Discussing Feelings and Building Empathy

“You can only understand people if you feel them in yourself.” – John Steinbeck For all the anxiety and exhaustion our little T often causes us, one consistent strength we can always count on is his caring nature. Last summer, during an after dinner outing to the playground, an older boy, who must’ve been nineContinue reading “Discussing Feelings and Building Empathy”

Cooking & Finding Calm in Isolation

“Life itself is the proper binge.” – Julia Child Cooking is something I enjoy. I’m not artful at it, but I like to try to new recipes or to recreate childhood comforts. In the three weeks that we’ve been in isolation, I’ve been cooking more. It brings me calm to be in the kitchen silentlyContinue reading “Cooking & Finding Calm in Isolation”

“Go for it. Step on all the puddles!”

“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” – Heraclitus It’s been two weeks since we’ve started our self isolation, when everything came to a standstill. I am thankful my family is safe and healthy and that we’ve only been lightly inconvenienced.Continue reading ““Go for it. Step on all the puddles!””

Celebrating My Birthday in Self Isolation

“There is still no cure for the common birthday.” – John Glenn Today is the first time – and hopefully only time in a hopefully long life to still unfold – that I will celebrate my birthday in self isolation during a global pandemic. Schools are closed but supposed to be officially back in businessContinue reading “Celebrating My Birthday in Self Isolation”

COVID-19: Our Little One and His Wonderful Bubble of Oblivion

“It’s calm under the waves, in the blue of my oblivion.” – Fiona Apple When I was a boy growing up in the Philippines, I remember schools being closed because of typhoons. I would then spend the day or days playing, not a care or worry in the world. I thought about this as IContinue reading “COVID-19: Our Little One and His Wonderful Bubble of Oblivion”

Evening Walks with My Little One Are the Best Part of My Day

“Freedom: To walk free and own no superior.” – Walt Whitman Spring is not officially here till next weekend but you can feel it in the air. We just had our first warm sunny weekend. Families and kids came out of winter hibernation to play in our park. My evening walks with T, which weContinue reading “Evening Walks with My Little One Are the Best Part of My Day”

Celebrating 17 Years with the Hubby

“It’s been a while.” – Britney Spears, Break the Ice Anniversaries are important to me. I celebrate these milestones to remind us where we’ve come from and of the journey still ahead. March 8 is the day that the hubby and I started dating 17 years ago. It was around 3 in the morning, inContinue reading “Celebrating 17 Years with the Hubby”

My 5 Year Old Takes Photos With My Phone Without My Knowing & For My Later Surprise

“There’s no greater joy than that seen through the eyes of a child, and there’s a little bit of a child in all of us.” – “Walt Disney,” Saving Mr. Banks One of the things I love most about being a parent is seeing the world, experiencing the joys of childhood, and living the firsts through the eyes of our little boy. The worldContinue reading “My 5 Year Old Takes Photos With My Phone Without My Knowing & For My Later Surprise”

Watching Our Little One Learn About Friendship

“We didn’t realize we were making memories, we just knew we were having fun.” – Winnie the Pooh On a recent Friday evening, my hubby and I were watching T play at our local McDonald’s PlaySpace; it’s our weekly weekend ritual. T ran around in his usual excited way, making loud dinosaur roars. After aContinue reading “Watching Our Little One Learn About Friendship”

Love You Forever

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud… It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” – 1 Corinthians, 13:4-7 Among the many wonderful books we’ve been gifted by family and friends for T’s personal library are those written by Canadian author Robert Munsch. HeContinue reading “Love You Forever”

The Story We Tell Our Son About His Adoption

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant.” – Robert Louis Stevenson February marks the 3rd anniversary that our adoption was finalized and when our sweet little boy turns 5. Where did the time go?! There was a time when T enjoyed hearing stories after our bedtimeContinue reading “The Story We Tell Our Son About His Adoption”

Finding Resilience In Adversity & Gratitude

“Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.” – Eckhart Tolle I spent the last morning of this decade building a fort with T and then playing Snakes and Ladders, a Christmas gift from his grandparents, inside our tiny hideout, slightly hunched over. My back was goingContinue reading “Finding Resilience In Adversity & Gratitude”