.   She struggled with each one but she kept going and going without showing any sign of giving up.  It was then that I began to reflect in awe at the fact that my little girl, who has been diagnosed with a "disability" was able to patiently though a difficult task without a single complaint, without taking a break, and more importantly, without even asking for help whereas I would normally grovel or perhaps even give up the moment things get a little too challenging or inconvenient.  Now isn't that mortifying?

It really is humbling to come to the realization that my daughter, through her actions, is teaching me perseverance in the face of adversity.  Normally, it should be the other way around and yet, here she is, doing soo much better than me.  I know I have so much to learn at this point, luckily I have a wonderful teacher ;-)

Maybe I should start keeping a spare button with me just to remind me to never let little things get in the way when it comes to hitting my goals.


"Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength."  Arnold Schwarzenegger

Counting My Blessings

Today is my 43rd birthday.  And despite some mishaps that would normally ruin my day, i woke up this morning with an extremely grateful attitude towards everything.  So what if the desktop computer AND my laptop decided to malfunction on the same day.  So what if my son's pet fish chose this day to pass on - these were minor bumps compared to everything that i realized i had.

Every year, when we hear mass on my birthday, we are always lucky to attend the mass being officiated by Bishop Raul Martirez.  Hubs and I both love this priest because of his charisma and his love for Mama Mary.  He would often say mass at CTK and we always found his homilies interesting and practical.  Then he was invited to our Community mass at Serviam  and he won my heart and my respect all over again.  And because my birthday also happens to be the feast of his ordination as a priest (this year is his 53rd? year) he usually celebrates one of the morning masses to give thanks as well.  

I had actually wanted an all-in-one printer for a birthday gift but i also knew that it was out of the question since it was way beyond our budget.  I was happy hubs gave me a colorful bouquet of flowers, but when the kids gave me their card and the shirt that hubs picked out for me, i was genuinely appreciative of it.  It was at that moment when I realized that I actually had everything I could ever have hoped for in these three people - Jojo and the 2 kids.  No material possession could ever top that.

This morning after the mass, my kids went up to Bishop Raul for the customary "mano". But aside from that, hubs coached Nathan into asking the bishop to give me a special blessing since it was my birthday too.  That in itself made my day already.

Aside from that, there was a friendly lolo at church who came up to us during the part where you say peace to everyone and he shook hubs' hand.  Then out of his shirt pocket, he pulled out 2 lollipops and gave them to the kids.  I found that really endearing and silently told myself that i wanted to be like that when i become a senior citizen (that sweet to the kids, but as well dressed and elegant looking as the other lady sitting in a separate pew - i bet you, you would want to look like that as well when you get to that age range.)

When i got to the office, my office cubicle was decorated with colorful balls and swirls hanging from the ceiling and a colorful banner up on the side, all courtesy of my Mother in Law and our officemates.  Now who wouldn't be touched by that?

Then came the avalanche of gifts, greetings (an overwhelming number, thanks to Facebook) from friends many of whom I have not been able to speak to or seen in so many years.  I have yet to get to all of them as of this writing as i know, there are still some greetings that I have not yet been able to acknowledge.  And before my day ended, I was greeted with the news that one of my former staff had given birth and the other had passed the bar exams - my "kids" as I fondly call them, continue to make me proud even though we no longer work together.  

43 years is a long time and while I am guilty of knowing that i have much more to give, i have received so much over the past years - much more than i ever deserve.  And this year, i believe i have received the most important gift of all - the grace to realize and accept that yes, I have been blessed, that I have no reason to complain and that I have every reason to give back.

Thank you once again to all my family and friends for remembering me on this day.  Thank you to my family for making me feel very special and well loved.  And thank you Lord, for loving me, for creating me, for blessing me, and for making me realize all these.

I know that this will be a good year and that great things are in store for me this year.  I just know it. Happy birthday, me!  Make the most of everything okay and no slacking up this time, okay? ;-)