My dear husband turned 47 years old last night. Heh, he’s 2 years younger than me. We thanked God for another year. I told my husband that every year after 46 years old is a celebration for me. My mother died young at the age of 45 and I am full of gratitude that for every year added to my life. Every year I buy practical gifts for my husband usually kitchen appliances. How boring is that? I should be more romantic in my gift choices. This year, I wanted to buy him the Super Kalan, the Magic Stove. In times of high energy costs, we need to be fuel efficient. It costs less than 5000 pesos if I remember right , including the stand. The Super Kalan utilizes any kind of locally available unexpensive fuel like newspaper, wood, charcoal, carton, sawdust, ricehusk, twigs etc.. But I needed more time to order it. So I scrapped that idea and bought instead a pressure cooker. Our old pressure cooker just conked out and I keep forgetting to buy a replacement.
The cat jumped right into the box after the gift opening
I prepared a lot of food for his birthday dinner such as beef stroganoff, Lemon-Thyme Barbecued chicken, Shrimp Potato Salad, Pepperoni Pasta and Jasmine Rice. The 2 girls arrived from the dorm that night just to be with their dad. Awww. It’s a rarity to have these close moments with your college kids. They have their own friends and social life. Inspite of having midterms exams the next day, the celebration of their dad’s [tag]birthday[/tag] was more important to them. It was a wonderful celebration only made more meaningful when my aunt called to say that her house (which we sold to her in 1998) is up for sale exclusively for us. We were delighted to hear the good news. There were tenants who were still living in the house so that was an obstacle to the sale. What a wonderful birthday gift from God.
The mother of a my husband’s brother-in-law passed away early this morning. Although the mom was ill for the last two months, her death was still sudden. A few minutes before she passed away, she scribbled a note saying “Welcome J and A”. It’s like she knew she was leaving. Since the children are all based abroad, they had to rely on friends and relatives to check on things while they prepared for their trip to the Philippines. How stressful it must be for them to think of all the funeral arrangements. Having experienced 5 deaths in my immediate family from 1976 to 2003, the stress alone in funeral arrangements is overwhelming. While on our way to the chapel tonight, I told my husband that we should consider having funeral insurance (I forgot the term for it). I can’t imagine having to burden our children with our funeral. 
Home alone every lunch time is a routine I face during the week days. While the household is devoid of the girls’ babblings and pitter patter, the ghosts at the second floor pace restlessly. I turn on the TV to distract me from unwanted ghostly apparitions. At least I can hear human voices. While watching Korina’s talk show , the topic of the Philippine state of annulment caught my interest. In my husband’s family, 3 out of 6 siblings’ marriage are either annulled, divorced or separated. Take your pick. I won’t go through the reasons for their separation but I believed they gave it their best shot before resorting to legal action or no legal action. Once upon a time, I also considered separation but thank God for this second chance at love and a more meaningful marriage. Now I am just wondering how the 
Sunday is supposed to be family day. But both girls were engrossed with their school activities. Lauren as Associate Editor of 
It’s past 1:00 PM and we’re hungry but we couldn’t wait to go home for lunch. At the “Pasto Cafe”, our light lunch consisted of a vegetali panini and the spicy Arriabata pasta . Watching my husband’s smiling face, I can’t help being happy for him. At least he’s learned to let go of rigidity . Learning to be spontaneous and fun takes practice. It’s something we forgot after grieving for years. I know this will be another difficult week as our 
My husband and I attended the third session of the 
I have never attended a single high school reunion because going to Cebu seemed depressing. Whenever my classmates would hold a Cebu reunion, a family member recently died and I didn’t feel like socializing. The thought of a reunion used to bring me anxiety. In the back of my mind, the image of the catty classmate or the popular mestiza
Last week, 
The poetry therapy at the 
Today I will indulge in the joy of celebrating my 49 years. For too long, I have been hard on myself. Others have spilled their negative energy on me. I know it had nothing to do with me. I am a gift to myself and to the Universe . I am a child of God. I do not have to try harder , be better, be perfect , or be anything I am not. My beauty lies in me just as I am each moment. I will celebrate that.