Angela’s schoolyear-end get-together with friends, classmates and teachers of

St. Theresa’s College, QC held at Mcdonald’s Retiro last March 9, 2007

i am a mother of three children. my eldest daughter, now a teenager at 14, my pre-teen 11-year old son, and my bubbly 3-year old baby girl are all angels in my eyes. They are like gifts from God who make me complete, make my life a reason for living.

i remember the moment i first felt life growing inside my tummy 14 years ago (i gave birth on December that same year, i began dreaming about how he or she would be some 20 years from that day.   i began planning my life on how i would raise him or her, how i would want their child-life to be, their teen-age life to be until he or she would be old enough to decide for his or her own future.  There was just one goal, one persistent goal that went on and on even until i bore my last child.. and that is to have each and every one of them finish college…and make their lives as they want it to be.

As a mother, I have taught my kids to dream, to have ambitions and goals in life, and I do all I can to continuously motivate them to have the drive to reach their ambitions.  When my daughter turned 13, I slowly began to feel in her the results of my efforts to mold her into a young achiever.  My heart leaps each time i see her challenging herself into doing something better than she did before!

My son, on the other hand, always leaves a big question mark in my mind whether I’m ever driving to a point each time I try to challenge him.   He comes home from school each day looking always so happy-go-lucky, sits a few minutes on the desk to do school work and spends the rest of the evening in front of the television, texting or chatting with his classmates (the same kids he spent the whole day with!) on yahoo messenger!  One thing that amazes me most about him is that at the end of each quarter, he hands me grades with flying colors all the time!

I have a simple dream, and that is just to have them all finish college. Whatever comes after that dream is for them to have, for them to decide.  At this point in time I am simply thankful for being blessed with children, who in their own way, listen to me and accept the guidance that I am give them, while other parents are going through too much struggle in trying to reach out to their own kids.  

I just hope and pray that as a mother, I will be able to continuously teach and guide them to the right path.. until my dream comes true…and theirs too, after mine.

(click play button to listen to song)

How I wish I could surrender my soul; Shed the clothes that become my skin;
See the liar that burns within my needing.

How I wish I’d chosen darkness from cold. How I wish I had screamed out loud,
Instead I’ve found no meaning.

I guess it’s time I run far, far away; find comfort in pain,
All pleasure’s the same: it just keeps me from trouble.
Hides my true shape, like Dorian Gray.
I’ve heard what they say, but I’m not here for trouble.
It’s more than just words: it’s just tears and rain.

How I wish I could walk through the doors of my mind;
Hold memory close at hand, Help me understand the years.

How I wish I could choose between Heaven and Hell. How I wish I would save my soul.
I’m so cold from fear.

I guess it’s time I run
far, far away; find comfort in pain,
All pleasure’s the same: it just keeps me from trouble.
Hides my true shape, like Dorian Gray. I’ve heard what they say,
but I’m not here for trouble.

Far, far away; find comfort in pain. All pleasure’s the same:
it just keeps me from trouble. It’s more than just words: it’s just tears and rain.

….Tears and Rain….

….Tears and Rain….

Far, far away; find comfort in pain. All pleasure’s the same:
it just keeps me from trouble. It’s morethan just words:

it’s just tears and rain.

My life is brilliant. My love is pure.

I saw an angel. Of that I’m sure.

She smiled at me on the subway. She was with another man.

But I won’t lose no sleep on that, ‘Cause I’ve got a plan.

  You’re beautiful. You’re beautiful.

You’re beautiful, it’s true.

I saw you face in a crowded place,

And I don’t know what to do,

‘Cause I’ll never be with you.

Yeah, she caught my eye, As we walked on by.

She could see from my face that I was, Fucking high,

And I don’t think that I’ll see her again,

But we shared a moment that will last till the end.

You’re beautiful. You’re beautiful.

You’re beautiful, it’s true.

I saw you face in a crowded place,

And I don’t know what to do,

‘Cause I’ll never be with you.

You’re beautiful. You’re beautiful.

You’re beautiful, it’s true.

 There must be an angel with a smile on her face,

When she thought up that I should be with you.

But it’s time to face the truth, I will never be with you.

DAVEY & ME

OUR BEAUTIFUL FAMILY

How does a stay-at-home mom make her 24/7 job manageable?

I’m a stay-at-home mom.  I don’t play golf, but i do like doing other things, though.  I like reading, surfing the internet, watching tv, i even like ballroom dancing!   but, since my job is 24/7 occupation, i rarely get the chance to do the things i like doing the very moment i feel like doing them.

I opted to become a stay-at-home mom. Hence, it has become my first priority to make sure i accomplish all my chores before getting into the stuff i like doing. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I don’t regret the choice i made. I am content with my life.  When I made the choice, I took into myself the responsibility that goes along with the decision.  That’s a natural thing.  It’s just a matter of being able to manage time wisely.  That’s what I do, plan my activities everyday so I can have the time to enjoy myself after all the work has been accomplished.  And the 24/7 load of work? i’m in love with it!

When you look at yourself on the mirror, what is the first thing that comes into your mind?

Well, of course, most of us would initially consider the physical attributes.  But look beyond that… are you happy and contented with yourself?  Do you feel that you are perfectly satisfied with what you see and feel deep inside about yourself?  The basic question is: Do you actually respect yourself?

As we go along our day-to-day life, we come across people who display disrespectful attitude towards others. For instance, while driving along the street, there goes one car that just swerves right in front of you.  In a grocery store, you fall in a long line, and here goes one who squeezes into the line, right in front of you, just to avoid going all the way to the end of the line.  Even in simple conversations, there are people who just say anything to offend others, totally disregarding the feelings of the person they are talking to. 

We wonder to ourselves why there are people who do this. How can some people be so rude, so disrespectful?  Do they feel happy with what they do?

Respect comes from within. If a person cannot start respecting himself, then it would be impossible to show respect for anybody else.  Respecting yourself is actually loving yourself…and if you love yourself, happiness is within you.  You believe that you are a person who deserves to be respected by others, and therefore, will do the same for them.

Imagine how happy and peaceful this world would be, if every human being had self-respect… Nobody would have the desire to cause pain and suffering, simply because each person respects himself enough to believe that he doesn’t deserve to be hurt by anybody..

"if you want to be respected by others, the great thing is to respect yourself. Only by that, only by self respect will you compel others to respect you" - Fyodor Dostoevsky

I had been employed continuously for like 14 years of my life.  During those years, I could never imagine myself having no work and staying at home all day long, all year round… it scared me!  I had been so accustomed to being in the office 9 hours a day, and coming home in the afternoon or at night just to get some rest, and then get up early again the next day to go to work, as usual.  That was my way of life…and that was my choice.

About 8 months ago, I finally made the decision to change my way of life, to stay at home and attend to the needs of my family, permanently.  In the beginning, it was tough.  We had a househelp at that time.  Everything at home was done for us all day long.  It was so b o r i n g and I felt sooo useless!  Everyday was a loooong day for me!  That horrible experience moved me to make a decision to do my own chores.  So  I began doing a few things at the house by myself.  Little by little, I found myself attending to more and more than what I usually expected the househelp do for us.  Everyday seemed to become busier and busier.  Until the time came when I realized that we didn’t need help any longer, and that I could easily teach my kids to become responsible for little things that they could do, mostly for themselves, anyway.  

Today, I am a full-fledged stay-at-home-mom, and I will never regret a single day in this path that I have chosen.  My children and I have become  very close to one another… and THAT is much more than I ever bargained for!  Our time together is oh so valuable to me!  I realized that I had missed out a whole lot of their lives, and had a lot of catching up to do for all the years that I had been employed. 

I’m very thankful that I had been given the opportunity to do the things that I am able to do now.  Yes, I am thankful, too, that God had given me the time of my life to work and think about myself and my career, but if He would give me the chance to live again, I would rather ask Him to allow me to live this part of my life once more, and would promise to make this even better not only for myself, but for the people that I love the most, and most especially for Him, Who gave this life to me.