Thursday, October 17, 2013

Earthquake in Visayas

     Once again, our country is experiencing trials. The crumbling of the centuries-old churches in Bohol is devastating. I cannot imagine the terror they must have felt while the 7.2 magnitude earthquake was happening. The pain of seeing the houses, hospitals, old churches and other buildings falling apart and knowing that there are people trapped inside. I saw the news last night and a son was being interviewed because his mother was trapped inside their house. He said it was so hard looking at the house and he could not do anything to get his mother out. It was so sad that his mom did not make it in spite of the help of the rescuers.

     In TV Patrol last night, the Loboc Children’s Choir sang “The Prayer” in front of the fallen old Loboc Church in Bohol. I was teary eyed watching them sing because the children embodied a mixture of sadness, hope, and love for nation. Watching them sing last night stirred in me a patriotism that I don’t usually feel.

     If you have lived in this country all your life, you will be immuned to children begging in the streets, people jaywalking, cars parked at the wrong places, the “me” first attitude of most drivers, the attitude of people working in government, the poor services that we receive, the corrupt officials who act like saints, and the everyday experiences we have that can make us say that we truly are a third world country.

     That being said, in my heart, I am still proud to be a Filipino. Because despite of all the negatives, Filipinos by nature have a heart of gold. We are hospitable and when need arises, ordinary people become heroes in their own way. We value families and friendships. We are a happy nation and it is easy for us to overcome tragedies because of our camaraderie. Most Filipinos,  Muslims and Christians, turn to God/Allah for strength and guidance and for me, that is the most important value that we Filipinos possess.


Thursday, October 3, 2013

Motherhood

Motherhood is always a blessing. My baby has had cough and cold for the past four days. I took him to the doctor yesterday because his cough seems to be worse. It was a good thing we went yesterday instead of waiting until Saturday to have him checked. It turned out that he might have asthma. I am thankful that a cousin of mine lent us his nebulizer. It was my first time to operate it and at first,  baby cannot stop crying. After two sessions of nebulizing, baby started to get the hang of it and just allowed himself to breathe through the mask. Of course, every now and then, he grabs the mask and wants to eat it.Lol.

 Even though we did not sleep well last night, I find motherhood fulfilling in spite of situations like these. I am still on leave today to monitor his condition. He needs to be on the nebulizer every four hours and I want to be the one to do it to make sure it is done right. I also want to prepare his antibiotic myself to make sure it is the right dosage. I could not trust completely to let the nanny do it without my parents in the house. My parents are out of town so I made a decision to just avail of my vacation leave to be with my baby.

I still have a lot to learn about being a mother. I am grateful to other mothers who share their experiences with me. No matter how many articles I read about parenting, nothing beats experience:)