One of my goals this year is to continue reading good books. I started working on that goal by reading two biographies the last two weeks.
I was able to read: Kate: A Princess in Waiting (book published before she got married to Prince William) and Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn.
In those two books, what really stood out for me was the role their respective mothers played in what they have achieved.
Kate's mum was the key factor on why she was able to study in private and expensive schools, like that of St. Andrew's where she met her Prince. It was her mother's party business that did it for the Middletons.
As for Audrey Hepburn, her mum's family was very rich, she was in fact a lady with a title, but the 2nd World War changed all of that. Still, it didn't hinder her mum to do odd jobs (in terms of a woman who has a title, born and raised in the upper class) like cleaning, being a cashier, and the like just as so she can support Audrey's dance classes. So Audrey can pursue her love for ballet.
Indeed, what a mother's love can do!
The books were inspiring and aside from these I have mentioned, there were still a lot of lessons to be learned just by reading the stories and their family's histories. I just highlighted the one that appealed to me the most, maybe because of the simple fact that I am a mother too :)
Showing posts with label lessons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lessons. Show all posts
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Saturday, May 19, 2012
The Beauty in Death
Death.
It becomes so real when it comes to take people who are dear to you. People who have been part of your journey.
But it is not all ugly.
There is beauty in death.
It teaches you lessons. It reminds you of the more important things. It makes you treasure the loved ones you have now. It makes you hold their hands tighter. Hug them longer. Tell them "I Love You" more often.
You try to live your life making the right choices. Choices that will really matter in the end.
Death.
A reminder that our life and the life of our loved-ones is really not forever.
Death.
Thank you Tito Nick, you have taught me to value my family better. To overlook weaknesses and selfishness. To choose to love and to be happy. To be strong and to choose to fight.
Thank you Raewen. You were taken too soon. I am still overwhelmed with your sudden loss. You have taught me to value my children more. To overlook their imperfections. To overlook my tiredness. To choose to serve and to be more patient.
I know that you two are now in a much happier place.
Thank you for the lessons you have taught me.
Be at peace now, for you are now with HIM.
It becomes so real when it comes to take people who are dear to you. People who have been part of your journey.
But it is not all ugly.
There is beauty in death.
It teaches you lessons. It reminds you of the more important things. It makes you treasure the loved ones you have now. It makes you hold their hands tighter. Hug them longer. Tell them "I Love You" more often.
You try to live your life making the right choices. Choices that will really matter in the end.
Death.
A reminder that our life and the life of our loved-ones is really not forever.
Death.
Thank you Tito Nick, you have taught me to value my family better. To overlook weaknesses and selfishness. To choose to love and to be happy. To be strong and to choose to fight.
Thank you Raewen. You were taken too soon. I am still overwhelmed with your sudden loss. You have taught me to value my children more. To overlook their imperfections. To overlook my tiredness. To choose to serve and to be more patient.
I know that you two are now in a much happier place.
Thank you for the lessons you have taught me.
Be at peace now, for you are now with HIM.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Decisions
Last night, I attended the parent's meeting set by Liam's teachers at Goddard Crescent. It was a first for me. I don't remember them calling for one last year :)
I was actually starting to feel lazy and I wanted to back out the last minute. Not to mention that I was running late since I had to wait for Alvin to get home before I can leave. It was an adult-only event so no kids allowed.
The meeting went smoothly. I was just at the receiving end. Explanations on practices were given until one mum shared a story about his nephew and that caught my attention. A little background, the education system here is a bit laid back (a bit? who are you kidding?! for me, it's way too laid back hehehe). See here in Australia, the primary schooling of kids are set in such a way that the kids are not stressed in school. It is quite laid-back as compared to Manila. I just can't help but compare the system here and in Ateneo (or in most schools in Manila). If in Manila, the whole process of getting and being educated is stressful and tedious here, it is not.
Imagine, kids in pre-school are not taught how to read and write. Formal learning starts when they go to Kindy, in the big school. It was explained this evening that play is actually teaching the kids a lot. We might think that they are just playing, but they are actually learning. The one that was shared which bothered me a bit was that we have to be careful of teaching our kids too much ahead of time because in the case of her nephew who went to Kindy, it was a major issue. The kid got so bored because he already knew how to read and write, as compared to majority of the class that were just starting to learn. He got isolated. (Note: I wasn't able to ask the mum what the school did. Not that I think my son is gifted or anything, but I just wanted to know how the school addressed the concern. Why? In Ateneo, if we see an exceptional or a "fast" kid, there are procedures that we can do to have the kid formally assessed --of course when the kid is assessed to be gifted, passes all the requirements, goes up one or two levels higher it will also have social implications and parents should be ready for that).
Reading the biography of Steve Jobs now is no help as well. There was one part in the book that shared the reasons why Steve kept on doing pranks in school. They were triggered by his boredom. He already knew those things and he wasn't challenged! (Again, I am not assumming that my son is gifted).
It caught my attention because I have been teaching Liam every now and then at home. Not formal and strict teaching ok. Supplemental teaching. I let him practice writing his letters (They have a NSW Foundation Font here). I let him do some maths, because I felt he was interested in it! I am just nurturing his interests. After reading the book "Raising Boys" my whole idea of how to raise my son changed. I got to know how it is with young boys and where they are coming from. I teach him when I feel he is up for it. I can sense when the "teachable moment" is for him. Walang pilitan in other words. It is paying off because rarely do we argue now when I teach him. It is an enjoyable time for both Liam and myself. Sometimes while we play we count from 1-100. Sometimes when he wants a hug, he asks me for a thousand hugs, so we get to practice skip counting by hundreds till we reach 1000. I am just supporting him in his interests. When I ask him to do some worksheets and he says can I just finish one page, I let him just do a page. What am I driving at? I am just grabbing those opportunities, rare and golden "teachable moments," because I feel it's sayang when I don't do something.I am not forcing him. But still, he might end up being advanced with the rest of his classmates when he starts with Kindy.
Now I am scared! Hubby and I actually talked about it last night. I asked hubby about me giving supplemental lessons to Liam. Well, hubby did make sense. Liam is not really advanced. He still needs a lot of practice in his writing and his reading. We can sense that he is good with numbers and we decided to just continue to give those relaxed supplemental lessons every now and then. Observing him as well, we can see that he has this positive attitude towards school so I guess we're on the right track here.
Hay, whoever said parenting was easy?
With these daily decisions, we just have to pray for wisdom and hope that everything turns up okay for our kids and their future!
I was actually starting to feel lazy and I wanted to back out the last minute. Not to mention that I was running late since I had to wait for Alvin to get home before I can leave. It was an adult-only event so no kids allowed.
The meeting went smoothly. I was just at the receiving end. Explanations on practices were given until one mum shared a story about his nephew and that caught my attention. A little background, the education system here is a bit laid back (a bit? who are you kidding?! for me, it's way too laid back hehehe). See here in Australia, the primary schooling of kids are set in such a way that the kids are not stressed in school. It is quite laid-back as compared to Manila. I just can't help but compare the system here and in Ateneo (or in most schools in Manila). If in Manila, the whole process of getting and being educated is stressful and tedious here, it is not.
Imagine, kids in pre-school are not taught how to read and write. Formal learning starts when they go to Kindy, in the big school. It was explained this evening that play is actually teaching the kids a lot. We might think that they are just playing, but they are actually learning. The one that was shared which bothered me a bit was that we have to be careful of teaching our kids too much ahead of time because in the case of her nephew who went to Kindy, it was a major issue. The kid got so bored because he already knew how to read and write, as compared to majority of the class that were just starting to learn. He got isolated. (Note: I wasn't able to ask the mum what the school did. Not that I think my son is gifted or anything, but I just wanted to know how the school addressed the concern. Why? In Ateneo, if we see an exceptional or a "fast" kid, there are procedures that we can do to have the kid formally assessed --of course when the kid is assessed to be gifted, passes all the requirements, goes up one or two levels higher it will also have social implications and parents should be ready for that).
Reading the biography of Steve Jobs now is no help as well. There was one part in the book that shared the reasons why Steve kept on doing pranks in school. They were triggered by his boredom. He already knew those things and he wasn't challenged! (Again, I am not assumming that my son is gifted).
It caught my attention because I have been teaching Liam every now and then at home. Not formal and strict teaching ok. Supplemental teaching. I let him practice writing his letters (They have a NSW Foundation Font here). I let him do some maths, because I felt he was interested in it! I am just nurturing his interests. After reading the book "Raising Boys" my whole idea of how to raise my son changed. I got to know how it is with young boys and where they are coming from. I teach him when I feel he is up for it. I can sense when the "teachable moment" is for him. Walang pilitan in other words. It is paying off because rarely do we argue now when I teach him. It is an enjoyable time for both Liam and myself. Sometimes while we play we count from 1-100. Sometimes when he wants a hug, he asks me for a thousand hugs, so we get to practice skip counting by hundreds till we reach 1000. I am just supporting him in his interests. When I ask him to do some worksheets and he says can I just finish one page, I let him just do a page. What am I driving at? I am just grabbing those opportunities, rare and golden "teachable moments," because I feel it's sayang when I don't do something.I am not forcing him. But still, he might end up being advanced with the rest of his classmates when he starts with Kindy.
Now I am scared! Hubby and I actually talked about it last night. I asked hubby about me giving supplemental lessons to Liam. Well, hubby did make sense. Liam is not really advanced. He still needs a lot of practice in his writing and his reading. We can sense that he is good with numbers and we decided to just continue to give those relaxed supplemental lessons every now and then. Observing him as well, we can see that he has this positive attitude towards school so I guess we're on the right track here.
Hay, whoever said parenting was easy?
With these daily decisions, we just have to pray for wisdom and hope that everything turns up okay for our kids and their future!
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Saying Sorry
This is not the first time you'll hear that instead of us, parents, teaching our kids values, it's the other way around.
Parents would usually list down a number of things their children teach them, without any effort or without really intending to -- patience, loving unconditionally, faithfulness, etc. Yes, I am also in the process of learning and re-learning all of these, thanks to my two beautiful children.
Aside from these, I have my own set of stories to share, because I found myself doing and learning things that I found very difficult doing, and it was only through my children that I was able to do it.But one story that I really can't pass is:
Saying "Sorry"
I'd be the first one to admit that between me and hubby, hubby is usually the first one to break the ice or say sorry every time we have an argument or a petty fight. I don't know. it's just difficult for me to blurt out this single word. Even after we have patched things up, it still usually takes 2-3 days before I say sorry to him, even if I was the one who started the fight or even if I was the guilty one. Anyway, that is slowly changing after I've seen myself with Liam. There were instances, actually a lot of them, where he needed to say sorry, but was just too proud or stubborn to say it. I got alarmed. I knew in those instances that I needed to do some concrete steps if I wanted my son to learn how to say sorry. And I knew it should start with me. I needed to model the behaviour to him.
After struggling for a few months, I guess I've reached my goal of teaching him to say sorry :-) There was a big change! He even says sorry again, for the silly thing he did before he goes to bed, even if he has said sorry to me already as soon as I reprimanded him. This is of course after achieving my own goal of saying sorry to people I've wronged, including Sam and Liam or when I did something silly.
Funny thing, this time when I forget to say sorry, Liam is the one who reminds me to say it, and mind you, he won't stop asking me to say sorry, until I have!
This is just one of the many lessons my children are teaching me. There are still plenty of stories to share, but I'll just take it and write it, one story at a time :-)
At the end of the day, it's again the challenge of becoming a parent, and the blessings that goes with it :-)
Parents would usually list down a number of things their children teach them, without any effort or without really intending to -- patience, loving unconditionally, faithfulness, etc. Yes, I am also in the process of learning and re-learning all of these, thanks to my two beautiful children.
Aside from these, I have my own set of stories to share, because I found myself doing and learning things that I found very difficult doing, and it was only through my children that I was able to do it.But one story that I really can't pass is:
Saying "Sorry"
I'd be the first one to admit that between me and hubby, hubby is usually the first one to break the ice or say sorry every time we have an argument or a petty fight. I don't know. it's just difficult for me to blurt out this single word. Even after we have patched things up, it still usually takes 2-3 days before I say sorry to him, even if I was the one who started the fight or even if I was the guilty one. Anyway, that is slowly changing after I've seen myself with Liam. There were instances, actually a lot of them, where he needed to say sorry, but was just too proud or stubborn to say it. I got alarmed. I knew in those instances that I needed to do some concrete steps if I wanted my son to learn how to say sorry. And I knew it should start with me. I needed to model the behaviour to him.
After struggling for a few months, I guess I've reached my goal of teaching him to say sorry :-) There was a big change! He even says sorry again, for the silly thing he did before he goes to bed, even if he has said sorry to me already as soon as I reprimanded him. This is of course after achieving my own goal of saying sorry to people I've wronged, including Sam and Liam or when I did something silly.
Funny thing, this time when I forget to say sorry, Liam is the one who reminds me to say it, and mind you, he won't stop asking me to say sorry, until I have!
This is just one of the many lessons my children are teaching me. There are still plenty of stories to share, but I'll just take it and write it, one story at a time :-)
At the end of the day, it's again the challenge of becoming a parent, and the blessings that goes with it :-)
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Shattered Windows
I am presently reading Brida by Paolo Coelho and I chanced upon this: "sometimes, God needs to shatter windows so blessings can come in." Obviously, it caught my attention. There have been a lot of instances when I felt that God shattered windows in my life only to find out that it was his way of giving me more. Looking back at my life I've seen a lot of bumps and wrong turns. A failing grade, a dispute with a friend, a misunderstanding with your parents or siblings, a broken heart, a wrong career move, the list would go on and on. But true enough, those bumps and wrong turns made me stronger, braver. It made my journey more colourful. It added spice to this thing they call life. I am pretty sure you have had your share of experiences wherein you felt God was shattering your window(s). Now that I'm in a new environment and trying to accept the harsh reality that I am out of my comfort zone, it crosses my mind that my windows are now being shattered. But it is now good to know and comforting at that, that it's God's way of giving more of His blessings.
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