The Apple of our eyes..

Today, I have something to thank God for..4 years ago today, God gave us a very precious gift our family have ever received.. It's the birth of Zieanna Reyn Knoelle..our Baby Zie..and today is her birthday.

I can't kiss her or hug her tight today because she's too far away from us. I can't cuddle her or tell stories to her. But I am writing this letter for her so when she grows up and read this, she'll know that she's truly loved and treasured by me and the entire family.. :)

 

Dearest baby Zie,

This might be the most unconventional intimate letter I have ever made/written to a loved-one because this can be seen by the public. But this is the only way I can tell you and the world how much you mean to Mima..

I never saw your Mommy while she's still carrying you. I was not around when she gave birth to you a month before you should be out of her tummy.You couldn't wait for another month! I saw you the first when you were three weeks or one month old when I went home to Mama Bebing and Papa Nono. You were so tiny and so fragile. You were asleep the entire time and when you're awake, your eyes were still closed but your little hands were moving as if you're boxing the air around you..You only cried when you were hungry..The moment I saw you, I discovered a kind of love that is almost deadly..it's the kind of love that energizes me and made me feel like I could die if that love is not within me..as if I was the one who gave birth to you..I became a mother also when my sister, your mommy gave birth to you..My love is hard to contain..And it was a struggle not to kiss you because you were so delicate..

 As you grew older, you became cuter and more adorable..when you learned to walk, mommy, daddy, Papa, Tatay, Mama, Nanay, and your Mima, Dadas, and Kuyas were having difficult time running after you..guarded you and made sure you're away from danger although you always found your way to it and kept hurting yourself because of your kalikutan..

When you learned to talk, you're unstoppable. You're like Mommy and Mima..super talkative..and at a tender age, you demonstrated an advance intelligence seldom seen or observed in babies your age..you're full of questions and your questions made me wonder if you're really just three years old. What I could not forget is when you asked Tito Jhon this.. "Friend, if magkasal kayo ni Mima, magkiss kayo?"..

I miss you so much baby zie..I miss those nights when I came home from work and you kept insisting to Mom and Dad to come out of your room shared with Mommy and Daddy just to see me, kiss me, hug me, and ask me.."Ano ang surprise mo sa akin Mima?"..

I miss our moments together when we laughed together and scared ourselves together when I made up scary stories just to make you sleep..I miss the nights when Mommy and Daddy were not around and you wanted so bad to sleep beside me, embracing me to make sure I don't come out of the bed when you're asleep and when you asked for me when you woke up without me in sight..Those were some of the moments that you made me feel like a mother..

The last time we had a bonding seems too far away in the past but it still lingers in my mind.. I still have our recorded voices when we sang 'Kahit maputi na ang buhok mo" and when we exchanged 'I love you's"..It will never ever be deleted in my phone..

 I miss you everyday..I cry everytime I remember how sweet a baby you are and how adorable you are..

I consider you my first child 'nak..I love you..of course, Mommy and Daddy's love for you cannot be equated..But I love you on that same level.. 

I hope you grow old to be a God fearing, kind, smart, and responsible person and strong and sweet and beautiful..I hope that you remain adorable and loveable as what you are now. Even though you are miles away from us, remember that our love for you remains the same..

HAPPY HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY BABY ZIE!!! 

 

On A Greater Scheme Of Things - Rotten Philippine System!

Conspiracy or Diversionary Tactics? Or both?

Time and time again, I observe that when Philippines is in the midst of a great crisis and mind-blowing issue (like the Pork Barrel Scam), a "greater" one emerges (like MNLF-caused trouble in Zamboanga). It seems to me that this kind of pattern has been established already in the News History of this country.

I strongly believe that this intends to divert the attention of the Filipino people from the more pressing issues. Why oh why does an event like the Zamboanga crisis has to occur while the heat of the Pork Barrel scam is steadily increasing? Is this a matter of coincidence or a perfectly planned timing?

Come to think of it, billions of pesos have disappeared from the nation's coffers for the bogus NGOs which I presume went to the pockets of the crocs and since the amount is so staggering, naturally, these crocs have the money to pay off these trouble-makers to make a noise just to divert us from Janet-Lim Napoles horror.

I am not saying that the grievances of our Muslim brothers and sisters are not genuine and I am not saying that they are not entitled to it but I am not inclined to discuss this since they've been fighting for whatever they are fighting since time immemorial that I could no longer remember what they are. However, I am wondering why this has to happen at the same time. We have not yet recovered from the shock of the PDAF scandal, and now, another one.

I don't know. Does this show how powerful money and influence are in this society or does this show how selfish and insensitive some people are?

Selfish because they are only thinking for themselves. They are like brat kids who are making tantrums just because they thought they are being neglected and set aside in the talks of the government with MILF. You have issues with MILF, you seat down and talk and discuss what you are fighting for and become one so the government can come up with an "inclusive" win-win solutions. You are unjustly sowing fear to the heart of the innocent people.


We've had enough.

Business and tourism are affected already. "No Travel" orders had been released by several countries addressed to their people not to travel to Mindanao. Students lost the days they could have learned how to become useful citizens, the effects are too many to mention. It's frustrating. The move of this group caused a negative domino effect to almost all sectors. These are the instances when I am not proud to be called a Filipino.

And these instances are exactly what the crocs need so the PDAF scam will become just one of the everyday news (much like the Maguindanao Massacre). They might be hoping that the people will soon forget.

I hope not. We've been fooled a million times. Due to the scale of the pork barrel scandal, I think people will not forget. And we should not. 

We did not spare Justice Corona whose alleged stolen wealth amounts to just hundreds of millions, why spare those involve in a P10 Billion PDAF Scam?? A televised trial was even conducted for the impeachment of Corona! Why not do this also with those involved in PDAF scam??

We should nail the bastards! 

Minsan talagang mapapamura ka na lang..

Who wants to stay young?

1. Try everything twice. On one woman's tombstone she said she wanted this epitaph: "Tried everything twice. Loved it both times!"

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down. (Keep this in mind if you are one of those grouches!)

3. Keep learning: Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever... Never let the brain get idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's name is Alzheimer's!

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.And if you have a friend who makes you laugh, spend lots and lots of time with HIM/HER.

6. The tears happen: Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. LIVE while you are alive.  

7. Surround yourself with what you love: whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever...Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, to the next county, even to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is. 

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

11. Forgive now those who made you cry. You might not get a second chance...

12. Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle. 

by Arcamax

Selfish Old People

I have read a story somewhere about how selfish old people are and  I realized, I could only hope that they remained selfish..for such selfishness could have saved us..but no, their selfishness was never followed by the new generation..and now we are going towards our doom..

This is the story..

Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the older woman, that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren’t good for the environment. The woman apologized and explained, 

“We didn’t have this green thing back in my earlier days.” The young clerk responded, “That’s our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations.” 



She was right — our generation didn’t have the green thing in its day. Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were truely recycled. 

But we didn’t have the green thing back in our day. 

Grocery stores bagged our groceries in brown paper bags, that we reused for numerous things, most memorable besides household garbage bags, was the use of brown paper bags as book covers for our schoolbooks. This was to ensure that public property, (the books provided for our use by the school) was not defaced by our scribblings. Then we were able to personalize our books on the brown paper bags. 

But too bad we didn’t do the green thing back then. 

We walked up stairs, because we didn’t have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. 

But she was right. We didn’t have the green thing in our day. Back then, we washed the baby’s diapers because we didn’t have the throwaway kind. 

We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy-gobbling machine burning up 220 volts — wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. 

But that young lady is right; we didn’t have the green thing back in our day. 

Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house — not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana. 

In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn’t have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. 

Back then, we didn’t fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. 

But she’s right; we didn’t have the green thing back then. 

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. 

But we didn’t have the green thing back then. 

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. 

And we didn’t need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 23,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest burger joint. But isn’t it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn’t have the green thing back then? 

Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smartyboots young person.

by ArcaMax