Separation Anxiety?

I'm flying back home in two days. On my own. After a few years of always having a little one tagging behind me. Part of me is looking forward to that. It would be good, for once, to be free. To not to have to worry about another little person's needs and wants. And yet, another part of me is worried. All the 'what ifs' start playing in my head. What if the little one (who is actually 5) couldn't sleep because mom is not around? What if the girls forgot to get their school uniforms washed? or forgot their homeworks? What if dad forgot to watch the time and pick them up late from school?

I know I really should stop this worrying. I need this time away from everyone to take care of things back home, as well as to recharge. But being a mom, one just can't help but worry. As the little one gets more and more anxious every night, I too get more and more worried. Perhaps this will stop once I'm on board of the plane, making myself comfortable to endure the 5 hr journey with a nice paperback to enjoy. I do hope so...

Give peace a chance

It's hard to believe this song was recorded by John Lennon forty years ago this month. He and his wife Yoko Ono conducted an interview in bed in their suite in Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Canada to promote peace to the world. I must admit something that happened before I was even born is often difficult to visualize. But reading the article in the May issue of Reader's Digest sparked my curiousity to google the song up in youtube. I guess the simplicity of the song befits the spirit of peace it is promoting. Perhaps it is even more relevant in this era. God knows how the world is in dire need of peace: of the physical kind and more...

Little Treasures from big hearts

I am beginning to enjoy mother's day more and more each year. As the kids grow, the more they emphasize the concept 'pamper mom' which suits me so well. My excited ones started my morning showering me with their handmade cards and carefully chosen gifts from the mother's day stall at school. Everyone wanted to be the first whose present to be opened I had to do mee nee mee nee my nee mo in order to be fair...Impatiently they waited for me to unwrap the gifts. My 'ohs' and 'ahs' over each gift were enough to make each kid jump with joy. Oh how I love looking at their faces when I told them I loved each gift dearly. Little N gave me a pir of warm white and green woolen socks. A gave me a mug that she painstakingly decorated for days at school, to be used as pen-stand, a little white tablecloth for my altar and two bracelets. S gave me a very nice mug for drinking my green tea. All of them were put to use right away...I am now cosily sitting at the desk drinking green tea, with my feet all warmed up by the pair of brand new woolen socks, and my pencil/pens are neatly put in the 'super mum' mug. Thank God for children...how can I not love them so despite their occasional monsterness?

(p/s- and someone gave me a Latin Workout CD that is just perfect to help me achieve my goal:-))

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day – Anonymous

Celebrating the meaning of Mother's day.

"Happy Mother's Day" means more
Than have a happy day.
Within those words lie lots of things
We never get to say.
It means I love you first of all,
Then thanks for all you do.
It means you mean a lot to me,
And that I honor you.
But most of all, I guess it means
That I am thinking of
Your happiness on this, your day,
With pleasure and with love

We need more people like this in the world

A friend sent me a blog by this person. Exploring his other blogs, I must say that I am impressed with his thinking. I share a lot of his sentiments about religions. Here's an excerpt from one of his impressive blogs:

(http://ulil.net/)

"Sekali lagi, kalau anda mau mencari kelemahan suatu agama, anda akan dengan mudah bisa melakukannya. Sebagian orang Kristen mungkin saja gembira sekali membaca bahan-bahan dalam situs faithfreedom itu, sebab bisa dipakai sebagai alat menyerang agama Islam. Begitu juga orang Islam akan gembira membaca serangan-serangan terhadap agama Kristen yang ditulis oleh para sarjana Barat misalnya. Banyak kalangan penulis Muslim yang gemar sekali mengutip sejumlah kritik terhadap agama Kristen yang dilakukan oleh sarjana Barat yang sebagian juga seorang Kristeb. Mereka seolah-olah hendak berkata, “Lihat saja, orang Kristen saja mengakui kelemahan agama itu.”

Kalau kita mau memahami agama secara baik, maka cara seperti itu tidak terlalu banyak gunanya. Yang timbul dari sana hanya saling cerca dan ejek. Yang ingin saya kembangkan pada kalangan Islam adalah kesadaran positif bahwa masing-masing pihak harus sadar akan kelemahan dan kelebihannya masing-masing. Sikap semacam ini juga relevan dikembangkan dalam semua agama."

His First Step to Independence

Little N had a bus ride without Mom or Dad for the first time today. His class started their school swimming lesson and being in pre-primary, the kids get to participate. I know that each and everyone of the PP kids' moms was worried (slightly or worried sick, depending on how independent one perceives her kid is) this morning, yours truly included. We were all wondering if our own 5-year olds would be able to undressed/dress themselves successfully. Well, at home they do it, when they don't purposely want Mom to do it for them of course. But this is in public, under a different, somewhat 'stressful' situation.

'The Dad' said to let him be, but this Mom felt so uneasy she had to go to the pool to make sure the little one was fine. Not surprisingly, moms were hanging around in the pool for this first lesson. "Just to make sure he/she's ok", we kept reassuring one another.

The schoolbus arrived with this bunch of kids, all ready in their swimming costumes and bags. Thumbs up, darlings. You all didn't even need moms to undress you. Contrary to the moms' anxiety, the kids were excited. Came end of lesson, moms were redundant, esp the little boys' moms, as moms were not allowed in the men's changeroom anyway. The teachers efficiently took control of them.

Anxiously I waited outside of the change room. I kept wondering if N would remember our little rehearsal of how to dry yourself properly, and how to put on each item of clothing correctly the night before. Other moms were in the same predicament. We kept glancing at the door, hoping that the next kid out was hers, ready to fix collar, and pants.

Little N was among the last to come out. He looked clean and neat and he managed to put his wet things in a plastic bag successfully! Later I learned that he actually showered himself, although the teacher said they didn't have to if they didn't want to. Phew, now I can breathe easy, knowing that in the remaining 9 days of swimming lesson he is quite capable of taking care of himself. Well done, little man :-) Proud of you.

Let there be peace in the world

Why is it, I wonder, that there are so many good people in the world, and yet the world has yet to find peace?