A Peaceful Night it Wasn't

yesterday i was just making a wish list; today i am going to rant about something that happened last night.
i got home, prepared to cook dinner, prepared my cross stitch, and played a little with my son. my two nieces happened to be there as well. the elder of the two approached me and asked if she could spend the night and i said yes, but wondered why. apparently she and her mom were having a little disagreement. i could get the gist of what she was telling me so i tried to calm her down by explaining things to her in a language a 7-year old could understand. the phone rang, it was her mom. i seized the chance to ask what was going on. i didn’t get a reply.
soon as i put the phone down, my mobile phone received several hurtful text messages from my niece's mom accusing me of something i didn't know i did. and it shook me because i only asked what was going on. i felt i had to know because they involved me by throwing the problem at my lap, didn't they?
but anyway, the point of all this is that it amazes me how people deal with life's bumpy roads. some cope by stepping on other's toes, some get all venomous, some sink to depression, some just cry it out, some go out on a food binge, some drown their sorrows with a bottle of vodka, and then there are some who prefer to be left alone.
life's problems get bigger and more complicated as we get older, who could disagree with that? but i've always believed that we wouldn't be given anything we couldn't handle. Someone wiser than all of us made sure of that. and the tenacity we display in the face of difficulty reflects the way we were brought up.
as a mom, i know that i shouldn't give in to each of my son's demands. well, true, this is easy for me; after all i do not have the financial capability to do so anyway. but i understand the logic behind those simple words of wisdom. the doses of frustrations my son experiences as he gets older toughens him up and builds his coping mechanism. when the time comes that he is on his own, he would be able to bear and deal with life's beatings.
and that, aside from education, is another gift we could give our kids.

A Wish List Inspired by the Rains

It finally rained! And it made everything look alive again. The fire tree that i see from my window now starts to bloom. in a few more days, its red flowers will totally replace the leaves and make the tree look like it's on fire. c'est dommage i don't have a digicam or i would be able to capture the moment and feature it here. my son witnessed it last year and was truly awed by it.
school season is only a few weeks' away and i'm like...here i go again. another year of struggle, another year of doing my damnedest in making sure that nobody gets sick, that every bill gets paid on time, that my son gets to enjoy yet another year at school.
but oh, how i wish that this year would be just a little different, just a little easier, just a little kinder on me. how i wish i could just pack my bag and go spelunking with my son. how i wish those americans didn't vote chris daugtry out of American Idol. how i wish i could upgrade my P3[!] at home, continue some lessons i've started years ago, get myself an oven, a year-round free supply of Snyder's cheddar cheese pretzels, a new pair of jeans. how i wish i could eat lechon kawali without ever getting fat!
the beautiful thing about wishing is that there is no cash-out involved and there is no limit to what one can wish for. and just coming up with the list rejuvenates me and makes me feel good i'm alive!