Tender Musings

I'm currently reading a book and it has stirred some ideas that I have put aside for a while. The book is Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear  by Elizabeth Gilbert. A friend had suggested it during a discussion about doing something that we love. I love being a mom and it's a very exciting life. But I would have to admit that after a whole day's work, there's not a lot of time at the end of the day to indulge in something creative. By the time my 3-year-old is in bed, I'm too tired tired (or lazy) to do something else. I usually just binge watch on Netflix or watch a bunch of random videos on YouTube. It's acceptable, right? I mean, I deserve the break after all...don't I?  But maybe, there is something more.  In the first chapter of  Big Magic,  Elizabeth Gilbert talked about how bravery and creative living are inseparable. She shared this thought from an author that she deeply admired. "Without bravery, [we] would never be able to realize the vault

She's from New Zealand and I'm from the Philippines. We would have never met under normal circumstances, but life has its way of putting people together at the right place at the right time. It was Spring 2008, our first semester in Hawaii. As international students and recipients of the university's scholarship program, we were required to live in the dormitories. The living arrangement shouldn't have been a problem, but because we arrived a few days earlier than expected, we found ourselves living in the piano lounge at the start of the new semester. Maybe it was destiny or perhaps just a coincidence, but meeting Lena in that unfavorable situation 11 years ago was a blessing in disguise. She has become one of my valued friends and has taught me one of the greatest lessons about friendship and sacrifice. Lena and I became inseparable after our piano lounge confinement. We were basically each other's emotional support when school felt like it was too much to han

My two-year-old has an email account. Gian and I created it before she was born. We got the idea from another mom who has done the same thing for her two kids. We thought it was a great way to store memories of Rei's milestones and experiences growing up, and it's a lot more convenient than writing things down on paper. We include pictures and videos whenever possible, but most of the time, we write her stories. Writing to our daughter helps me cherish the moments I have with her. It also allows me to share my innermost thoughts and feelings. I've sent her a lot of emails in the past two years, but my favorite ones are those that her father had sent. One email he sent was when she was only four months old. It had a picture of me sitting on our bed with our daughter in my arms. We were both asleep. He had taken the picture after he found us in our room when he came home from work that day. His email was really simple, and it didn't have an elaborate explanation of wh

Even as a stay-at-home mom I find myself always needing more time. There's so many things to do and it seems like the day isn't long enough to get everything done. There's no end to cleaning up, cooking, washing the dishes, or doing the laundry. The list of chores goes on forever. Rei sometimes have to tug on my shirt or hug my legs just to get my attention as I busily prepare food or fold our clothes. I know when she's bored and needs my attention, so I try my best to get away from all the chores and spend time with her - and sometimes, walk to the nearby store to get some ice cream. Being with her is, after all, the reason why I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. So even though the floor desperately needs to be mopped, I put some clean clothes on and we go "out out." As we walk along our busy street, my daughter never fails to point out all the stray and domesticated animals we see. "Hi doggy!" She would loudly exclaim as she happily waves to

Gian and I had our first conversation through text. A friend he had met on his mission, who was attending my ward, gave him my number and that's how we got in contact. A week and a half after our first conversation, we had our first date at the Manila Temple. I know it's a bit cliché, but that's what happened. About a month after our first date, I agreed that we should date exclusively. Two months after we became BF/GF, he proposed and I said "yes." Five months after our engagement, we got married. I guess you could say that our story was a whirlwind romance, but I'd rather call it "purposeful dating." We took each chance we had to get to know each other and find out if marriage was a possibility. Each date and conversation was an opportunity to evaluate each other's personal values and character. And when we both felt that the decision to get married was right, we did not delay. It's just like what Harry said in the popular

I love Sundays. It's that one day of the week that I really look forward to. I especially love going to Church, and I do my best to get everything ready on Saturday night so that we're all set to go in the morning. Toys and books ✓ Paper and pens ✓ Wipes and extra diaper ✓ Water and snacks ✓ If you'd see the amount of stuff we bring to Church every week, you'd probably think we're going away for the weekend. That's just how our life is right now. We have an active two-year-old and we need to come prepared. There are weeks when we manage to keep Rei on our pew throughout sacrament meeting. She plays with her toys, looks through the pictures in her book, colors, and sometimes sneaks in a bite of her favorite snack. If we're lucky, we get to listen to the speakers as she busily builds a "house" using the extra hymnbooks lying around. Those are our moments of victory. And then there are other weeks when our daughter puts all of our efforts to