After enjoying the sight of dolphins, we moved on to the Manjuyod Sandbar for some swimming. All was well and fine until my husband and son got stung by a jellyfish. That cut short our swimming time.

I have never been stung by a jellyfish before so I have no idea what it feels like. From what I saw, the area that got stung gets quite red and swollen and from the feedback that I got from my husband and son, their stomachs and back started to ache too and their chest started to feel heavy.

I had brought some antihistamine/anti-inflammatory medicine with me and so I asked my husband and son to take one each. I don’t know if the medicine worked but after some time, they started to feel better. My son, surprised that I had such medicine with me, while we were in the middle of the sea exclaimed: “What would we do without a mom?” (That was really music to my ears…)

As an afterthought, I told my son: “Well, if you didn’t have a mom, you probably won’t get stung because there would be no one to plan our trips…” I was joking of course and my son probably knew that too but as he smiled, he looked confused, trying to decide whether he was happy that I was there to give him the medicine or whether he should be angry about the sting and all.

Such is life. Things are hardly black or white. Situations are never perfect. We all love our mothers but I am sure we do not get along with them all the time. But then again, that is the essence of true and lasting love, right? If all parents and children were perfect then love would be easy and it would lose its very power.

Love for country is also something that can leave us with mixed feelings. Tomorrow, May 10, 2010, is election day here in the Philippines. One part of me feels excited about the prospect of change but another part of me feels hesitant and worried as well about not being able to find a leader who will truly bring about change. Well, we hope and pray for the best. Just like a jelly fish sting, we will survive this and be stronger after. As we go to the polls though, let us vote wisely for the sake of our children and our motherland.

Happy Mother’s Day to all our loving mothers and stewardesses of the highest order. Go out and vote tomorrow. Vote wisely.

To read my latest article on Mother’s Day and the Elections, please visit Of Mothers and Our Motherland.

While I personally believe that such is true to a certain extent, I also would like to think that on our part, there must be some amount of effort to search as well. Jeremiah 29:12-14 states: “When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the Lord…”

During the recent Holy Week, I went on three half-day retreats at the Ateneo, from Holy Thursday to Holy Saturday. Not being a graduate of the Ateneo, I was not very familiar with the campus. Being the parent of someone who studies in Ateneo, my familiarity with the place was limited to the Grade School, the High School, and the Church of the Gesu.

And so I set out early in the morning of Holy Thursday to find the Escaler Hall at the Science Education Complex where the retreat will be held. Prior to that, I had asked for directions over the phone and was given some general indication but in the end, the lady I was speaking with said: “There will be signs.”

I entered the Ateneo campus on Holy Thursday morning and asked the guards where the Escaler Hall was. His instruction was clear: First intersection, right. First entrance, right again. I followed the directions to the letter and found myself in a parking lot surrounded by several buildings. I parked my car and got off and started to explore the place. Prior to my entering the car park, by the way, I saw a teeny-tiny sign which said: This way to the retreat or something to that effect.

As I went around the building which later on I would find out to be Gonzaga Hall (if I remember correctly), I saw two other retreat participants who were also searching for the right place. The lady thought Gonzaga Hall was Escaler Hall already and the two of them (a lady and a gentleman) both did not see the sign at the entrance of the parking lot because it was, in fact, very small.

I finally saw an Ateneo staff working around the area and so I decided to get some help. I asked: “Kuya, saan po ang Escaler Hall?” (Kuya is a respectful term for elder brother. Saan po ang Escaler Hall means: Where is Escaler Hall?)

He replied: “Sa kabilang building po. (It’s in the other building) Doon po sa may vine. (The place where there is a vine.)”

I did not get the last part of his answer clearly enough and so I asked again: “Saan po? (Where is that?)”

He repeated: “Sa may vine.”

It was then that I understood what he meant. It’s where the vine is.

I turned to talk to the other retreat participants and told them what I was told. They didn’t follow right away so I went ahead.

As I was walking to the place for the retreat and as I saw the structure with the vines, I smiled to myself. I was thinking: “How symbolic. The place where we will have the retreat is where the vine is.”

I knew there was a message there. John 15:5 (TEV) states: “I am the vine and you are the branches. Those who remain in me and I, in them, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without me.”

I thought to myself: Yes, Lord. The message is clear. Without you, I cannot do anything. You sent me here so that I will learn something that will make me bear fruit.

Searching for God takes effort on our part. While God seeks us out, we also need to find Him. In life, just like in my search for Escaler Hall, there can be little signs that guide us but if we are not attentive enough, we can miss them.

We also need help from others. We grow in faith and seek direction from others. And while we all journey to search for God, our paths are not exact, nor is the timing of our getting there. We have our own individual journeys. Each meaningful — for the person traveling that chosen road.

Sometimes, when we search for God, we feel lost and we are not sure if we are going in the right direction. At times, it can just take a single instance, a single sign, and we know, we have found Him. When that happens, we experience profound joy, relief, peace.

It is almost a week since Holy Week but more than a Holy Week, I wish you a holy life. May your days be filled with numerous opportunities to encounter the risen Lord. He is searching for you…but in His search, I feel that He is also longing to be found by your loving and determined heart.

May the joy and victory of Easter live in you always as you strive to bring the Lord’s light and love to others. For when people in need see the Lord through us, that is when we know that we have truly searched for God and have found Him.

As a trying-to-be-good-mother, I try as much as possible to limit her consumption of such food items. From time to time though and so as not to make her feel deprived, I allow her to choose a treat from the grocery and most of the time, she would choose potato chips.

One time, she bought a can of chips. When we got home, we found out that the can contained a lot of broken pieces. I didn’t like it that way and so I hardly asked Ali for any. Ali, on the other hand, gleefully exclaimed: “Broken chips are nice because you have more chips!”

I was struck by her attitude of being thankful for what she had and for her capacity to find joy in what seemed like an imperfect situation. It made me realize that the next time I found myself in a situation which may not be to my liking or which was less than perfect, I could take Ali’s “broken chips” perspective.

So are you stuck with a can filled with broken potato chips? Be happy. Rejoice. Be thankful. It may be a way for you to see that even when everything is far from perfect, you truly have more.

From my book editor, Ms. Rica Bolipata Santos, I learned a good technique about praying as a family. Family members mention their favorite parts of the day and also pray for other people. (Soon, I will share Ms. Rica’s piece on that with my web readers.)

We started doing the technique then as a family months ago. One time, it was my 12-year old son’s turn to lead the family in prayer. We try not to repeat our prayers as I do not want the kids to develop the habit of just praying from memory. Earlier that day, my son also did not do something that I told him to.

When it came to the point of praying for someone else, my son repeated a previous prayer of his. I requested him to pray for someone else, to which he retorted: “Can’t you just accept my prayer?”

At that time, I was not inclined to do so and reminded him that we should not just stick to repetitive prayers. I then added: “We are going to stay here until you think of something.”

After some time, my son did think of another person to pray for and another prayer. He said: “Please make Mommy more patient.”

The prayer made me laugh. My children were then able to go to bed. Am still not very patient but at least, my kids are starting to speak to the Lord as a friend. Well, the Lord is still working on me.

I tried the cassava cake and found it yummy. I then asked my daughter to try it. I told her: “Try it. It’s good.”

To which my daughter quickly replies: “Good for what?”

I was stumped for a moment but grateful for a longer time as I realized that the brief conversation with my daughter had afforded me a very important reflection.

It isn’t enough to be good. We shouldn’t stop at just being good. There must be purpose to our goodness just as faith without works is dead.

So, are you good? What for? You cannot be good for nothing. You need to be good for something. The best is to be good for God and the only way you can do that is for you to find your true passion and to use that to serve the Lord and others.

While waiting, a mother with a baby passed by and it happened that the baby was crying. A lot. The baby was a newborn — judging from the sound of his or her cry. Louder. More distinct. Quite frantic. If you are a parent, you know what I mean.

My husband and I looked at each other, as we were seated apart, and we both nervously smiled. When we finally got together at the doctor’s clinic, we talked about the baby’s cry.

“Nadinig mo?” (Did you hear the baby’s cry?) “Iba, ano?” (A newborn baby’s cry sounds different.)

“Na-mi-miss mo ba?” (Do you miss it?) My husband asked.

“Kinabahan ako.” (I felt nervous.)

Just to put things in perspective, my husband and I have two kids. My youngest child is 6 years old.

While my daughter was being checked, we were still talking about the newborn baby’s cry. Our pediatrician then asked if we had plans of having another child since my youngest was already very big. She further said that according to my OB, three is the ideal number of children and when I talked about the “middle child syndrome,” my pedia replied by saying that that won’t happen to my daughter anymore as she has already been “well-affirmed.”

When we were in the car on the way home, we were still talking about the newborn baby’s cry. My daughter Ali was listening and upon noticing probably, how preoccupied we were with the baby’s cry, she asked: “Why, how does the cry of a newborn baby sound?”

I was not really thinking but I laughed (and my husband laughed too) when I realized and heard what my answer was: “It sounds like a lot of work.” My daughter laughed too.

Motherhood is really a lot of work. Parenting takes a lot of effort. To bring a child into this world and to make sure that he or she contributes positively to this world can be a daunting task. Parenting is not for wimps. We need to be responsible. We need to be generous. We need to give back to the Lord with increase. And no matter what happens, from day to day, we need to be grateful for God’s greatest gifts to us as parents, our children.

We can’t do all the work though. We need help. We need guidance. Just as our babies look to us, their parents, for everything they need, we look towards our Heavenly Father Who knows what we need even before we ask. Or even before we cry.

Our relationship with the Lord takes a lot of effort too. I can almost imagine Our Father, looking after us, pursuing us, and smiling and saying: “A lot of hard work.” But just because something entails a lot of hard work, it does not mean that we do not do it anymore.

So enjoy each moment that you have with your kids — even when things are not that easy. With great work, comes unexpected rewards. God bless.

We only learned about the launching last Thursday. Previous to that, I had already made an appointment in connection with my book project for the same time and day. I was looking forward to making progress with the book that weekend but also wanted to be with my son to share his excitement. Of course, the son and the rocket won out in the end. The book project meeting has been re-set to Monday.

Life’s like that most of the time. It can throw things at you at the last minute. Faced with such a situation, we look to our priorities and decide.

Yesterday, was a nice sunny day for a rocket launch. The parents were excited for their kids and their rockets. Some rockets flew really high. One exploded. Others had to go through several attempts (3 or 4) before finally taking off. A lot like life too.

The rockets which flew really high on the first try reminded me of joyful days. These are days in life when everything seems to be going fine. What is there to do? We enjoy and savor the moment.

The rocket which exploded reminded me of days when things didn’t go right. We may work hard on certain things. We may have planned things perfectly but in the end, something goes wrong. We cannot control things around us and how situations go. But we can control how we react to such situations and how we can have the resolve to build again.

The rockets which went through several attempts before finally taking off reminded me of days when nothing seems to be happening. No progress. No improvement. We just seem to stay still and not move on. In such situations, we just need to find it in us to repeatedly try and do better. If we try hard or frequently enough, we will get things right sometime.

I picked up a few other lessons while there on the launch pad — lessons related to balance, excellence and pride, and sharing. For example, you need to position the fins of your rocket properly (quite close to the bottom part) for it to have the proper balance. Otherwise, your rocket may launch and fly a curve rather than going high straight up. Just like in life. You have to be balanced and grounded for you to fly real high.

You need to do things properly and right. You must have pride in your work. You must strive to be excellent. An engine or a motor that is not made well, can lead a rocket to explode.

Lastly, all kids were allowed two launches for their rockets. It was the teacher’s rule though that you can only go for your second launch when all kids have launched their rocket at least once. In life, we must learn to play fair and wait for our turn. We should not strive to have things all for ourselves but must give everybody an equal chance to enjoy. To learn. To live.

We went to yesterday’s activity thinking that it would be good for our son for us to be there. We didn’t realize that the model rockets would also give us some unexpected lessons in life.