I called up my sister to check out on her. She was apparently on her way to her friend's funeral service. Yes a funeral. Her friend died in a tragic car accident. Too soon. Much too soon for anyone who loves her to bear.

The news came as a shock to my sister. We even knew about it before she did because her phone was dead when her friends were trying to contact her. She heard about it after six hours. Guess from where. Yes, from the ever reliable source of whatever news or chismis or new vocabulary (major major) and whatsos. Facebook.

She said that only after being in a state of shock for 5 hours then she started to cry.

And so I called her up last night to see how she was. Her voice sounded like she has been crying. She told me how tears would just start to fall when she remembers her. And how her voice is so vivid in her mind it's as if she was just there beside her. She still can't believe that she will never see her again, will never be with her again. She hated when people tell her that it's gonna be okay because it's not okay. And that only them who are mourning for Melody can truly understand the pain they are going through.

I felt very sad for my sister but I know that mourning is a part of the process. The process of letting go. But who am I to know? I have never really lost anyone very dear to me and it truly scares me to even think about it.

Life is short. Let's hug our loved ones today. Before we are forced to let go.

(posted in FB on Aug 26, 2010)

One of the challenges of being a parent is having the right answers to never-ending questions. Answers to questions that you have not even thought about before like 'Mommy, how many moons are there in Mars? or 'Mommy, what do these or those animals eat?'. Or to questions that are so apparent that you didn't even bother thinking about like 'Mommy, why do we fart?'. Or to questions that are so innocent that you end up laughing until the small kid gets angry because he feels that you were not taking him seriously. 'Mommy, can we buy a baby from the baby shop now?' or 'Mommy, if you eat a lot will a baby grow inside your tummy?'.

Just now Ice was about to throw a tantrum when we rejected his request for another Xbox game (it's a school day and he promised to play only one game). He bravely blackmailed us that he'll jump off the building to die if we don't let him play. (Okay, having to negotiate with a kid who knows that he's the most important thing to you is a different challenge all together). We asked him if he knows what's gonna happen if he jumps off the building. He said that he knows that he'll die. Then I started explaining that he won't die just yet but he'll be in extreme pain (i.e. broken bones, big wounds, bruises etc). It was starting to work when I saw the scared look in his eyes. But then Ronald didn't want him to dwell on the thought of dying and so he explained to him that killing oneself is a sin and will make him end up in hell. And there went the long explanation of what is heaven and what is hell.

After that we had dinner and Ice was watching cartoons while eating. He was asking something about fishing (the guy in the cartoon was fishing), which I half listened to coz Ronald was also talking to me at the same time. It only registered to me what he was saying when I heard him ask, 'So will I go to heaven or hell?'. It turned out that he was asking whether he'll go to heaven or hell if ever he goes fishing and the fish was too heavy that instead of catching the fish he ends up in the water and drown. After a minute he then asked whether he'll go to heaven or hell if some very bad guys kill him instead of him killing himself. He was trying to learn all the technicalities of what will make him go to hell so he'll know what he should or should not and can or cannot do.

Having a kid with a mind of a lawyer just adds up to the challenge. You should never go wrong in what you say as anything can be used against you. :)

(posted in FB on Oct 13, 2010)

When i was still back home, my dad would usually wait up on me (or any of my siblings) everytime I (or we) come home late. His first question would be 'Are you hungry?'. I always am hungry so obviously my answer would be a yes. In just a few minutes he'd then be able to cook something with whatever he has in his kitchen. He'd then stay with me just so I won't be alone while I eat. So while the city sleeps, we'd be up eating and chatting for hours about anything under the moon.

I miss that. :)

But come to think of it, I should be blaming my dad for my huge appetite and unreasonable hunger pangs!

(posted in FB on Jul 7, 2010)