For the past two weeks or so, I have been suffering from bad headaches every day. I have been popping all sorts of pills and I worry about the ill effects these may have on my liver or kidney, most especially on my tinnitus. This worrying about the pills (among other things) could very well be the same fuel that feeds this vicious cycle.
Now I take the time to sit and pause to thank God for things – big and small – that comfort me, in spite of:
• the smell of fresh-cut grass
• the low-pitched, distant hum of the village keepers’ motorized grass cutter
• the sight of our plants, all healthy and well; they seemed to have adapted nicely to our little garden. One of the gladiolas have even managed to bloom into beautiful peach-colored flowers. After only a few days, the grass is in need of mending and the topiaries are begging to be trimmed. I hope to find the time later today after my clinic. Or maybe tomorrow. (Thursdays are my much-loved free day/errand day/drive-the-kids-to-after-school-activities-day)
• hubby who patiently takes over helping the kids out with the homework especially when I am tired or feeling more impatient than usual
• the little girl’s warm, tight bear hug… like she has totally forgiven me for having yelled at her last weekend
• my elder daughter’s pretty, sheepish smile
• ashtanga yoga – it gave me much happiness and comfort for the past two weeks (not to mention a terrible sore after the first session!); It required the discipline to drive myself to the yoga class after a long day at work but I never anticipated such huge pay-offs: it made me feel incredibly relaxed and fulfilled. It’s like my body and mind were thanking me for the much-needed break. Sadly, this has to be put off for now as I await my doctor’s clearance and advice
• my mom – the short sermons and bit of nagging are actually a solid source of comfort and reassurance for me.
• my cousin M who urged me to try yoga. Her short text messages were always a source of comfort for me, I can’t really say how or why
I have quite a few concerns on my mind but for now I choose to focus on these small comforts. I send a tiny thank you to God in heaven and trust that everything will go well as He has planned.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Three Things to Remembr in Life
1. Make God No. 1
2. Time is sacred
3. Live a balanced life
Addendum: Remember – all the saints were busy people! (Let us ask for the grace to always make God number 1 in spite of our busy lives)
- From Homily, Don Bosco 8:30 am Mass (must remember to get the priest’s name)
2. Time is sacred
3. Live a balanced life
Addendum: Remember – all the saints were busy people! (Let us ask for the grace to always make God number 1 in spite of our busy lives)
- From Homily, Don Bosco 8:30 am Mass (must remember to get the priest’s name)
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Beautiful Morning
I feel light and happy this morning because it’s Thursday, my day off! Well, it’s not exactly rest day. It’s more like an errand day for me but any break I can get away from the hospital or from my clinic makes me happy all the same.
Last night, for the first time since hubby had left for a week-long business trip last weekend, I had restful sleep. It felt good. It was a mere 5-hour sleep but my body felt recharged. Quality talaga over quantity. Dear Lord must have heard my prayers when I begged him to remove all fears lurking in my heart (and imagination).
I woke up early (yet 15 min later than what I had intended) and scrambled about in the kitchen to cook guisadong beans and carrots. Kuya’s teacher asked the class to bring nutritious food, good for sharing with 2-3 other people, in lieu of this week’s celebration of Nutrition Week. As I scooped the veggies into his lunchbox, I felt more pleased than harassed. A great way to start the day.
Things on my to-do list for today include:
• Doing some grocery shopping – I know, I know. It seems like I do this every week. One word - baon. Last-minute na kulang sa bahay (Have I mentioned we’ve moved to our new home and that is “liblib”? Walang suking tandahan within, I’d say, a 5-km radius). Haller. We cannot afford to run out of patis or kamatis. I do realize I need to get myself more organized to spare me a few more trips, equating to a few more liters of gas saved.
• Typing up some documents for work. (This was exactly what I intended to do as I opened up my laptop but here I am, talking to you).
• Sending these documents to their intended recipients by LBC.
• A quick run to the bank to deposit a couple of checks. “Mga barya” by other people’s standards but they are a product of my sweat and saliva, of times spent sitting in my clinic patiently listening to all sorts of patient troubles, so it gives me a real thrill whenever I deposit these checks.
• Drive my son to his Taekwondo class
• Perhaps I can afford some time for bookstore window-shopping (my third this week, ay caramba!)? Or maybe I’d be fortunate enough to find a Booksale?
• Most important but not necessarily the most urgent on my to-do list is to get right back to unpacking some of the boxes that are cluttered around the house. I’ve been meaning to but just didn’t have the discipline to do it. During the first few days here, I was running around, decluttering and fixing things like crazy. Seems I’ve sunk comfortably into my new place and have lost my momentum. Hmmm.
It still amazes me how much more I am able to do here compared to when we still lived in the Metropolis. It’s like having been gifted with a few more hours every single day. It used to feel like all I ever did was wake up, rush to work and commute for hours, see a few (or none) patients, commute back for another couple of hours, rest a while, eat, then zonk out to sleep. Then it’s another day.
Here, even on days when I do have clinic, I am still able to help the kids with homework, do a few errands (like yesterday, I dropped by the market, just a block from work, and bought some fruits and vegetables, and ordered a birthday cake for the Little Girl’s upcoming birthday [4 years old, can you believe it?]) and still indulge in short but sweet periods of activities I loved to do most – I did some needle-work (cross-stitching) for half an hour and leisurely read a book for another half hour.
Ah, the joys and pleasures of a fledgling physician! They say it takes two years to build up one’s practice before one gets swamped with patients. Right now, I can’t complain. I am enjoying every minute of it.
Last night, for the first time since hubby had left for a week-long business trip last weekend, I had restful sleep. It felt good. It was a mere 5-hour sleep but my body felt recharged. Quality talaga over quantity. Dear Lord must have heard my prayers when I begged him to remove all fears lurking in my heart (and imagination).
I woke up early (yet 15 min later than what I had intended) and scrambled about in the kitchen to cook guisadong beans and carrots. Kuya’s teacher asked the class to bring nutritious food, good for sharing with 2-3 other people, in lieu of this week’s celebration of Nutrition Week. As I scooped the veggies into his lunchbox, I felt more pleased than harassed. A great way to start the day.
Things on my to-do list for today include:
• Doing some grocery shopping – I know, I know. It seems like I do this every week. One word - baon. Last-minute na kulang sa bahay (Have I mentioned we’ve moved to our new home and that is “liblib”? Walang suking tandahan within, I’d say, a 5-km radius). Haller. We cannot afford to run out of patis or kamatis. I do realize I need to get myself more organized to spare me a few more trips, equating to a few more liters of gas saved.
• Typing up some documents for work. (This was exactly what I intended to do as I opened up my laptop but here I am, talking to you).
• Sending these documents to their intended recipients by LBC.
• A quick run to the bank to deposit a couple of checks. “Mga barya” by other people’s standards but they are a product of my sweat and saliva, of times spent sitting in my clinic patiently listening to all sorts of patient troubles, so it gives me a real thrill whenever I deposit these checks.
• Drive my son to his Taekwondo class
• Perhaps I can afford some time for bookstore window-shopping (my third this week, ay caramba!)? Or maybe I’d be fortunate enough to find a Booksale?
• Most important but not necessarily the most urgent on my to-do list is to get right back to unpacking some of the boxes that are cluttered around the house. I’ve been meaning to but just didn’t have the discipline to do it. During the first few days here, I was running around, decluttering and fixing things like crazy. Seems I’ve sunk comfortably into my new place and have lost my momentum. Hmmm.
It still amazes me how much more I am able to do here compared to when we still lived in the Metropolis. It’s like having been gifted with a few more hours every single day. It used to feel like all I ever did was wake up, rush to work and commute for hours, see a few (or none) patients, commute back for another couple of hours, rest a while, eat, then zonk out to sleep. Then it’s another day.
Here, even on days when I do have clinic, I am still able to help the kids with homework, do a few errands (like yesterday, I dropped by the market, just a block from work, and bought some fruits and vegetables, and ordered a birthday cake for the Little Girl’s upcoming birthday [4 years old, can you believe it?]) and still indulge in short but sweet periods of activities I loved to do most – I did some needle-work (cross-stitching) for half an hour and leisurely read a book for another half hour.
Ah, the joys and pleasures of a fledgling physician! They say it takes two years to build up one’s practice before one gets swamped with patients. Right now, I can’t complain. I am enjoying every minute of it.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Home Sweet home
I cannot believe it’s been three and a half weeks since we’ve moved into our new home. Hubby and I are immensely grateful for this great blessing… I guess you can say it is our dream home for not too long ago all we could do was to dream about it. Praise God!
Which brings me to this/these other thing/s – boxes and boxes of stuff still waiting to be unpacked! All of us pitched in as we gradually unpacked the important stuff, mostly the kids’ clothes (and toys!) and kitchen things, some of my/hubby’s clothes, things that we really need to use everyday. But there’s so much more… the boxes of books that desperately need to be dusted and arranged on our brand new built-in bookshelves, my much-loved stash of school/office supplies, even my valuables that are meant to be stored in our locked drawers are stuck in one of our obscure-looking knapsacks and are begging to be unpacked.
The kids still have a blast from playing with dirt (soil) and touching each and every makahiya leaf. We love to stroll and visit one (or all) of the three pocket gardens that the developer has so generously provided for the village. The sounds of the kuligligs are still a thrill. And the bugs! I am still in awe of the countless species of insects that I have seen in and around our home. Thank goodness there have been no mosquitos nor cockroaches. But we’ve seen gamu-gamo, dragonflies, ladybugs, what looked like a weird praying mantis, a yellow-striped wasp-looking insect that kept building his home made of mud right on our front door (once, even on my car window!) and a lot more. Sadly, there are also houseflies… they come in usually at lunch time and swarm over our dining table… eew (I know).
Since we’ve moved here, it seems like I never run out of errands. Grocery shopping weekly. Palengke weekly (I am still ecstatic over this palengke; tilapia na humihinga pa, grabe. And fruits, fruits, fruits). Driving to the water station for refill. Bookstore, bookstore. Driving around here in this area south of Manila is a walk in the park compared to city-driving. I am enjoying every bit of it.
More stories soon!
Which brings me to this/these other thing/s – boxes and boxes of stuff still waiting to be unpacked! All of us pitched in as we gradually unpacked the important stuff, mostly the kids’ clothes (and toys!) and kitchen things, some of my/hubby’s clothes, things that we really need to use everyday. But there’s so much more… the boxes of books that desperately need to be dusted and arranged on our brand new built-in bookshelves, my much-loved stash of school/office supplies, even my valuables that are meant to be stored in our locked drawers are stuck in one of our obscure-looking knapsacks and are begging to be unpacked.
The kids still have a blast from playing with dirt (soil) and touching each and every makahiya leaf. We love to stroll and visit one (or all) of the three pocket gardens that the developer has so generously provided for the village. The sounds of the kuligligs are still a thrill. And the bugs! I am still in awe of the countless species of insects that I have seen in and around our home. Thank goodness there have been no mosquitos nor cockroaches. But we’ve seen gamu-gamo, dragonflies, ladybugs, what looked like a weird praying mantis, a yellow-striped wasp-looking insect that kept building his home made of mud right on our front door (once, even on my car window!) and a lot more. Sadly, there are also houseflies… they come in usually at lunch time and swarm over our dining table… eew (I know).
Since we’ve moved here, it seems like I never run out of errands. Grocery shopping weekly. Palengke weekly (I am still ecstatic over this palengke; tilapia na humihinga pa, grabe. And fruits, fruits, fruits). Driving to the water station for refill. Bookstore, bookstore. Driving around here in this area south of Manila is a walk in the park compared to city-driving. I am enjoying every bit of it.
More stories soon!
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