Tonight as my family light up the Serenity Fireworks Fountains of Peace, Harmony,Serenity, Unity , Friendship, Love, I will affirm the good things for the New year 2007. I will offer a prayer, wait and expect good things to happen to me and my loved ones. Whenever I wonder what is coming, I tell myself the best is coming, the very best love and life have to offer, the best God has to send. I open my hands to receive to claim it and it’s mine.

I see the best in my mind and envision what it will look and feel like. Then I let it go without obsessing over it. Instead I become excited and express gratitude for all that I have achieved this year, all that I am and for all that I will become.

I am thankful for all the blessings for the year 2006 such as…

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After having an early dinner, Butch dragged all of us to the SM Mall of Asia. Knowing there are fireworks display at 7:00 PM every fridays and saturdays, the idea of sipping coffee and watching the outdoors fireworks display sounded like a swell idea. Just as we sat down on our chairs in the UCC Vienna Cafe, the crowd of mall shoppers started to swell. Fumbling with my camera’s navigation buttons, I failed to see the video option. Fireworks’ images don’t say much of the dazzling display . It’s the video that captures the splash of colors and the sounds of the crowd’s gasp of oooooh and ahhhs. Too bad I didn’t get to take a video of the 5 minute fireworks’ display. It’s my first time to see a huge fireworks display amidst a wide area of black space of Manila Bay. It’s really pretty.

Just as we went back to the coffee shop, Steven Tan, the general manager of SM Mall of Asia called out my husband’s name. What a delight to see Steven! He invited us to their New Year Eve’s fireworks display at 12 midnight. According to Steven, the pyrotechnics cost 1.8 million pesos. What a hefty sum to blow off for just a few minutes. Perhaps the fireworks play a purpose to drive away the evil spirits and bring in good luck and harmony for the new year. I don’t know if we are going to watch the fireworks display. It’s always been our New Year’s Eve tradition to create loud noises ,toot the horns, light up a few sparklers and fireworks and then eat our noche buena. Safety is an important consideration . I get paranoid of stray bullets and careless people who just throw off fireworks to passing cars. We’ll see if a change of scenery might be worth it.

These are a few Photos of the Fireworks display that I took tonight.

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The overwhelming response to the episode, “Positibo ang Pinoy” in ABS CBN “Salamat Dok” shows the wide coverage of the show not only in the Philippines but in the USA , Australia, Saudi Arabia or wherever the Filipino Channel is . Right after my 15 minute segment, I checked my phone and to my surprise saw 31 text messages and 21 missed calls. For the next two days, my phone received a barrage of “missed calls” and text messages. I lost count. It probably reached to over 100 messages and 50 missed calls. Basking in the cool morning breeze , the show was shot live in an outdoor scene. See, I never thought anyone would be watching a 6:00 AM show so I gave away my cellphone number freely . I have often done that in other TV shows and newspaper interviews. My cellphone number and The Compassionate Friends website flashed on the screen for bereaved parents who might want to join our support group. Though I got around 20 legitimate queries from bereaved family members, the rest of the inquiries probably misunderstood “The Compassionate Friends” purpose. Maybe they thought I was their compassionate friend. I can do only so much , really. Much as I want to help the world, I have a family to attend to and I need to focus on my mission to help bereaved families towards a positive resolution of grief.

Receiving a barrage of text messages and missed calls made me realize the value of the text messaging among cellphone users. Without revealing the content of the text messages, these are some of my observations.

1. Cellphone text messaging is used as “talk-therapy” . Cellphone users unload their problems to someone who had been there. Knowing someone out there is listening comforts them. Even to acknowledge a simple “I understand” evokes a “Thank you so much” reply.

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One of the Christmas presents I gave the two girls is a BLESSING BOX, an idea I got from Darcie Sims’ The Blessing Box tip. And no, I don’t think it’s Oprah’s original idea.

Inside this little box, are tiny messages and reminders of the joys and blessings of my life. Instead of keeping a litany of hurt and failure in my head, now I commit these “gifts of love” to paper and place them in my box, where I can read them, touch them, hold them any time I need to. This little box represents the best things in my life and I never again have to fear forgetting the love and the light in my life. They are all here, in my Blessing Box, waiting for me to cherish them again and again and again…

Make a Blessing Box for yourself this season. And watch it change your life. Never again will you count what you have lost or forgotten. Now you will always be reminded of the treasures in your life. No matter how sparkly or rusted, these memories and blessings are yours, to treasure, to cherish, to keep, to hold, to share.

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Christmas Day has just begun. The season flows. Magic is in the air. The girls are giddy after gift opening. The hubby is mushy and romantic. It’s a wonderful start of the day. For others, the holidays can be lonely and difficult. You are not the exception if you find yourselves facing a less-than-ideal holiday. How easy, but untrue to tell ourselves the rest of world is experiencing the perfect holiday and we’re alone in conflict. We can do something about it. Create our own holiday agenda. Buy yourself a gift. Find someone to whom you can give. Unleash your loving , nurturing self and give in to the holiday spirit. Go with the flow.

If I could give each of you a gift I would want to give you the gift of peace, as much peace as you can possibly find. If you find your situation is less than ideal, I hope you take what’s good and let go of the rest.

Enjoy and cherish this holiday.

I am going to let the photos speak for itself. Click Christmas Eve/Day 2006 photos

Technorati Tags: Christmas Day

Twas the month before Christmas
and I dreaded the days,
That I knew I was facing – 
the holiday craze.
The stores were all filled 
with holiday lights,
In hopes of drawing customers
by day and by night.
As others were making their holiday plans,
My heart was breaking - I couldn’t understand.
I had lost my dear child a few years before,
And I knew what my holiday had in store.
When out of nowhere, there arose such a sound,
I sprang to my feet and was looking around,
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash
The sight that I saw took my breath away,
And my tears turned to smiles in the light of the day.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a cluster of butterflies fluttering near.
With beauty and grace they performed a dance,
I knew in a moment this wasn’t by chance.
The hope that they gave me was a sign from above,
That my child was still near me and that I was loved.
The message they brought was my holiday gift,
And I cried when I saw them in spite of myself.
As I knelt closer to get a better view,
One allowed me to pet it - as if it knew -
That I needed the touch of its fragile wings,
To help me get through the holiday scene.
In the days that followed I carried the thought,
Of the message the butterflies left in my heart -
That no matter what happens or what days lie ahead,
Our children are with us - they’re not really dead.
Yes, the message of the butterflies still rings in my ears,
A message of hope - a message so dear.
And I imagined they sang as they flew out of sight,
“To all bereaved parents - We love you tonight!”

By Faye McCord

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