the air down here…

a personal blog

I Want it Slow April 20, 2009

Filed under: Inspirational — whanita @ 1:10 am

Tomorrow refuses to exist in my mind until tomorrow comes. And yesterday blends with today. I’ve lost count of time but today I realize it’s already the 20th which means eight more days of squandering time and energy enjoying lazy days at home.  I want it slow. The days are just flying by.

I don’t think I went out a lot. In fact going out was just to do the necessary – paying the bills, meeting up friends, buying groceries – then I hurry back home to my haven consisting of my bedroom, the TV, kitchen, family meals together, the internet, my Gingergirl, books, writing, movies, my bed, junk foods I grew up with, long afternoon naps, etc. I hope by the end of this month, I would have gained 3 kilograms which I have lost the last few months. Thankfully, they’ve been plenty of foods to glut on since the first day being home :)

Well, I can’t say enough about how rejuvenating it feels to be back home… They’ll be plenty of pictures to share – once I have resized them. In the mean time, here is something thoughtful from Dr. Steve Stephen’s 21 Surprisingly Simple Steps to a Great Life: “Being thankful keeps you focused on the positive… Thankfulness leads to optimism, which overflows into hope and joy. Gratitude reminds us of all we have.  It causes us to embrace life with a sense of excitement and expectation. It brings us to a point of appreciation and celebration. The difficulty in being thankful is really a crisis of creativity. We take so much for granted that our eyes grow old. We don’t recognize the incredible things that surround us each day. If we would only stop and look around, we would see a multitude of things for which to be thankful.”

 

Like a Melody April 12, 2009

Filed under: Music — whanita @ 1:55 am

Molly Johnson again painted the mood right. It has a nice light tune. I’m listening to every word. Listening.

 

Under the Shelter April 4, 2009

Filed under: Family — whanita @ 1:09 am

It feels good to be back! Back to the familiar grounds of family and home, and seeing the differences time brought in within the last eight months. The family house is undergoing renovation and it has been repainted golden yellow. Which reminds me of smiley face. The most exciting part is that my nieces and nephew have grown! I listen with wonder as they talk in full sentences describing minute observations – cute nonsense or surprising intelligence. I can feel my heart swelling up like a rising tide for them. Joy-joy, who has just turned 4, asked me to help him draw an apple tree today. And so I tried:

Me: OK. Let’s draw the tree first.
Joy-joy: (held on to his pen while I “moved” the top end of it)
Me: Here’s the trunk…
Joy-joy: The twunk?
Me: Yes, the tree trunk. And then we’ll draw the leaves…
Joy-joy: (excited with the cloud-like shape of the leaves)
Me: Now, let’s draw the apples on the tree.
Joy-joy: No, no… I don’t want apples on twee.
Me: Errr… where do you want the apples?
Joy-joy: Here (pointing to a space just next to the tree). One apple.
Me: (surprised but complied) OK. Here’s the apple.
Joy-joy: (obviously happy) See? Apple twee! (pointed to the apple first and then the tree)
Me: Aaah… Apple. Tree. Apple tree :)

Man, the way children think… So unlike us whose minds are fixed into a certain mold. Their minds swerve like a flying bird, bounce like an uncontrollable basketball and flex like a rubber band. I think I’ll find myself relearning whenever I spend time with them.

Today is Pa’s 67th birthday. He’s no longer young but thank God he’s still healthy. The family is giving him a surprise birthday party this evening – a token of our gratitude for all he has been to us.

So for now, this will be my shelter.