Under One Roof

Groups of people are going to the mall this weekend. I am sure of it. It’s payday weekend!

If there is one thing that I remember my parents made a tradition is for the whole family to go out once in a while, when there’s more than enough funds to utilize. We’d go to parks and have picnics. We’d go to the mall and have lunch and ride those little trains. We’d go to amusement parks. Those were really precious memories that I still reminisce about from time to time.

Parents should take the time to build good memories for their kids. Because you know what? When the going gets tough, those memories can sustain us through. Those good memories can pull us out of the dark hole that can suck us in and could probably not get out of. Memories are essentially part of the foundation of who we are. The good ones can spell a positive future full of hope. Bad ones can spell disaster or can motivate a person, it all depends on the person’s choice.

These memories from our childhood are the ones that can make us smile the most when we are in the twilight of our lives. Older people know what I am saying…

I love the smell of freshly cut grass.
It reminds me of the few vacations we had when I was a kid.
I love the smell of grilled meat.
It reminds me of the few barbeque picnics we had in the past.
I love the smell of freshly laundered clothes.
And the smell of garlic and onion being sauteed.
And the smell of sunshine on someone coming from the outside.
It reminds me of mom and love and home.

One of the things I am thankful for is that I was born to a family with simple dreams and simple joys in life. We live in a modest house. My siblings and I went to private schools but nothing too fancy. We don’t have a car at the moment but we used to have one. Again, nothing too fancy. It’s an old Toyota. We sold it when my mom got sick. Right now, we could have gotten another one already because my sister is volunteering to get a car loan but since parking is a problem in our area, we opted not to. We are happy with taxicabs anyway.

We have ordinary things at home. We own one tv set. No fancy radios here, just one old radio that we bought for my dad. The one we had before stopped functioning when Hazel did something to it. No one in the family even owns an iPod, or a fancy cellphone. I have a laptop and a desktop that I use for work. We don’t have an oven (microwave, yes) or any fancy kitchen gadget.

When my mom was alive, her only dream was to travel abroad. Even once. Sadly, that didn’t materialize. But I know for a fact that she was happy we had more than enough until she passed away. And can you believe my dad’s dream? He just wanted to go to Baguio City because he hadn’t been to that city! Now that it’s already fulfilled, he is targeting a trip for the whole family to Cebu City again to visit Sto. Nino de Cebu.

My own dream? Just to be financially stable and for the family to move to a quiet neighborhood.

I’ve always wanted a patio like this. It’s so relaxing to look at and I am sure, this is a great place to entertain guests. I wish we have a house where we can set up something like this. I am posting this photo to inspire me to reach for this dream… a house somewhere quiet and peaceful.

Hopefully, soon.

Happy weekend everyone!

Be intentional about enjoying the sounds of laughter. Start now! On the count of three, place your hands over your belly and say HA, HA, HA! Feel the belly muscles contract? Your mind was working for you to signal the muscles to contract. Yes, a helpful mind. Repeat this until your own spontaneous laugh begins? Enjoy your helpful mind!

Challenge yourself to spend 10 minutes every day letting your mind help you laugh out loud! Smile while thinking about laughing. Remember, the heart releases the flow of laughter, and the energy flows from the heart soaring on the sounds of laughter.

Something to make you smile…

One day, I was in the bathroom and noticed one of the cabinet door was ajar. I read the box in the cabinet. I then asked my mother why she was keeping napkins in the bathroom. Didn’t they belong in the kitchen? Not wanting to burden me with unnecessary facts she told me that those were for special occasions.

Now fast forward a few months. It’s Thanksgiving Day, and my folks are leaving to pick up the pastor and his wife for dinner. Mom had assignments for all of us while they were gone. Mine was to set the table.

When they returned, the pastor came in first and immediately burst into laughter. Next came his wife who gasped, then began giggling. Next came my father, who roared with laughter. Then came mom, who almost died of embarrassment when she saw each place setting on the table with a “special occasion” napkin at each plate, with the fork carefully arranged on top. I had even tucked the little tails in so they didn’t hang off the edge.

My mother asked me why I used these and, of course, my response sent the other adults into further fits of laughter.

“But Mom, you SAID they were for special occasions!

The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another’s desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together.
- Erma Bombeck

Family life is full of major and minor crises — the ups and downs of health, success and failure in career, marriage, and divorce — and all kinds of characters. It is tied to places and events and histories. With all of these felt details, life etches itself into memory and personality. It’s difficult to imagine anything more nourishing to the soul.
- Thomas Moore

And you know what? Even with all that happened to our family, I still feel so many positive things have come out because of the hardships and the two deaths.

God has a plan for us. It may not be clear now, or may be in 10 years. But eventually we will know His plans. What’s important is that each one of us in the family values each other and have become closer and stronger through it all.

I would love to have one like this at home

“It’s important to let our kids know we are aware of our inadequacies. Tell them. You have nothing to lose in honestly admitting to them that you didn’t do everything correctly as a parent. The admission may be the key to opening communication and beginning the process of healing your relationships with your kids.”
- Stephen Arterburn and Jim Burns, When Love is not Enough