The Kids Are All Right - Me Included

People who claim to know me actually don't. So-called friends who say they are close to me usually are not. They are just individuals who thrive on controversy and prefer to believe the worst in me. They like having something maliciously juicy to talk about, and I have realized that I can be a very easy target for that. These are people who think they are experts on my life, my feelings, and my principles, the same way Einstein is an expert on the theory of relativity. Uhm, yeah, right. It really is amusing to note how much these people think they are an authority on the subject of Me and how I should think, act and feel.

photo from memegenerator.net

Fine. I may wear my heart on my sleeve. I may be transparent, but I want to tell these people: You don't know everything. I'm not here to plead my case, to get these people on my side. There's no winning with these types, anyway, so I have never bothered. I do not bother and I probably never will.

If you have hurt me or if you have assumed the worst in me, it's okay. If you gossip about me or if you think I'm awful, it's fine. If you have treated me badly or if you have been avoiding me because I am too complex for you, it's no biggie. Really. I have no ill will nor any bad feelings towards anyone. I'm just happy because I have realized that sometimes, you just have to accept the apology you never got.

It's as simple as that.

Magic

One love of my life. Two wedding days. A civil wedding ceremony in 2005 and a breathtaking, classically ethereal church wedding in 2009. I will always remember. There is magic. I will never forget.

wedding photography by Paul Calo and team

Keep On Keeping On

October's finally here. Can you believe it? I am so looking forward to the annual family reunion in Boracay this December. It'll be my little one's third time there. The first time she went there, it was rainy and the sun only peeked out for several hours each day. She was just four years old then and hated the sand. It's funny how she refused to step on it barefoot. She had to be carried most of the time. Because even in flip flops, she got sand on them and would end up bawling. The second time we went there was two years ago and this time, she swam and played in the sand and ran up and down the shoreline to her little heart's content. She had a blast.

We bought her good quality plastic swimming goggles in bright pink (the last ones we got her in Bohol were bright green and they fell apart the first time she used them) and she has a couple of bathing suits. To say she's pretty stoked to use them is an understatement. I am excited to go on a trip with her again. She's such a good traveler and doesn't get bored easily. It must be because my dad, her grand dad, has taught her to use her imagination all the time that she rarely gets bored. She's okay with waiting, with watching scenery go by and with finding ways to keep herself entertained.

She really is growing up wonderfully. I ask myself if we're really raising her right. I make her understand why we sometimes can't be there for her school activities. We try to be there for all of her school events but when they fall on a week day, our hands are really tied because we can't miss work if we haven't filed a leave in advance. I'm glad my folks and my siblings are there to attend these affairs on my behalf and the Husband's. We missed her school intramurals and mini-Olympics last week, but my mom said she still had so much fun. Look at my happy little girl!

I really wish she doesn't grow up too fast. Her kind heart, her intelligence, her sensitive nature and her endearing cleverness at her age are just some of the things I want to forever bask in. I love being alive because of her. It's not difficult for me to think my life is grand.

Because it truly is.