How often do we find time for fitness in our lives? A number of Filipina women mostly busy moms would agree that since most of their days are spent either in the office or at home, finding time for fitness is always a challenge. Aside from the fact that it takes a lot of motivation and scheduling to squeeze in some fitness activities in one's busy life, the eagerness to see the results in such a short time may add to the reasons why most women lack interest when it comes to exercise. Money reasons may also be another factor why others are discouraged. While others can afford to enroll in a gym membership, join fun runs and Zumba parties, the idea that one still has to spend in order to get fit will always be a major consideration especially if one is on tight budget. Good thing there will always be affordable events meant not only for budget conscious women but for moms who yearn to have time for themselves by getting fit.
On June 1st, Women's Health Magazine will have its biggest fitness and wellness party for this year named "ARE YOU GAME?" which will be held at SM Music Hall at SM Mall Of Asia. It will be an all-day feel-good festival filled with the latest in fitness work outs, sports apparel and gear, beauty consultations and services, wellness products and services, health food and other fun activities by Women's Health, the number one magazine for every Pinay who values healthy lifestyle.
Since a lot of women, moms included will definitely take advantage of the said event, many would prefer to get in early. The less hassle it is to register, the better. And because the staff of Women's Health Magazine recognize how hectic every Pinay's schedule is, they have opened a pre registration for those who want to get access to the express lane. What more you get to bring one friend for free once you pre register. Simply buy a copy of the May or June issue, bring a valid ID and that will serve as your entrance pass for the event.
So if I were you find time to spend one Saturday for fitness not just for yourself but with your friends and other family members as well. Not only will it be a great way to bond with them but to appreciate once again how important it is to live a healthy lifestyle.
To pre register for Women's Health Magazine's "ARE YOU GAME " please visit their facebook page or simply pre register here.
I have always looked forward in celebrating Mother's Day with my mom and kids especially when I started working and have spent less times with my mom which sadly became fewer in between. Thus I always file my vacation leave in advance if Mother's Day will be a work day. Unfortunately due to the fact that whole month of April had been full of illness and blessings in disguise I got preoccupied that I failed to file my leave early. Thus when I found out that a team mate got the slot ahead of me I cannot help but feel sad. So I decided to give my gift early and told my mom about it who was then in the city visiting and staying with my brother's family. As always she understood, even telling me that she has to leave on that day with my other kids as she was going to vote for the elections the next day.
Despite the many promotions and events intended for Mother's Day I have spent it resting and getting in touch with my mom over the phone. As always the well wishers both at work and on social media could be seen, heard and read. There were lots of messages addressed to all moms, either biologically or by choice and some of them really touched a sensitive chord in my heart.
One of them came from a family friend's son, now in CA and has a family of his own. I could not help not to like and comment on what he wrote on facebook.com.
By Rodolfo Pring Jr
Mothers are not perfect. Mother’s Day can be painful for those whose mothers were absent, mean or abusive. I like to think it is never too late to have a happy childhood. Life has its challenges and is exceedingly unfair for many. So we cherish the love, comfort and safety our mothers provided, and we forgive the words and actions that hurt us.We do not have to forget, but we do have to forgive so we can move on with our lives. Living in the folds of old wounds does not allow us to fully see and experience the gifts of today.
Happy Mother's Day to all of the moms in the world!
Junior was just a young boy when his parents left for the US. It was their aunt and uncle who guided and took the role as parents while he and his siblings were growing up. He and his brother Mario were some of the smart kids that always made us laugh in our neighborhood and that included my dad. They were also musically gifted and excelled in academics just like their elder siblings. Though the whole family is now based in CA they have remained humble through the years, always willing to lend a helping hand when needed. I found his post very inspiring, touching on forgiveness and acceptance that despite our flawed characters it is never too late to relive and capture what was once lost.
Another message came from a mother figure at work who already resigned and who I have not seen for months now. I have gotten used on visiting her post before I head for home and since our schedules had changed it came to a point that those visits became rare. When I told her how sorry I was that I have not been there to spend some time on her last day of work, tears started to fall. I realized how much I miss her especially when she wrote that my mom raised me well enough to be a good mother. I feel so blessed choosing her to be my mom at the workplace because she taught me the real meaning of forgiveness and was one of the reasons why I chose to get up and push myself to work because I know just hearing her voice would melt all my hurt and worries away.
I thought I have had enough of those Mother's day messages until I visited facebook the next day. While I was scrolling on my updates a picture with a short note caught my attention. This time it came from my nephew Abe with a simple note for his mom. Perhaps it was the message or of my sister's face through the years that created a lump in my throat and an ache in my heart, creating sound like hiccups as tears uncontrollably fell down on my cheeks.
My sister and her son Abe (Baham) through the years
It has been almost a decade that I have not seen my one and only sister. My eldest daughter had not even finished grade school when she left for NY together with her family. Seeing her picture made me miss not just the years spent without her but the sacrifices every mother will make for the sake of her family including moving on with their lives spent away from love ones yet still get to smile even for a short while hiding all the need and the pain inside. I know Mother's day will be over once she read my message but it does not really matter. I told her to continue believing that all her sacrifices will pay off very soon and that includes seeing her home with my mom and the rest of our family.
I may have spent Mother's Day at work or have not gone to pamper myself, eat out, watch a movie and spend it with my whole family nevertheless I am thankful for the many greetings, messages and reflections I have learned not only on that day. They maybe simple or profound, at any rate I will never get tired of receiving, hearing or reading every one of them. Motherhood may have not been an easy choice nor a painless journey but in this world it is the ONE thing that I am most proud of. The respect, admiration and appreciation I had earned simply because I chose to be a mom will stay with me forever, a feeling I will never get enough of not just on Mother's Day but on each and every day that I am called a MOM.
Whenever people learn that I am a mom to seven kids , three having special needs I usually get different reactions. Through the years I have grown accustomed and learned to accept the fact that my kids and I will become popular without trying too hard. But no matter how big my family was, one thing that I did not compromise was giving them the right to education. Thus my decision to send them all to public schools which was the best that I could afford.
It was not easy.
We applied for scholarships but with not much luck. So we were left to rely on my income and sidelines as their dad's pay was sporadic for working freelance. Though one daughter lived with my mom in the province it was still hard when two kids were in college. There were days that my college daughters borrowed money from their classmates only to pay them back on my payday. They have witnessed how I worked extra hours even during the holidays so bills can be paid, groceries can be bought and money can be sent to my mom. They had seen how I computed every expense knowing immediately when something was wrong and questioning them if some change had not been returned yet. We all struggled, to the point of walking our way home including my two college girls all the way from Manila to Pasay just to take their exams
With all these challenges arguments cannot be avoided. Though every kid has the right to education still I believe that life is the best teacher and I encouraged them to learn beyond their classrooms. When the going gets tough I always make them remember how lucky they are. Though my parenting approach was far from perfect I made them understand that the reasons why I am passionate with what I do was simply because of them. Nothing more, nothing less.
This April my eldest daughter finally graduates from college. Though sacrifices will still be made it will not be that hard anymore. We have learned our lessons well and I know that one day I will look back at this life with my head up high knowing what I did was best .
(This entry was written for the smartparenting.com.ph writing contest Moms Know Best sponsored by Wilkins Distilled Water . You can view the winning entries here)
A week ago I just had my annual physical exam required by our company. CONVERGYS Philippines has very strict policies when it comes to their employees' physical exam and inability to comply or complete will result to insubordination and a memo coming from HR. When it was my turn to have my pap smear the obstetrician gynecologist asked the usual questions that I have grown accustomed answering.
"Is there a history in your family that we should know of like cancer , diabetes, hypertension and the like? "
I told her that there is history of diabetes on my mom's side of the family and hypertension on both sides.
"What about cancer ?"
And without battling an eyelash I told her that I come from a cancer stricken family on both sides.
I needed no further prodding as I knew she would ask who among my relatives died of cancer so I enumerated. I told her about the grand aunt who succumbed to breast cancer even after both breasts had been removed. I told her about my dad whose lung cancer left an invisible scar in my life until now, my aunt who lost her life to colon cancer, about my cousins almost yearly deaths without the knowledge of having signs detected and lately my uncle's wife who was like a fairy godmother, one I never saw since my baptism and who crossed over last August because of liver cancer. I tried to make the conversation as light as possible, even telling her that perhaps I might be one of the most boring persons on earth as I do not smoke nor drink, am not a fan of junk food, fast food chains and carbonated drinks. I also added that my medical history was not something to be proud of.
If I could only be given a choice not to tell about my family's health history I would. There was a time that talking things over with a friend, classmate or a relative was hard especially those first few months after my father died. Writing about it for the first time was like looking back at that very painful part of my life that always brought tears to my eyes.
My dad had been orphaned at a very young age and grew up without a father. Coming from a very poor family he did all sorts of odd jobs just to survive and finish his studies. Perhaps as a daughter I could understand why he learned to smoke early. I recall he would ask me buy him cigarettes and how we got freebies like towels and bags given by his favorite brand. As a musician and an artist he did not have a regular income so there were days spent taking care of us. When the gigs became fewer in between he stayed home more often until he decided to become a full time house husband.
When I entered high school I noticed something odd about my dad. I had gotten used seeing him light a cigarette but there were days that I saw him with an unlit match stick instead which made us both laugh. It was then that he told me he was teaching himself how to quit which he successfully did. However it was when he stopped smoking that we had noticed something different and strange. He started to sleep less in the evenings due to his constant coughing and had difficulty breathing. As days went on he started to have emphysema making it hard for him to enjoy a simple meal and could barely talk while catching his breath .
When I went to the city to pursue college my dad's health changed drastically and because I only visited my family once a month due to money reasons I had learned that my dad started to loose his voice. He also cannot be left alone unlike before where he took care of every chore in the house while my mom taught. When I asked him if there was a slight chance that his voice would come back he said he was not sure. This was in the early 80's, when the Philippines was not yet aware of the early signs of cancer. It was only after many visits and tests that it was found out. It was hard but as a family we learned how to cope. We were unprepared financially and emotionally but still we were thankful that dad had siblings in the US who were both kind enough to support us all the way. That was when my dad started living in the best hospitals in the city and when I get to visit him after school. He did not agree to chemotherapy because his thin body could not bear the effects after each session so he chose cobalt therapy instead. I still recall when he showed me that article in the Philippine Daily Inquirer where his doctor was featured while showing the apparatus used for patients undergoing cobalt therapy. He felt so proud and safe that he was being handled by the best people in the country.
It was summer of 1987 when all of my dad's siblings got together after many years. My aunt Afric and uncle Pinong from CA visited my dad upon my aunt Naty's request stating they might not be lucky to see him the next summer after that. My dad who often stayed in bed would ask us to accompany him to see his siblings next door so he could be with them. It seemed that being with them again and seeing his family was complete made him forget his illness even for a short time. Sadly by the end of summer his siblings had to say goodbye, including me and my sister who will be entering college, spending most of her adult life in the city just like me.
It was the fourth of October 1987, just two days after my nineteenth birthday that dad finally succumbed to cancer. He was at the hospital not recognizing any one of us when we arrived from Manila to see him fight for the last time. There was a tube in his nose where he got his food intake and an IV on his leg . WE were all crying silently, still not accepting the fact that the man who made us all laugh, sing and taught us to be independent was the same person lying helpless yet hearing nothing because the illness took everything including his voice. The pain was so much to bear that we have to let him go. I saw how he took his last breath and how I stubbornly held his hand still even after he stopped breathing. It was only when the medical staff covered his whole body with a sheet that I told myself that it was over. It was a memory that had been imbedded not just in my mind but in my heart as long as I live.
Since that dreadful day I told myself that I will grow old without knowing the taste of cigarette smoke and alcohol. I vowed that if I learned one of my kids smoked or drank either moderately, worst heavily especially behind my back either due to peer pressure or as a sign of rebellion and independence, I will tell them to stop school and to move out of my house. I also made it a point to seldom go to parties or bars and if I do I make sure there will be a no smoking area. I also do not stay long at an event when the smell of smoke is no longer bearable for me to take. I really did not care if my rules were very strict especially to my own kids but I would rather have a smoke and alcohol free home than let them experience the same hell that I went through when my dad was diagnosed with cancer. If there was one thing that this dreaded disease had taught me, it is the choice to live a healthy life.It maybe difficult at times but we try our best to be mindful of the consequences once we can feel the signs of an impending illness. We try to prevent it, know its cause, deal and learn with it.
Many years after my dad died this illness still had not stopped taking members of my family. Sometimes I wonder if it was a curse handed down by the Heavens. I have to admit that it sometimes crossed my mind of my chances of getting the same fate. But then a lot of things have changed. People have become more aware and proactive how to detect early signs of it. Foundations all over the world were built on research to discover the cure, not accepting the idea that there was none. The media continue to educate everybody, spreading the information, making it viral so that all of us will know.
This year marks the 100th Anniversary of the American Cancer Society. I may not be an American , have not been educated nor worked in the US but an illness like cancer had created a worldwide stigma making everyone fully aware that once you get hit with it the world will not let you suffer alone. Guilt, remorse even anger will likely to come only to learn that acceptance is the only way to deal with it. Once that happens it will not just be your fight as the whole world will be behind your back. You become a powerful voice, not just a statistic, empowering millions that whether cancer is here to stay or not we will continue to fight and will never stop until we find the cure.
I have been looking forward for April to come . I have waited long for this month because first, my eldest daughter Sam finally graduates with a degree in BS Mathematics from Pamantasan ng Lunsod ng Maynila (PLM). Second I got to join the Good Housekeeping Fun Run and ran my first 5k with a record of 40 minutes and 46 seconds. Not bad from somebody who just came from work, had no sleep and whose preparation was just brisk walking and joining the aerobics at the park before the fun run. And finally I will get to attend two writing workshops for the first time in my life - The WAHM workshop by Manila Workshops and the Blog Inspired one by Dainty Mom. I was so exited and plan on writing all said events sadly the Heavens have other plans for me.
A week before the school year ended, my son was infected with chicken pox from his classmate. Though he easily recovered in less than two weeks the place where we stay was not really that big to prevent the virus from spreading. All kids were okay when they went to Pampanga to spend Holy Week with my mom thing was come Easter Sunday my mom told me they all need to go back because it seemed the symptoms of the virus started showing. Since I have all their HMO cards with me, I did not have much choice. Other than that my brother's kids were also spending their vacation and had not have chicken pox yet. So the money that was supposed to be used for the WAHM's registration went to the kids medication instead and it almost made me broke. But then money can be earned so I just look forward on the coming payday and the commissions I will get from direct selling.
A few days ago, my daughter who grew up with my mom sent me a message that her grandmother will be confine in the hospital. She added it was so hot in our place that my mom started to loose appetite. My mom is diabetic and appetite loss was not a good sign. It may cause her blood sugar to shoot up, making her blood pressure fluctuate which might lead to a stroke. She was able to survive multiple strokes before even when my brother was still alive. That happened a few years ago and what made this one more crucial and a bit frightening. It was also one of the things that made me loose sleep affecting my focus at work and sadly even my blogging activities.
There was one quotation that I have posted twice on my facebook wall and will now post a third time. Reading it often and saying it out loud has helped me to hold on. It also inspired me to write and share about it hoping that anybody who reads it may get even a little bit of strength and wisdom from it all .
There had been days that I felt I have nothing good to write, to blog about. As much as possible when I write or read my post, I would like to see myself smiling at the end. There are some posts that get even better every time I read them and it would be great if a lot of readers get to feel that, including mine. Thus it takes a lot of effort, a lot of reading, planning and thinking on what to write about next. Personally it takes a lot of discipline especially I also work during evenings and have to maintain a scorecard in order to preform. Thus when sickness and heath issues trigger my life I sometimes veer from my center, loose focus to the point of being emotional and helpless. And I don't like that. With less than two years of blogging I have discovered a piece of sky that I thought I never had. It took me to places where I met creative people and who continuously inspire me everyday. They may not leave comments on my posts but once they do that heady feeling stays with me not just the whole day. And I cannot help myself but return the favor by visiting their blogs or by making an effort to write better posts each time. And the cycle goes on and on.
A friend once told me that one will never find what he is looking for until he search for it whether it be happiness, acceptance, peace, inspiration. One of my living principles is to find inspiration in everything that I do. There may be trying days but there are also instances when inspiration just overflow even from the mundane things. Be it parenting, friendships, kid stuff, autism , health issues or a favorite sport, I learned the hard way that there will always be an inspiration to blog about. I just need to continually search for it in everything that I do, everyday.
Priceless moments with my Mom and kids last Mother's Day 2012
The Graduate
My three kids with special needs - Kookie, Sidney and Red
Mommy Moments with Red
My First Fun Run
My PBA nephew Alex with San Miguel Coffee Mixers coach Tim Cone
I was visiting an online friend's blog when I chanced upon The Ultimate Blog Party 2013 sponsored by 5 Minutes For Mom. Personally I am not much into parties. I can even be called anti social. I really do not like dressing up and preparing for the big night looking forward to meet friends, mingle and socialize. I would rather stay home, read a book or watch TV. I could count the times I attended parties and most of them where Christmas parties from work. Even my kids grew up without having to experience their own birthday parties because I cannot afford to plan, budget , prepare and invite people to come over. My life is already busy as it is with seven kids. Sharing a simple meal, eating at a fast food chain or watching a favorite movie was how we celebrate our special days.
Janice and Susan are twin bloggers behind 5 Minutes For Mom, an online community for moms who support, encourage , inspire and empower moms all over the world. I have visited their site a few times when I was just starting but since I was knew with blogging and all its technicalities I shied away from blog parties including theirs.I felt that I did not have much to share at that time. After a year of blogging I gained confidence, spontaneity and skill.I can now write short quality posts, promote events, write reviews and finally attend blog parties.
So if I were you, head on to this The Ultimate Blog Party 2013. You will not only get to connect with other bloggers but get the chance to win awesome prizes from their giveaways.
There was once a famous novel written by Alex Haley made for television. This series titled "Roots" was also featured in Readers Digest and garnered numerous Emmy Awards. Despite the controversies about the author's plagiarism, copying some chapters to be precise from the book "The African, " his personal journey on how he was able to finally find his roots was one story that I will always remember as long as I live.
It was year 1977 when my dad encouraged us to watch the series. Being young there were scenes that I found boring simply because there were topics I found hard to understand as it touched on historical topics like slavery and discrimination which was something very alien to my nine year old self. The author's story started way back in 1750 from Gambia, West Africa where his teen age ancestor Mandinka warrior Kunta Kinte was captured by black collaborators under the direction of white men, while fetching wood outside his village to make a drum for his brother. Along with other Negroes Kunta boarded the ship to America so they can be sold as slaves to their masters. From there the famous "whipping" could be seen as discipline and punishment each time a slave struggled to escape and refused to follow or give in to what was required, ordered and told, including denouncing his African name. Thus all of the slaves original names where changed to American ones.
From then on these "colored people" painfully adjusted with their lives, tilling the soils, doing household work, having their lives controlled, never having to experience justice nor freedom yet continued to struggle and keep their heritage and traditions until Lincoln became President and declared the emancipation of their rights. Though it took many years for them to be fully recognized and accepted in an American society, there is no denying that discrimination still live until now.The ending story takes back the author from the same place where his ancestors came from, even finding a cousin before left.
Last Good Friday marked another historical event in our family as my Californian nephew Alex finally visits his roots in Lubao, Pampanga. Together with his girlfriend Miakka, both got to meet the people who perhaps Alex only had heard from stories his grandpa and grandma had lovingly told. Sadly I was not there to join any of them since I have to work that day. So I just told my daughter Selena to take some pictures . Below were some them.
Alex with my kids, Selena, Kyle, Kookie and cousin Denzell Joshua
Miakka Lim with my kids, sister in law Janice Mallari and kids, LJ and Joshua
With my brother Dean
With my eldest daughter Sam
Alex and Miakka
When I shared my first post about Alex with his family in CA, her Auntie Marilyn sent me a long letter and admitted how she was not able to control her tears which only made her miss him more. She told how his parents would sing lullabys to their grandkids in Kapampangan (Pampango dialect) and how Alex as a kid would ask some of the dialect's English translations. Both my uncle and aunt (who was also my godmother) hail from Lubao. Some family members were not really that surprise when Alex decided to pursue his dream of playing basketball professionally in the Philippines. Even his dad told me that the only sad thing with Alex's decision was that he will not be able to watch any of his games live. He also thanked us for making him feel home just by watching and cheering every time my kids and I watch his games.
There were a lot of pictures taken on that day with our other relatives who perhaps Alex only knew from stories told to him. And staring at these pictures made me look back of that awarded mini series.There really must be something undefinable in tracing one's roots and making the stories heard and re told come alive. Perhaps it is not just acknowledging that our lives are connected but more of accepting the past and our future which is the best way for us to move on with our lives.
I may not have been there to see and talk to Alex again but I was sure glad and thankful he had time to visit his roots. It only proved that the man know how to look back where he came from and more enough reason for us to love him more.
I come from a place where the people are known for cooking delicious food. Though I am one of the exemptions from that perception I have to admit that when it comes to fine dining the Kapampangans (people from Pampanga) had been known not just in the Philippines but in other parts of the world as well. Coincidentally some of my sisters in law were also born in Pampanga as their dad hails originally from there and the plan to start a catering business had been a favorite conversation every time they get together.
During my rare visit to my in laws, we have talked on the challenges and the rewards of starting a catering business. From research, brain storming not to mention the money and time plus the sacrifice that will be invested in putting it up, they admitted that though practicality is a given when starting a business they all agreed that they will not compromise the quality and value for their service. Since they were open to suggestions, I have mentioned how a friend who now has her own catering business visited a website and how she was able to purchase some of the supplies needed when she was starting. They immediately went online and checked it out and they have to admit they found that everything that they need were all there. Other than the convenience of it being a one time stop and shop, they also learned that they will get their money's worth since they will be dealing with people who has been in the industry for years now. And with that knowledge I felt that somehow I have contributed to that catering dream in the making. I will surely be one of the proudest people on that day this will all come true.
They all say that parenting is the most difficult job in the world. There are no degrees nor schools meant to prepare anybody especially one who took the plunge in parenting accidentally. I wonder how the world and our children would turn out if things would have been different. With the ever changing demands of parenting and childcare, parents especially mothers turn to books, media , their families and friends for support hoping that they are doing the right thing.
Through the years I have learned that motherhood is a continued learning process. As parenting issues grow and become complicated in proportion to my kids' age and development I have to admit there were days that I have to rely on my gut feel and firm sense of values handed down by my parents but have been modified through the course of time in handling each and one of them. From early symptoms of viral infections to the most heated argument with a daughter who insists on working her butt out to earn, I sometimes feel I need to learn more to cope up. Though I admit that at times I am tempted to give in still the instincts of motherhood helped me to hang on at the end of the day.
They all say that mothers know best.That perception maybe a little bit frightening because of the high expectations that people think mothers should know all the answers to the questions when in fact we honestly don't. The knowledge in handling our families come from the never ending hits and misses that we learn from everyday experiences that oftentimes make us forget ourselves, thinking that we were born only to give. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why not only our families put us on invisible pedestals for every hurdle that we win and every accomplishment we achieve no matter how big or small it is.
So from drinking only safe distilled water to having their kids live life to the fullest, I salute all parents especially moms who only long to give what is best for their families. And since each mom has a story to tell and we learn from each other stories, you may want to share yours by joining Smart Parenting Magazines's Moms Know Best , "The Wilkins Distilled Water Writing Contest."
The mechanics are easy :
* In 400 words or less, write about how you give your family your utmost love and care. You may include the challenges you faced, the lengths you've gone to or the sacrifices and difficult choices you needed to make. You can choose to write your own story in English, Tagalog or even Tag-lish.Then submit your story here. *
* This contest is open only to mothers from the Philippines aged 18 years old and above. *
The prizes :
* Writers of the five (5) selected stories for publication in magazine will each receive Php 5,000 pesos in cash and Php 5,000 pesos worth of gift certificates for Wilkins products. *
* One grand winner will have her story turned into a short film AND will receive Php 10,000 pesos in cash and Php 5,000 pesos worth of gift certificates for Wilkins products.*
So what mother would not want to win these great prizes ? I for sure would not think twice of joining and that was exactly what I did. Besides, I might even learn a thing or two , even get inspired from my fellow moms too.
Summer has always been a great time for spending vacations especially for kids but for parents, that would also mean an endless creative way of having them busy and doing something worthwhile. In my family of seven minions, that does not only include spending time with their one and only grandma but pigging out on whatever their restless appetites can think of. Though my kids have never been picky eaters, at times I wonder if that was a good thing as there were days I am almost tempted to have them eat twigs and leaves to appease their never ending crave for food. Financially we are not well off and though my kids had learned the value of money early, I also have learned that recycling had taught me more than the financial aspect of it.
My mom had always kept things for sentimental reasons and since my kids were very aware of that I told them that there were a lot of these at home that have to be discarded and some can even be sold at a junk shop. They had been taught in school that old bottles, newspapers, magazines or scrap metal can be recycled and sold. They also learned that it was not easy to earn money. So I told them to do a scavenger hunt of the things their grandma kept but had become trash trough the years due to lack of use. They went to check on her very old pocketbooks that she no longer read, where the pages had been soiled and appliances that will cost a hefty amount if one chose to have them fixed still. Funny thing was they got to bond while looking for ways to have them sold at a junk shop without my mom knowing it. They waited for that day when their grandma visited my brother's family in the city so they could sell their stuff at the junk shop. And that was the just the start of their scavenging and learning activities.
From copper wires, bottles, cans, plastics from chairs, cabinets, basins and pails no longer of use, even their old test papers and bond papers, unused hand me down textbooks from their cousins, they all sold. What more the junk shop's owner told them to come back anytime so they could earn more.When they told me about this, I could not help but admire the wisdom they have learned. Though their earnings where not that much, what touched me more as a mother was the thought that they had fun doing it based on what they had shared. I may have suggested the idea but their initiative and interest to learn made me realize that any task given, no matter how boring and challenging at first could turn out to be enjoyable in the end. In a way they have creatively managed to spend their time and get to bond with each other as well.
There may still be more boring summers to come but I know my kids will always find ways in dealing them creatively. Besides it really would not hurt to recycle, earn and learn from it all.
