Working, appointments, and dismal weather

Since I work at home, I don’t get out of the house that often. I know, I should set aside a few minutes to get out there and walk or something. But it’s not that easy when you’re running a household and trying to get through a 7 ½ work day. I get to go out every once in a while when I had to go to office meetings or when the kids or I have doctor’s or dentist’s appointments. And then, my daily routine gets all out of whack. During these times I had to get up earlier (a challenge for the night owl that I am) just so I could get my 7 ½ hours done before the end of the business day. I also need to manage my time more efficiently. I had to work harder on not getting distracted by chores or TV or the internet.

This past week had been a busy one for me. We had appointments on four different days. I don’t really mind it that much on days like these. It’s just that sometimes natataranta ako. I get stressed when I’m pressed for time. But it’s all good because I get to walk or run (to catch the bus). That's good exercise, right? Although, this past week had not been the ideal time to go out. It is so cold here now. Temperatures in the morning had been close to zero degrees C and highs of only up to around 14 degrees. It had been generally cloudy. It had been raining at times. Dismal weather is how I would describe it. Most of the trees are naked. Leaves have fallen. The kids did some raking but there are still leaves around scattered everywhere.

The Last Leaf

These pictures were taken two weeks ago. It was windy when I took the first one that's why it's kind of blurry. The second one was taken in our front yard on a cloudy day.

My Guy

This is the first stanza of the song My Guy sung by Mary Wells. I have been unable to get it out of my head for the last few days.

"Nothing you can say can tear me away from my guy.
Nothing you can do 'cause I'm stuck like glue to my guy.
I'm sticking to my guy like a stamp to a letter,
Like birds of a feather we stick together.
I'm telling you from the start I can't be torn apart from my guy. "

We went out last weekend to buy him a new pair of shoes. Since we were at the mall, I had my printer ink refilled at Island Ink-Jet. While waiting for it, we had French fries and rootbeer at A & W.

It’s always fun to go out with him. We never run out of things to talk about. When we were walking back to Island Ink-Jet, he swung my left arm over his shoulder and he wrapped his right arm around my waist. We were like lovers walking arm in arm. I don’t think that I have experienced that before.

My first boyfriend towered over me. He was over six feet tall. I barely reach five feet. I don’t think we even held hands because we were afraid that somebody would see us. Patago kasi ang date namin. My next boyfriend, who became my husband, is not the type who shows affection in public.

So I was thrilled when my seven-year old son Ryland and I walked stuck together through the crowded mall. Ganuon pala ang feeling when you’re walking arm in arm with somebody. It’s like you’re shouting to the world, “Hey, I am with someone whom I love and who loves me.”

I am thankful for...

I have mentioned before that we don’t really celebrate Thanksgiving (second Monday of October here in Canada). But I guess in a way we do. Although we just stay home, we cook something special like spaghetti and chicken (in lieu of the turkey).

The younger kids would bring home a paper cut out of a turkey and for wings, they would cut out strips of paper where they wrote down the things that they were thankful for.

This year, Ryland’s says:

I am thankful for…
- the food
- my bed
- my eyesight
- that I get a lot of love (Aww!)

You see, I always remind my kids to finish what’s on their plate and that they shouldn’t complain if they don’t like what we’re having for dinner. How many times have they heard me say, “You’re lucky you have food to eat. There are many kids in other countries who barely have anything to eat.” Sometimes I feel guilty nagging them like that especially when my voice gets stern and my youngest one starts to cry. And I guess this is the reason Ryland is thankful for the food.

I know he loves his bed. His mattress is the newest one in the house. We bought it two summers ago when we replaced his old soggy bed, the coils of which were poking his back.

I just love that he said that he’s thankful for his eyesight. For the last two years this child has been on the borderline of wearing eyeglasses. I just got an appointment with his optometrist for next week because I think it’s time for him to wear spectacles. Last year he said that the priest was blurry when we were at church. He’s not seeing clearly and yet he’s still thankful for his eyesight.

He’s thankful that he gets a lot of love. If that doesn’t melt your heart, I don’t know what will. I’m glad that he feels that way because he is surely surrounded by love.

I am constantly amazed at how my children pick up the little things that I say or teach them. I always try to instill in them that they should be thankful for the things that they have.

I, myself, used to fret about things. Like the time I contacted my high school classmates in 2002. I was jealous of their jobs especially this one classmate who is a successful CPA (Certified Public Accountant). I was a CPA back home but I wasn’t able to pursue the career when I migrated to Canada. On the other hand, this classmate, who longs to be married and have kids, was envious of me. I then realized that I have a decent job as a benefits examiner, a comfortable life with my husband and these three wonderful children and I wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world.

In spite of this realization, I still find myself complaining and fretting. About people getting promoted at work and how I am stuck in my position because I chose to work at home. But of course I don’t regret choosing to work at home because of the reasons I’ve mentioned here and in Confessions of a Work-At-Home Mom.

Every now and then, I complain about my twin size bed. About how small it is and how I am always at the edge because my husband hogs the bed. Until I realized that he just wants to be closer to me and there I am trying to distance myself just so that I could get enough sleep (wink). How lucky am I that I sleep with someone who loves me. Some people don’t. How lucky am I that I have a soft (even though it’s creaky) and warm bed. Many people who have been hit by the hurricanes don’t have a bed to sleep on or a roof over their head.

I guess Thanksgiving is a day that has been set aside so that we could reflect on the things that we are thankful for. Thank you, Ryland, for reminding me.

Autumn Leaves

Blogger Ange has a very nice illustration of autumn leaves in Clamoo.

The red leaves are my favourites. There aren't a lot of them though. I had to go out of my way just to get these shots. Click away.