To create your tomorrow, go over your day tonight when you are in bed just before you fall asleep, and feel gratitude for the good moments. If there was something you wanted to happen differently, replay it in your mind the way you wanted it to go. As you fall asleep, say “I will sleep deeply and wake up full of energy. Tomorrow is going to be the most beautiful day of my life.”
Good Night!
- From the THE SECRET
Audit time once again… schedules to prepare. Reports to print. It’s been a pretty toxic time at the office… so the weekend is a very welcome break! Hay! At long last! I can sleep in!
But wait, there’s more! Hubby and I still have to face the battle that is EDSA Traffic tonight. We are going to pass by many malls and most of them are having a midnight sale… on a Friday (gimmick) night! Traffic jam for sure! Oh well. At least there’s the weekend to look forward to. =)
Every person is unique. We have heard this time and again. We all have our own peculiarities. We react to situations differently. We all exhibit our individuality. Our dear toddlers are no exception. In fact, it is around this age when they start to develop and show their own personality. We see a particularly jovial child and compare him to a somber, serious looking one… and we have the tendency to judge him as a cheerful child, while the other one is called moody.
This is important advice: parents, don’t label your child. Being called a “difficult child” or a “shy child” is very limiting. We should aim to be encouraging rather than restraining. Being labeled is like being judged for life. It is like your future is laid out already. A difficult child’s” actions may be dismissed as acting up or just misbehaving as usual, instead of being addressed. A “shy child’s” parents may go around saying that their child is an introvert since childhood…always has been, always will be. So instead of encouraging the child to get out of her shell, reaching out to others, and making new friends, they are conveying a message that she has always been like that… and will most probably be the same for the rest of her life. This leaves very little room for her personality improvement.
Don’t confuse understanding and getting to know your child with excusing and accepting problem behavior. Understanding her doesn’t mean that you will side with her no matter what. It doesn’t mean spoiling her rotten and expecting the world to adjust to her quirks and impulses. Yes, you love her, and you will stand by her no matter what, but she will still have to find a way to fit into the world, no matter how unique and wonderful she is. An example: if by chance, your child has a tendency towards aggressive behavior towards others, her parents should find ways to modify her conduct rather than making excuses for her. It part of our obligation as parents to make sure that our children can happily and successfully thrive on their own and peacefully co-exist with others.
Also, don’t compare children. Comments like “I wish you were more like your sister” or “you’re brother is …, why can’t you be more like him?” may only be words to us. After a while we’ll forget about it, but the damage it can do to our toddler’s self esteem is inestimable. Let us not assume that she’s too young to even understand. Words are powerful, and they can get into one’s subconscious and contribute to that someone’s life programming.
Our toddler is a little person. She has the ability to think and feel. It is only right to make an effort and try to understand our toddler. Rearing a child doesn’t only involve feeding, and bathing a child but also getting to know her, and encouraging her to be the best that she can be. =)
I woke up late today… I stayed up late last night… again! Although this time FB’s Café World is not to blame, but Godaddy.com and blogger. =)
Well, actually it’s not their fault either, it’s mine. Setting up my existing blogs with their corresponding domain names has been exciting and mind boggling at the same time… hahaha!
I’m not really sure whether I should change my settings for blog lines and blog catalog, to reflect my domain name and delete the one with my blogspot url… does anybody have a clue? Hehehe…
Recently, we’ve been having troubles with our nanny. When it comes to her work… there is nothing I can say. Well, it’s definitely far from perfect.. but acceptable. The most important thing is that it is evident that she genuinely cares for her ward. Lolo R used tells me that when he scolds Bea, he can see that the nanny is the one who is hurt =( we’ve been having problems with her attitude in general. Well, she’s just nineteen and this is the longest she’s been away from home (
I consciously try to talk/reprimand our nanny when the little one is not there to witness it. Of course I’d still want her to respect her nanny, and even now she’s starting to have an idea of who’s the boss. I guess she must have heard last night’s episode between her daddy and yaya R. this happened before going to Church. When we were in church, she kept on asking me “Di mo na love Ate R?” (Don’t you love Ate R anymore?) I answered “Love pa din” (Yes I still love Ate R). After a few minutes, “Daddy di na love Ate R?” (Daddy doesn’t love Ate R anymore?) I said “Love pa din” (yes he also loves Ate R). Then I tried to explain to her that the reason why daddy scolded Yaya R was because she did something daddy was not happy with, and so he had to scold her to correct her wrong doing. She just nodded and didn’t speak of it anymore.
Early this afternoon, I called home to check up on them…the nanny said that early this morning, when they were left alone in the house, my Bea told her, in all seriousness: “Ate R, love pa din kita…pero…wag ka na kukulit” (Ate R…I still love you… but stop being naughty) huh?!?
Kids are so like sponges, I swear!
Let me share with my fellow Marikeños and others who were affected by the floods brought by Typhoon Ondoy a part of a book that I’ve read recently:
“Good is underneath every single thing that appears to be negative. If we can know that good is all there is, including in a negative situation, then we will see a negative situation transform into all good. Most people keep the good away from themselves because they label something as bad, and then, of course, that becomes their reality. But there is no bad in the universe; it is just our inability to see things clearly from the bigger perspective.
Peace comes from knowing that good is all that exists.”
-The Secret - Daily Teachings
Let’s try to believe that there is a bigger plan for all of us. Typhoon Ondoy is a mere bump on the road. Don’t get derailed. Just look forward and continue moving forward. Don’t wallow in the sadness and loss, for you’ll attract more sadness and loss. Be grateful…be proactive…and attract only the good things. Bangon Marikina! Bangon Pilipinas!
September 26, 2009. This is a date that will definitely go down in Philippine history. The country was hit with a very different kind of storm. The President described the deluge, which was the worst to hit Metro Manila in more than four decades and left 80 percent of the metropolis under water, as a “once-in-a-lifetime” storm.
It had already started raining the night before. It was a strong, steady downpour. There was no roaring wind or frightening lightning that went with it, just torrents of rain. It was reported after the incident that it was actually a month’s worth of rain that heaven poured upon us. No wonder we were flooded! Most affected were areas in the metro:
I have been living in Nangka,
But not this time. We were very affected. And not just us.
Authorities said some people remained stranded in their flooded homes more than 48 hours after the floods, while power and telephone services were still cut in the worst-hit areas of Metro Manila.
Poor drainage systems meant some places remained waist-deep in water, while vast swathes of the sprawling metropolis of 12 million people were covered in sludge.
In schools, open-air gymnasiums and other makeshift evacuation camps, tens of thousands of people were desperately short of food, water and clothes.
As many areas of Metro Manila remained without power Sunday, rescuers plucked bodies from muddy floodwaters and scrambled to save drenched survivors on rooftops after Storm “Ondoy” left 73 people dead in a strike across the region.
Nearly 300,000 people were affected by the storm, including some 47,000 who were brought to schools, churches and other evacuation shelters, officials said.
As soon as we can, we tried going around
As we talked to friends in
A friend said that they were trapped in their house because the water rose so fast that they didn’t have time to evacuate. She didn’t have time to call for help or even answer her ringing cell phone. She was surprised that water started rushing in. Before they knew it, the water was already chest level. Fearing that they might drown right in their own home, her father had to break down a window just so they can escape. They had to swim to their neighbor’s 2-storey house. When the flood reached the second floor, they had to hold on to make shift ropes just to swim across to another neighbor’s house that had a third floor. They stayed there until the flood subsided. They were safe but hungry. They had to stay there overnight with other families, sharing whatever food they can find. Her diabetic father sustained a large gash on his leg and had to be rushed to the emergency room once the flood subsided.
Another friend suffered the same fate. Only they decided to break down a part of their ceiling. They thought they can stay up there until water subsided. They thought they were high enough… but the waters continued to rise, until they had no more choice but to break down part of their galvanized roof… and stay on top of their roof… for 16 hours. Neighbors just threw food and blankets at them just so they can survive.
An officemate just had enough time to evacuate to their neighbor’s 3-storey house. A self confessed techie, she packed her prized mac book, itouch, psp, phones, digicam and a new dslr in her big backpack. But in the frenzy of evacuating, she remembered to pick up her pet dog but forgot all about the backpack. Everything was drenched, soaked…ruined.
A good friend was spared since they lived on the third floor of their apartment building. Their van and AUV though, were totally inundated. They had to be towed to the mechanics. Her parents’ house was also flooded. Inside the house, flood waters reached up to their necks. Her retiree parents had to hold on to the metal grills on their fence to steady themselves against the strong current of the murky flood waters… just so they can relocate to their neighbors house.
I’m sure there are many, many more heart-breaking stories… even more broken-hearted people. Everyone caught by surprise… everyone struggled to save their belongings, everyone fought to survive… sadly not everyone succeeded.
But Filipinos are a naturally happy, smiley people. We are known for our resiliency and ability to bounce back from every known adversity. I have seen people who were busy cleaning their muddied homes with smiles on their faces. Sure, they lost almost everything: furniture, appliances, important documents… but everyone in the family was alive and well… and for this they were grateful.
As I told my friends…This dire situation too, shall pass.
Our God is good and He is great. He knows what is best. Fear not, for He has a plan. =)
