3 Years and Counting…

15 January 2009.

Three (3) years of marriage.

I’d like to say it has been blissful.

But that would be a lie.

As with all marriages, we have had our share of disagreements (who’s idea is better), arguments (who’s right), and catfights (Of course, I am!).  Sometimes I win (“Babe, where are my golf clubs?”), sometimes he wins (“Okay, you can have the red room as well”), other times there are just no winners (“I just had to walk it off.”  “I followed you.”)

There are days we understood each other…perfectly.  Acting in unison, melding into one.  Some days we just don’t see eye to eye.  (“Just WHO are YOU?!)

There are days we can’t have enough of each other; there are also days we can’t stand each other. (“Space” is not only a design concept; it is a human right!) 

My husband is not the same person I have met before. 

He no longer opens the car door for me (“kaya mo naman yan”), but he massages my legs at night and my back in the morning.  He no longer surprises me with flowers (Sayang lang) and gifts (Mahal) given in grand production (Arte), but he gave me a 20 gram white gold bracelet (that carries Nina’s initial) for Christmas.   He no longer kisses me with the same passion as when we were merely a couple, but I felt him tuck me in and kiss me goodnight in my sleep last night.

A friend once told me that there are things about one’s husband that one may not be able to agree with.  She failed to add that there are things about one’s husband that one will be able to love. 

Along with the booming voice and the sometimes abrasive tones are the sweet candid statements of hopes and dreams, the honest and vulnerable utterances of fears and apprehensions for the family’s future.  Along with the sometimes torturous fights are the sweet, heartbreaking, and oftentimes wacky, reconciliations.   Along with the cluttered guitars and the golfclubs on the hallway is the need and willingness to share one’s love and passion, to de-stress, to entertain, in front of the family, “with” the family.

Marriage is truly not what I envisioned it to be.

It has not been rosy, it has not been blissful at all.

But it has always been happy. 🙂

 

Nina’s Baptismal Celebration

Yesterday’s Eucharistic celebration was the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus.

Which reminded me that, after all the hoopla, I forgot to blog and post the pics of my daughter’s baptism!

It must have been the rush that comes with the season.  It must have been the burnt dress (yes, our helper burned the dress I intended to use for the occasion.  I cried a bucket and no one, save my friends, seem to understand why I was so distressed!) It must have been the daunting task of uploading a hundred photos… that I totally failed to write about it!  

But, here it is, (minus all the angst),  Nina’s Baptismal Celebration!  

 

“I baptize you in the name of the Father…

Of the son…

And of the Holy Spirit.

 

 

By this white garment you have “put on Christ”, have risen with Christ, anointed by the Holy Spirit, incorporated into Christ.

By this candle, lit from the Easter candle, Christ have enlightened you.  You are now “the light of the world.”

Your godparents shall assist and guide you to remain faithful in the Christian path.

You are now purified from all sins, a new creature, an adopted son of God, a partaker of the divine nature, a member of Christ and co-heir with him, and a temple of the Holy Spirit.

Welcome to your family of Christians…

Welcome to the Christian World!”

 

It was such a success…

 

We had to give thanks…through little cupcakes of love.

 

We felt the love.

 

And, most importantly, so did Nina. 🙂

Baptism 101

It’s the day before my daughter’s baptism (cum practice debut 😉 ).  I have a million things to do and some are not falling into place as I expected.  I am suddenly jerked once again into the realization of what this affair truly is all about – my daughter will be welcomed into the family of  Christians!  Geez!  Surely this is more important than a failed tarpaulin design?!?

About three weeks ago, I started reading on the catechism of the Catholic Church and brushed up on the Sacrament of Baptism.

“Baptism constitutes the foundation of communion among all Christians, including those who are not yet in full communion with the Catholic Church: “For men who believe in Christ and have been properly baptized are put in some, though imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church.  Justfied by faith in Baptism, they are inocrporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called Christians, and with good reason are accepted as brothers by the children of the Catholic Church.”  “Baptism therefore constitues the sacramental bond of unity existing among all who through it are reborn.”

“The Holy Spirit has marked us with the seal of the Lord (“Dominicus character”) for the day of redemption.”  “Baptism indeed is the seal of eternal life.”  The faithful Christian who has “kept the seal” until the end, remaining faithful to the demands of his Baptism, will be able to depart this life “marked with the sign of faith”, with his baptismal faith, in expectation of the blessed vision of God – the consummation of faith – and in the hope of resurrection. 

Quite a mouthful there but basically, with her baptism, my daughter will now be an “adopted daughter of God”, who shall become a “partaker of the divine nature”, a member of Christ and “co-heir” with him, and a “temple of the Holy Spirit”.

Still lost?

Well, this simply means I should stop my frivolities and focus on the more important things. 

I have gotten so caught up with the preparations – the church, the reception venue, the decor and the giveaways, etc., that I almost forgot the true essence of this affair. 

We Filipinos have a habit of celebrating things on a grand scale.  Events like this are treated like a reunion, with about 50 guests that soon balloons to 100 or more.  It sometimes becomes a measurement of how far the couple has come in the social ladder  instead of a declaration of the completion of their love and commitment to make a family.  Godparents are selected with a view of widening their network or securing/paying back a favor.  Indeed, some of us have even listed a dozen or so godparents with a view of making them “giftsparents” and somehow recover the cost of reception. 

Incidentally, the role of godparents is to assist the parents in raising the child in her spiritual growth.  Godparents are called upon to teach the child to develop a lifelong relationship with the family of Jesus fully aware of the gift of faith and redemption and the responsibilities that comes along with being a Christian.  Thus, the Church requires that the godparent shares the faith of the parents of the child so as to enable him/her to fully comply with the obligation that comes with it.   No wonder Jennifer Lopez is receiving so much flak for getting Tom Cruise as godfather for her twins!  It will indeed be quite confusing for the Catholic twins to receive spiritual advice from their Scientologist godfather. 

Somehow, I can feel Ninang Blue cringing in her sneakers.  Haha!   Don’t worry, there’s no such tall order here.  It is sufficient that you be there for Nina, share her the world as you have shared it with me.  🙂

I intended to write letters to each of our chosen ninongs and ninangs – to let them know how each of them has been chosen with much consideration (not trivially nor by tradition), each of them embodying traits and a wealth of experience which we would like our child to draw from, each of them being so much “like us” that they can indeed stand as “second parents” to our daughter, but thought better of it.   Suffice to say, “Guys and Gurls, you are the Chosen Ones!  Thank you very much for accepting to be Nina’s Godparents!”  🙂

This said, I must now go.   As Cathechism or not, I still have that dress to buy!  🙂

Trick or Treat!

What do you do the last Saturday of October when your husband is the President of the Homeowners Association?

You get up, leave the emergency room and organize a Neighborhood Halloween Party!

It’s my husband’s first year as President of the Homeowners Association, an association composed of 40 homes with more or less that much number of families.  Halloween is one of the events the homeowners look forward to and, yes, one of those events a President will be known for and leave his mark. 

And so for this occasion I played out my role as the dutiful wife, brought out my magic scissors and spruced up the house.  Bats hang from the ceiling, cobwebs with crawling spiders cloaked the stairs, tombstones stuck out from the piano, a sinister creature welcomed visitors by the doorway and a witch with her broomstick was making her way by the fire escape. 

Screeching doors, ghoulish laughter, screaming banshee, and other scary sounds blared from the sound system.

All done to make that perfect backdrop for a scary but entertaining halloween.

At 4:30 p.m. my nephews and niece started to arrive who along with Ricky’s friends joined us for some halloween games.  First on the agenda was Make your Own Tombstone.  I gave each child some construction paper and with crayons and colored pencils each made his/her own tombstone.  This we later used for another game – the Musical Tombstone (ala Trip to Jerusalem).  It’s amazing how creative the kids were –  Anton placed “Rest in Space” in his tombstone while Gab spookily wrote “I am Dead…But I will kill you later.” 

This was followed by Monster Lab during which each group, headed by the Witches of the East, West and South (my sisters and friend), had to appoint a representative and guess what’s behind the black box…by tasting it.  All of them were able to guess the itchy worms (spaghetti in olive oil), cat’s brain (oatmeal), and dracula’s blood (strawberry juice).  

Next was Boo is it?, which is actually a modified pictionary.  The kids were shy but they readily acted out Frankenstein, a witch, dracula etc. for their respective teams to guess.

Last was Wrap your Mummy which is, you guessed it right, wrapping one of the kids with tissue paper to make him/her into a mummy.  Special judge for this event was Mama Linda!

Tired, the kids settled down for some scary refreshment: itchyworms (spaghetti with meatballs), bat wings (buffalo chicken), wrapped intestines  (pigs in a blanket), more itchyworms (gummyworms), downed with Dracula’s blood (strawberry juice).

 

But that’s just the beginning.

By 7 p.m. howling sounds called out the kids for some Trick or Treat…

 

 

And about 100 ghoulish kids came out and littered the streets! 

Dressed in their scariest (and cutest) outfits they lined up and knocked on everyone’s home.   Candies, cookies, sugary treats in every shape and color overflowed  their pumpkin baskets.  Fun and laughter filled the air.  It was a sight to see! 

There seemed to be no end to this as Mr. P finally called out the winners for the Best Baby Halloween Costume and Best Adult Halloween Costume. 

 

All in all, it was a splendid Halloween party for the neighborhood! 

Surely, not bad for a first time President.

Oh, and there’s one final treat…

Bumble Bee Nina came out for her first Halloween party!  🙂