40th Day

Yesterday was my maternal Lola Meding's 40th death day... Nine days prior, we had novena masses said at the chapel in Sto. Nino for the repose of her soul and to pray for the dead as well. Ma and Pa flew to Cebu from Manila for this occasion.

The last mass was celebrated at the family plot in Cempark at 4pm. The weather was just right for about a hundred of us taking cover under the canopy of steel and tarp. I sat there listening to Fr. Punzalan's thought-provoking homily while Pa was his usual paparazzi self taking pictures of the event. I occasionally glanced at Ma to see if she was filled with emotion... perhaps in tears, but as I expected, her face was calm. She has long accepted that Lola has passed on.

Although we all miss Lola in a big way, gone is the grief which initially had most of us reeling in pain and feeling of loss. We still talk of Lola with so much fondness, but without breaking into tears as much as before.

"Where you are now, I was... Where I am now, you will be." was a line that the priest shared. We are consoled by the thought that Lola is in a happy place now where everything is perfect. In time, we'll all be there too.

This morning Ma & Pa flew back to Manila. A different kind of sadness filled me. Now that Lola is gone, their trips to Cebu will not be as often... Oh well... I will have to save up for trips to Manila instead.

Wardrobe Preference

Rockstar dude meets diva

Originally uploaded by gratitude

One afternoon, while inside the car, Jerry said "Jake, tell Mama what you told me earlier." Jake, who was sitting on his nanny's lap, gave me a very wide smile but didn't say anything at first. "Ok, what did you do in school this time?", I said chuckling.

"Ma.... (Jake was grinning)... Teacher Cai said.... (now I was getting nervous)..." , Jake haltingly narrated.

I just looked at him as I tried (in my mind) to egg him to speak up. "...Teacher Cai said... I should wear briefs.", he continued.

Oooh!


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The following day, we made sure to buy his pack of briefs. Jake is actually potty-trained. At home he even naps in the afternoon in his shorts without his diaper. He just wears his diaper at night under his jammies especially since he finishes 3 bottles (21 oz) of milk even while he sleeps. I just thought it was the school's requirement to keep pre-schoolers in diapers to avoid "accidental leaks".

Anyway... so there, another son of mine coming of age. :D

Valentine Side-Story

Paparazzi & Matt

Originally uploaded by gratitude

I knew there was something more to the pre-valentine rosebud and box of Toblerone I received. That Wednesday afternoon after school, I got a call from Matt asking me if he and Kyle could take the driver to Ayala Mall because they needed to buy something. I said okay and thought nothing of it. They usually had to buy something for school anyway.

So flashback to that night I was on the bed posing for Jerry with my rosebud and Toblerone... Matt came up and sat next to me...

"Ma, is it okay for me to give a gift to someone on Valentine?", he sheepishly asked.

I said "Why, of course it's okay...". And I proceeded to kid him about the trip to the mall... that it was more for buying his gift for the girl than for buying me the flower and the chocolate... We laughed at his futile attempt to deny it. Then he hugged me, kissed my cheek and said. "Thank you, Ma."

After he's gone out of my room, I sat there trying to make out the surge of emotions that came over me. I know this was a teen phase and that there was nothing serious about it. But must he grow up so soon? I wasn't ready yet to share his attention with somebody else. Where did 14 yrs and 7 mos go?

Alas, I thought I prepared myself for this... I wonder when I will ever be ready.

Dinner at Gustavian

In lieu of flowers and other fancy gifts... the hubs took me to a special dinner. :) (sorry to those who are jaded about the V day... hehehe, you may click the "x" button now).

It felt like we were royalty being attended to... Here's a sampling of what we enjoyed for 2 hours with flowing champagne, red and white wine. Once in a while (when budget permits :)), it's good to experience really fine dining.

For this red-letter day, that's just what we had, no less....

Next year na lang ulit... Ang mahal noh! Hehehe

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Hope everybody (yes even the jaded) had a good one. :)

Pre-Valentine Night

After alighting from the car with Jerry, I was greeted by my sons with a kiss and an excited look on their faces....

Jake: Ma, come upstairs... I'll show you something!

Not wanting to let his excitement wane, I hurriedly ran up the steps after him. He was sooo excited that even as he fell and hurt his knee on the wooden steps, he still managed to say: "I'm okay!" and still kept running up.

The elder brothers were cooking up something for sure. Hence the excited little one.

When we reached our room, the mood light was on and on the bed lay a stem of red rosebud and a box of Toblerone.

Awww... Matt and Kyle went to Ayala Mall after school to buy me this? Sweet....

Jake: Open the chocolate, Ma. I wanna eat.
Me: But i thought this was for me...
Jake: Yes, so you're eating too!

Hahaha! Somehow I get the feeling that he was more excited about eating the chocolate than anything... :P



Jake and his kiss... with ulterior motives...

Looking Forward

Ah Friday! I could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Work has been great this week. No unnecessary frazzled nerves (at least for me), I'm glad. Looking forward to more free time... to amuse myself by watching Jake do his antics. Heh.

"Ma, may I borrow your miss-ibility (Globe's Visibility)?"
"Can I use the internet?"
"Ahia / Di-hia, can you help me connect?"

My son is so techie (at almost 4 years old), I could tell. Then at some point, he would be in a bratty mood...

"Ma, A-hia won't help me!"
"I want to play... RIGHT NOW!"

I would naturally tell him off when he's acting that way but deep inside, I feel amused. Surely he took after one of us (*Err, don't look at me). We only have ourselves to blame. Hehehe.

Anyway, I'm blabbing. That's probably the effect of having been through a whirlwind of activities. I'm sooo ready for the weekend.

Happy Friday y'all!

Alegre Beach Resort

"Alegre" literally means happy, glad, merry, joyful, gay, cheerful, blithe, lively, jolly, cheery, hilarious, mirthful, gleeful in Spanish. Exactly the same feelings everyone in the team had when we spent 4 days and 3 nights in that resort in Sogod town, 1.5 hours north of Cebu City.... Preparations for this event caused the (in)frequency of my posts too. :D

*Most of the shots are mine but photo credits go to ...Lani Sara, Cris Factolerin, Chico Barretto, and Bronson Espinosa...

Lola Meding (May 20, 1914 - Jan 20, 2008)

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Who says you can't smile during a wake? We know Lola is in a happy place now...


"May the angels lead you to Paradise. May the martyrs receive you at your coming and conduct you to the Holy City, Jerusalem. May choirs of angels receive. And with Lazarus, who was once poor, may you have eternal rest."-