Things I am thankful for today
May 28, 2009Let’s continue with the online gratitude journal, shall we?
Things I am thankful for today:
1. My Son - he let me sleep a few extra hours this morning as he watches Barney. Gave me quite a number of wet kisses too as the day wore on. Yup, wet kisses and more wet diapers.
2. The assignment I got on oDesk from Wayland - wait, I should have been working on that today instead of blogging! 
3. My mom - for coming to my rescue. relieving me of nanny duties so I could tinker with this blog some more.
4. My other client, Borzack - it is just a joy to work for him. He does not impose strict deadlines on me and he understands that I work around the times when my son is asleep or preoccupied with Barney or the NBA.
5. The bank - for crediting the funds of my check so I can pay my bills.
6. My friends - who still care enough to keep in touch.
7. The Lord God - for all the blessings that I might have failed to see or express appreciation for … e.g., the sunshine and sunset, the air we breathe, the food we feasted on, the water my son played and took a bath in, etc.
I promise myself…
I promise myself to be the best that I can be. To not depend on others for my happiness and sense of well-being. To make full use of my life and the talents and skills given to me. To feel worthy of the love, joy and all the blessings that this abundant life has to offer. To never think little of myself or my achievements ever again. To live in great faith that God loves me despite my shortcomings and that He will forever guide me and bless me as I discover and live the true purpose and meaning of my life.
Like gratitude, positivity is also a good thing to practice. I have never been the optimistic type before. Not that I made it a personal choice to be a pessimist, but I am what I call a “realist”. My eyes were ever so open to what little I had and what many things I didn’t have. I grew up poor and always struggling to make something out of my life.
I’ve always felt that I was destined to do great things but I also felt deep inside that I lacked what was needed to reach that destiny. I was not particularly bright or gifted as a student, but I knew how to study. I didn’t really have a lot of friends because I couldn’t keep up with most of them. I often kept to myself and was preoccupied with “improving me”.
I read a lot back then, magazines, self-help books, books I borrowed from the library, children’s magazines my mother borrowed from officemates. Boy, was I into reading! I wanted to know things kids my age would not know of because I was always looking for an “edge”. Something that would make me bigger or better than others. I wanted to climb out of the destitute life I was in and I wanted to bring my family out with me.
With all the drive and passion for success that I had in me, one would think I would be on top of some corporate ladder by now. But I am not. Because I’ve always felt I was never good enough. I’ve made some wrong choices in life, did a lot of things I would eventually regret… and that made me feel all the more that God must be punishing me. I felt I didn’t deserve the abundant life I have long desired for myself and my family. I felt powerless and without a say in how my life was turning out to be.
I’m going to change all that now, because I know… no, I believe I can. Slowly, with the help of my son who is God’s greatest blessing to me, I am starting to see that what is really important in life does not have a peso or a dollar sign attached to it. I’m learning to appreciate and be thankful for even the simplest of things and most importantly, I have been re-introduced to how it feels to be happy. One time I caught myself laughing and I realized that I hadn’t laughed that hearthily in a long time… because I felt I had no reason to.
But when I became a work-at-home Mom, I got re-acquainted with the concepts of happiness and contentment. I can say I am now… “Happy enough to clap my hands. Happy enough to stomp my feet. Happy enough to shout hurray!” - Barney
Things I’m grateful for…
Gratitude is never a bad thing. As a matter of fact, it is said to fill your life more with happiness and satisfaction. So I’m going to start some sort of a gratitude journal that will attract more happiness and feelings of satisfaction in my life. Thanks Oprah for the idea.
Things I’m grateful for… TODAY
1. My Son - all of 16 months have been a joy… most of it at least.
You just never fail to brighten my day with your smile, your antics, your playfulness, your boundless energy. Though there are times that you simply drive me crazy, all in all, you just give me a wonderful feeling of having made something good in my life.
2. My husband - though not all of the 3 years and 4 months of being married were a bliss, as all marriages most likely are.
You didn’t really have me at hello, but most times you do complete me. My strengths are your weaknesses and some of my weaknesses are your strenghts. The in-betweens and the gaps we just strive to accept.
3. My mother - what can I say…
You are there when you are needed the most, probably because you love my son more than you love me as most grandparents are known to do. But I’m not complaining! It is enough for me to know that my son is very much loved by the people who count the most. All others can just go to hell and it wouldn’t ruffle my feathers. Obvious bang may poot?
4. This blog - and i really hope it’s for free… for life.
Man, I really dig the templates and the designs and the customizations that can be done. I just hope I can earn off it too.
5. The time - not having a nanny restricts my activities a lot.
Simply having the time to make an account at i.ph and tinker with this blog is a luxury. Thank God I was able to get my son to sleep early.
Better late than never…
This blog came a year and four months late, but that is going to change starting today. Bear with me as I go back to 16 months ago because I intend to chronicle how my life has been turned upside-down with the arrival of my son.
For starters, here is how he looks today… pounding the floors of SM The Block.
