STOP "Always Doing Something!" and SMELL the ROSES

Hello, Everyone!

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been pretty busy.

Yes, BUSY!!!

I may currently be under-employed, but I'm still a mom of 3 and that means there's always something that needs to be done!

The other day, I went to bed exhausted and it was only 10 p.m.

I turned to my husband and said to him, "Why am I so tired when I didn't even work today?!?"

"That's 'coz you're always doing something!" was his simple but so accurate reply.

Always doing something.

I think that applies to most of us these days, don't you think?

When are we ever NOT doing anything anymore?  Why are we always so busy?!?

I thought I had gotten better at slowing down and simply enjoying life.  This past summer I've been able to relax more and do things like sit by the lake and listen to the waves or take a stroll along a nature trail.

But now with the kids back in school, I feel like there's always something that needs to be done again.  Gotta do the dishes or fold laundry or reorganize dresser drawers.  Gotta pick up the kids from school, feed them, make sure they get their homework done...  Call this person, email that one... Take care of this and that...

How did I ever manage to do all this while I had a full-time job?!?

Even my kids seem so busy all the time.

Girls on the Run. Volleyball.  Basketball.  Sleepovers.  Parties.  Play dates.  Let's not even mention HOMEWORK!!!

Can't we all... SLOOOOOOW...  down... a... little?

You know that old-school expression "Stop and smell the roses"?  There's value to that advice and we need to follow it.

We don't literally have to sniff some flowers, but we can certainly spend more time out in Nature - relaxing and appreciating the beauty around us.  When we do that, we take care of ourselves. We need to do that more.

We need to allow ourselves to rest and relax.

I know there's a sense of urgency for all our projects and to-do lists, but we also need to prioritize our health and personal well-being.  We need to do that in order to take care of all those projects and more importantly to take care of our loved ones.

We don't actually have to be out in Nature to "stop and smell the roses."  It really means to slow down and appreciate all the good things that Life is offering.  Being present in the moment.  Being aware of the little acts of kindness that people do. Being appreciative of what's around us.

But being out in Nature is, in my opinion, the best way to stop and smell the roses.  There's just that calming effect of being around the natural elements that makes us appreciate Life more.

So, fellow BUSY PEOPLE, will you please take some time this week to do something relaxing?  Sit by the lake (or ocean if you're so lucky!) and listen to the calming rhythm of the waves.  Take a stroll around the park. Or hike along a nature trail.

I have to do this, too.

You don't have to go anywhere; you can just sit on your couch quietly (but no electronic devices, of course!) and just relax.  Or cuddle with your kids and/or partner.

Wherever you are, just stop... Breathe... Smell the roses...

Life is short; let's slow down a little and enjoy it a lot more!

Pinoys Line Up - Again! - at the Grand Opening of Seafood City

Yes, we were at it again this morning! Waiting and waiting and waiting in line...

6 a.m. - that's what time I arrived at Seafood City at 5033 N. Elston in Chicago.  Forty-nine others were already there before me. (I know how many because we were later given numbered tickets.)

Supposedly some people started camping out at 2 in the morning.  I'm not sure if there's any truth in that or not.  But many of us were there so early in the morning.

Why?

Well... Most people were there, because they're already familiar with the California-based mega market chain. They knew this store would be filled with a variety of fresh seafood, meats, fruits and vegetables, as well as hard-to-find Filipino ingredients and other grocery items at a reasonable price.

Some were excited about the turo-turo (loosely translated to "point-point") restaurants like Grill City, Crispy Town, and Noodle Street where customers are able to view the different dishes and point out their choices like grilled tilapia or grilled pork belly, fried bangus (milkfish), or maybe pancit (noodles) and lumpia (eggrolls).

I was there for the special promo: a 25 pound bag of Jasmine rice for only $1.

This was only offered for the first 500 customers hence the early arrival.

And really, the wait was not bad at all!

At first, I was a little worried about the wait, because I had driven my husband's car over there and had forgotten to take one of our folding chairs out of my car.  Luckily, I remembered the banig (woven mat) that I had long ago stashed in the trunk of my husband's car.

Once I had that banig to sit on, I was totally fine! I had my water bottle, a banana for breakfast, two books to read, and my iPhone.  Good to go!

There really was not a dull moment for me.  I had my books and phone after all.  But what actually entertained me were my companions.

Just like at the Jollibee event in July, I witnessed a heart-warming camaraderie among strangers.  People chatting and joking with each other like they've been friends forever.

I think I've got it all figured out.  It's the kababayan spirit among Filipinos!  Kababayan translates into fellow Filipino or fellow countryman.  But I think the kababayan spirit is synonymous to kindred spirit.

Most Filipinos (especially those who were born in the Philippines and are recent immigrants or even those who've been away from the Philippines for so long) get excited to see their own kind, someone that they have cultural similarities with, being a minority in a gigantic sea of other cultures.  Not that we don't appreciate other cultures; I think it has more to do with feeling a sense of belonging.

One woman that I had shared my banig with told me that she's an employee of Seafood City and she described how training was so fun, because there was so much camaraderie among the mostly Filipino group of workers. They were almost always laughing she told me, talking and joking in Tagalog. She told me it felt like she was back in the Philippines.

And, I think, that's another reason why so many Filipinos are willing to wait in long lines for this place and for Jollibee.  It's because these places give them the feeling of being back home.

Even I felt nostalgic for the Philippines as I roamed the aisles of Seafood City.  So many things that are "so Filipino"!

My favorite banana ketchup was there... :)

All kinds of Pinoy ice cream like ube (purple yam), macapuno (coconut), langka (jackfruit), queso (cheese)...

 
A friend posted a picture on Facebook of different flavored Spam!

They even had all different kinds of shrimp paste (bagoong) which I never knew existed!

Then there were the stranger stuff like frog legs and pork blood...

Seafood City is really just a super market with seafoods, meats, veggies, fruits, and other grocery items.

But at the same time, to Filipinos, it's something a little bit more...

It's a little bit of home.

And that's worth standing in line for.

(The $1 sack of rice was definitely worth the wait as well!)

I wish our kids could play outside more!

Anyone else out there think that the current generation of kiddos do not spend enough time playing outside?

I don't mean playing Pokemon Go, either.

I mean playing. Outside. With friends. With neighbors.

Hide and seek. Pretending to be explorers or pirates. Building fairy houses. Climbing trees.  Rolling down hills. Digging in the dirt.

Soon it will be winter and my kids will be stuck indoors.  Ugh.

But even with the beautiful summer and now fall weather, I feel like they still haven't spent enough time playing outside.

I remember my childhood.  I grew up in the Philippines, in Iligan City.  And my siblings and I would spend our summer days running around with the other neighborhood kids.  We played hide and seek, hiding all over the neighborhood, not just in our backyard.  We even played on the streets.

Ah, patintero.  I wish my girls could experience playing patintero.  It's a Filipino game that we literally played on the street.  We would draw lines on the ground to form giant boxes.  Two teams would play against each other.  One team would start off as the guards, standing on or running along the lines.  Their objective would be to guard the lines and block the opposing team from crossing to the "finish" line.  The other team's objective would be to cross all the way to the opposite end without getting tagged.  At least one player from the team had to make it otherwise the other team would win that round.

Here's a picture from wyxiewonderland.wordpress.com to help with the visualization of this game.

Patintero was a lot of fun, especially when there were a lot of us playing.

My parents (and most likely yours, too) also spent a lot of time outdoors with friends when they were young.

My dad told us stories of how when he was little, he and his friends would often play by the river.  They would jump off trees and dive into the water.  Sometimes, they even went eel-hunting! They would stick their fists into holes, allowing the eels to clamp onto them, and then pull the eels out of their holes that way.

I wish my girls could experience stuff like that.

It's sad that these days, most of us don't even know our neighbors. Especially those of us who live in the city and have busy lives.

My girls never get to play with the neighborhood kids.  Part of the reason was that when I worked as a teacher, we spent most of our time at school.  By the time we got home, it was dinnertime and then bedtime.  My girls never had a chance to meet and get to know the neighborhood kids and play outdoor games with them.

At least, they've gotten to know some of the neighborhood kids at my parents' suburban neighborhood. Spending weekends and summer days there have afforded them that experience of playing with neighbors. Thank goodness they've also experienced block parties over there - watching movies on someone's driveway, making tie-dyed shirts with the neighborhood kids, and playing mini golf on home-made courses.

But it's still not the same as how it was in our childhood days, right?  The complete freedom to just go biking around all day or playing outside 'til it got dark.  Now we worry about child molesters and, in some neighborhoods, gun violence.

Oh well, I guess we'll have to make do.

That's why I try to schedule camping and fishing trips and beach days for my girls.  That way they can experience and enjoy The Great Outdoors.

As for playing with other kids, well... Play dates and sleepovers will have to do.

And there's always the playground after school.

I guess I'll let them dig in the dirt with their friends over there.

Banana Ketchup?!?

I decided to change my blog's name today.  I realized that the original name was a bit blah, so...

For the first time in history, I introduce to you... Drum roll, please...

Drum, drum, drum, drum...

BananaKetchupMomma!!!

(Crickets...
Oh, those are the crickets in our leopard gecko's tank.)

Why Banana Ketchup, you ask?

Well, for those not familiar with banana ketchup, it could be judged as strange, different, foreign...  But if you gave it a chance, you'll see that it's sweet and can even be spicy!

Kinda like me! :)

Actually, I chose the name, because it's unique and it's also a tie-in to my Filipino roots.

Banana ketchup (or sometimes it's called banana sauce) is a product of the Philippines.  It's a sauce very much like ketchup, but it's made from bananas and it's got a sweeter taste than the traditional tomato ketchup.

I luuuv this stuff! I try to make sure we always have a bottle of it in our fridge.

It goes well with pretty much anything fried (chicken, fish, pork chops) and also with eggs (especially sunny side up) and, of course, with rice!

My husband sometimes cooks this Filipino dish called giniling which is ground meat with potatoes and I think tomatoes as well.  And whenever he serves this dish, I gotta have banana ketchup with it.

Same thing with Spam.  Gotta have banana ketchup with it.  Of course, I can't really eat Spam anymore. Too much sodium!  But it's a Filipino thing...

So, yeah, that's what banana ketchup is.

It's starting to become more prevalent in grocery stores, in the ethnic aisles.

Maybe one day, if you haven't yet, you'll try some?

Dear Daddies of Little Ones...

Dear Daddies of Little Ones,

First off, let me say that YES, you are perfectly capable of caring for your children.

I am not going to try and change your ways.  Yes, you may do things differently and that is perfectly fine with me.

After thirteen years and three children, I've learned to let my husband do things his way.

Ok, I admit I may have complained about some things on occasion... But that's 'coz my little one couldn't sleep very well that night because of the SCARY movie she was allowed to watch!

I'm sorry, I digressed!

What was I saying?  Oh yes, I'm not going to try and change your ways...

But can I just please make a suggestion? I swear, it's not a big deal!  Just a teeny, tiny suggestion...

Band-aids!

 
Yes, Band-aids!  Can you please just keep one or two in your wallet and maybe some in the glove compartment of your car?

Because, I SWEAR, there is something MAGICAL about Band-aids!  Once that Band-aid is on your little one's boo-boo, all the BOO-HOO-ing will STOP!  Seriously!  I am a mom of three and have been a Kindergarten teacher.  I've witnessed the magic of Band-aids!

Now the reason I felt compelled to write this letter is because twice in one week I encountered a dad with a little one in need of a Band-aid.

The first time it happened, my girls and I were at the mall.  We happened to pass by a dad with his little boy and a couple of other little ones.  His boy was bleeding on the forehead and the poor frazzled dad was going through a whole bunch of napkins and his son's shirt was all bloodied. I couldn't just walk away without offering any help.  And, of course, I didn't have just Band-Aids in my purse; I also had Neosporin and hand wipes.

The boy had ran into a table corner and they were waiting for mall security to bring a first aid kit.  The poor boy was, of course, crying his eyes out.  But once he got some Band-aids, he calmed down.  Poor Daddy, too, felt better!

The second incident was only a few days later.  This happened at Supercuts, while my girls were waiting to get their back-to-school haircuts.  A dad and his son were seated at the bench near us.  Somehow, the boy (who may have been 7 or 8) got a cut on his leg.  Or maybe he had a scab that he accidentally scratched.

Anyway, the boy would not stop complaining to his dad about it.  But guess what happened after I offered him a Band-aid?  Yup, felt better instantly!

I'm telling you, Daddies... MAGIC!!!

Ok, so you might be one of those Daddies that want their kids to be tough.  That's cool!  But you can at least think of it as a sanitary issue.  You gotta keep germs out of your kids' wounds.  And you gotta keep your kids' blood and germs away from other people.

So, if you don't want to give your child a Band-Aid as a comfort, at least do it for sanitary purposes.

And it's so easy to do.  Just put one or two in your wallet.  That's it.  Easy, right?

Well, Daddies, thank you for letting me make my tiny suggestion.  Carry on...

Oh wait, one more thing...

YOU ROCK!!!  There is nothing sweeter - and sexier - than a Daddy taking care of his children!

So keep rockin' that Daddy hat!

My First Day of School... Away From School!

"HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!"

That was how I greeted my girls early that morning.  (Well, except for when I accidentally blurted out, "Happy Birthday!" to my middle child.)

Outwardly, I was very cheerful and peppy. And I actually was feeling cheerful and peppy!  I was excited for my girls who were starting 2nd, 6th, and 8th grade.

On the other hand, I was also heartbroken; because I was no longer going to school with them like I've always done their entire school lives.  It was a stark reminder that I am no longer a teacher.

I still don't regret my choice to leave.  My time as a teacher has ended.  I am at peace with that.

This Labor Day weekend, I felt incredibly relieved that I didn't have to go through all the stressful preparations teachers usually go through the weeks prior to and during the first days of school, getting the classroom ready and preparing lessons and materials.

For the first time in my daughters' entire lives, I was able to devote my complete attention to them and to their back-to-school preparations.  I was able to completely relax with them and enjoy the unofficial last days of summer - stress-free! We had fun at the beach, spent some trampoline-jumping time at Sky High, and even baked and decorated back-to-school cupcakes (after they made their veggie-laden healthy school lunches, of course!).

Prior to this year, the weeks before school started were always a highly stressful time for me.  I would almost always be preoccupied with and overwhelmed by a long to-do list.  Not so this year.

But I have to admit, I did miss getting my classroom ready and preparing all the activities for the first weeks of school.  

And on that first day of school, it felt strange driving up to school, knowing that only my girls were going in.  I was now an outsider.  I was now "just a parent," no longer a staff member of the school I had been a part of for 17 years!  I was no longer going to be able to work with the children that had grown up before my eyes.

Despite the sadness I felt, I remained outwardly cheerful.  Maybe a little too much.  My tween and teen were pretty embarrassed when I enthusiastically and loudly yelled, "Happy 1st day of school!!!" out the car window to a group of former 6th grade students.

Good thing my 2nd grader was more tolerant, because I continued with my "Happy 1st day of school!" greetings as we waited in the playground for the back-to-school parade to start.

Former Kindergarten students of mine came up to me and showered me with hugs.  Again, I was struck by the reality and sadness of no longer being a teacher at this school!

I know I'm still in the early stage of grief and that eventually the pain will ease as time goes on.

This break-up just needs some getting used to.  After all, this relationship lasted almost two decades!  A lot of history and a lot of love involved.

Lucky for me, I have a very supportive and caring husband who was able to distract me from my grief by taking me on a date immediately after we dropped our girls off at school.  

We went for a long walk by the lake and then feasted on crepes on the beach. Nutella, strawberries, and pecans... Comfort foods with my best friend! Just what I needed.

Around midday, I discovered that a former colleague had sent me a message. It reassured me that my girls would be okay at school even though I would no longer be with them.  And it also commended me for my courage and bravery for recognizing that I was in a situation that was no longer healthy for me.  It ended with, "Be at peace, my friend, and may your journey forward be filled with purpose and a renewed sense of self." I tried to read it out loud to my husband but was too choked up to finish.  It made me cry, but it was just what I needed to hear.

Later that afternoon, I attended a 2-hour workshop with acclaimed career coach and author Steven Steinfeld at the Harold Washington Library.  He imparted valuable advice and tips on how to have a successful job search.  That workshop was empowering for me.  It helped me realize what I needed to do next and gave me a renewed sense of purpose.  Again, just what I needed.

So, yes, I survived my first day of school away from school!  It was painful, but I survived because of the wonderful, helpful people that God put on this Earth.  I am incredibly grateful.