A Parent's Payback

There is no reward more fulfilling to a parent than to see their children finish school. It is the ultimate dividend for the countless overtimes, the grumbling stomach (sa sobrang pagtitipid di na kumakain), and the periodic debt that comes with the territory. It is the ultimate happiness and then some.

Our children may not be the consistent honor student but I I'll settle for the chance to just see them walking that stage and getting that precious piece of paper. That would make all the sacrifices worth the taking and the investment worth the risk.

Praying that my children will reward me that much.

Father's Day 2010

It’s hard to be a father. Often than not you’re the great “kontrabida” to your children. Sometimes you’d wish that they haven’t grown up so fast.

When the kids were younger you could always sucker them with a lollipop or chocolate. Now, your blood pressure rises, your face becomes scarlet red, your body trembling, and your voice booming like a howitzer on automatic fire before you get them doing what needs to be done! In their eyes you’re now that spit belching, tobacco chewing, bad ass gunnery sergeant in the movie “Full Metal Jacket”! The ultimate drill sergeant!

Let’s face it; fathers are not really built to be mushy and soft spoken. Nosireee-yippiedy-do-da! They’re not the talkative type and usually express themselves in terms of grunts and the “heat vision eyes”---you know, the time when they just look at you when they’re angry as if trying to melt you with their eyes thing?! Now hold your horses there! No need getting all cranky now! I know that there are a few exceptions to this and I must say I raise my hat to these good natured, calm, and composed daddies out there. One thing is for certain---you are a rare breed!

But despite a father’s notoriety to their children, some things just can’t be seen by the naked eyes---their love for their children for instance is extraordinary! They work hard like a horse and toil to make sure that the needs of the family are met. They sacrifice much of their needs to deliver for the family. To him, the only return is to see that all his effort is worth it. This is why whenever the children do not make good on their studies the father would almost always blows his top. For him this would be like stacking up bricks all day and seeing them fall down before completing the task.

Without batting an eyelash your father would probably pull out his wallet get his credit card and have it swiped so as to pay for your tuition fee in the A-1 college of your choosing. Pikit mata at kagat labi nalang knowing full well that it would mean two or more notches will be tightened in that otherwise tight belt! Now imagine how much pain it will cost him just to see you flunk your grades! Hmmm…I think I already mentioned this incident in a couple of my blogs already…I guess it must have HURT pretty darn bad!

My-oh-my, even the holidays does not agree with us fathers. Bakit ba June ang Father’s day e alam namang kaka-enroll lang ng mga time na ito at wala na tayong perang pang celebrate!

Happy Father’s Day to my father and to all you fathers out there!!!

The Message of Christ's Sacrifice

Love. That is the meaning behind Christ's sacrifice on the cross. God loved us so much that He sacrificed His own Son to cleanse us from our sins and give us another chance to be under His glorious shadow.

It is therefore our purpose as Christians to share the same love to our fellow men---not necessarily having ourselves nailed to the cross---but to give the same unquestioning love to those in need of it.

The cliche "love your enemies" is easier said than done. However, we must always remember that love does come with some degree of sacrifice. The greater the sacrifice, the greater the love. Let us also admit that, enemies not withstanding, they do have their share in making us who we are. The very purpose of their existence in our lives mold our character and make us, hopefully, better individuals.

John Lennon's political slogan "make love not war" should be our state of mind everytime we go about our daily business. Conflict is the anti-thesis of love and should be avoided as much as possible. Getting in conflict with other people will make loving a lot more harder to do. As my boss would say, "why make your life miserable?" Again, easier said than done.

No one is perfect. This is the reason why entertaining the thought of marriage needs to be a real soul searching and mind exhausting activity. Why? Well, binding your self to another person UNTIL DEATH DO YOU PART is a real serious contract stipulation!

Saying YES to the invitation of marriage would mean forever loving that person and all the imperfections that go with him/her. A person may be beautiful or handsome now but time does have its ways of turning things around. Sexy now, fat later. Macho now, pot bellied later. Which is why there is another clause in the marriage contract saying FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE. Man! God's attorney was a real stickler for details!

With LOVE there is HAPPINESS. When there's HAPPINESS there is PEACE.

A Holy Week Thought

I went to church today for confession with my family. The church was packed with parishioners going about their holy week rituals. Many were doing stations of the cross, some where obviously not from our parish and was on visita iglesia, but a great majority were lined up for confession.

The queue was rather long and a little disorganized. When we arrived we didn’t know where the “line” started and ended. Good thing that a layperson noticed the confusion and immediately put the line in order.

Now, since it is Holy Week, let me talk about something appropriate to the occasion---SACRIFICE. Lent calls for fasting and abstinence as part of the regular Catholic sacrifice to remember Christ own sacrifice for our sins. Christ endured the scourging, the weight of the cross, and His crucifixion. However, there are other forms of sacrifice that one can do to commemorate the season and that includes waiting in long lines. Unfortunately, not all people see it that way.

We lined up for confession with an elderly woman. She was all made up with a good layer of make-up and matching cherry red lipstick. She had her ash-grey hair combed back with what seemed to be a wet-look gel. She did look frail but her movement would say that looks could be deceiving. Well, she looked like she was under the impression that her age merited a NO LINE passes and moved her way up the head of the line! I can see her discussion her case to the young man she was trying to insert her way in. The man was explaining to her that it would be unfair to those in line (not to mention to the other elderly people patiently waiting in line). Well, she was either dumb or just plain unscrupulous to know the difference since she inserted herself anyway! Tsk! Tsk! Tsk! What a waste of years! One thing I can say about this matter is---THERE IS NO SHORTCUT TO HEAVEN! Amen.