Celebrity for a Week

Photo of the week ❤

Hey there blogverse (blog + universe… is there such word?!). 

A lot of things have been happening and I don’t get to blog as often as my heart wanted to… But it doesn’t mean that I haven’t been writing.

So, two special things happened this week…

First, I was interviewed by Bookbed.org and was featured on their website. We basically talked about my book, Twenty Years in Between. They asked how the book came about and I also shared about my writing practices and processes. I also shared some pieces of advise for aspiring writers.

I am truly grateful that there are there are groups like Bookbed that appreciate and support Filipino authors. It inspires us — me — to write some more. 

You may read about the whole interview here —  Writing, Feeling, Believing: And Interview with Author Betsy G. Ochosa. 

❤

If you guys have been following my blog, you would know that I am a happy mother to a now-19 year old son. I am sure you know, as well, that I take motherhood seriously. 

I have written about my experiences as a (very) hands-on mom, and I have shared tons of pictures of my son — sometimes to his embarrassment. Well, what can I say? I am a proud mom… 

Here is an essay that I wrote for Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf’s Brew Your Best Year online magazine. This is for all the mothers out there who, like me, are just delighted (pleased, satisfied, content…) to be called Mom.  Because truly, it IS the best job in the world! 

Mothers, remember you can be anything and to the family, you are everything… and you are never Just a Mom. 

❤

So, go and check out those links! Told you I have been busy… 😉

Catch you all later! ❤

 

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Selfie photo via my iPhone

A postcard and a smile

It’s mid January?? Already?! Where did the days go??

I still remember writing my last blog post.  It was before the previous year ended. I remember signing off for the year. While I was writing that, I even thought to myself that I was being a tad melodramatic.  Surely I’ll be back blogging the following day… or several days after… But is it really January 18 — and is this really my first blog for the year?! Geesh. 

After the holidays, you’d think that once the rush is over, everything will settle down, everybody goes back to their normal, day-to-day routine… back to regular programming.  I thought time will slow down. Well, I thought wrong. 

The days still breeze by so very fast…. it’s just up to us to make the most — and the best — of the 24 hours that we have. 

❤

So, where did I go and why did I leave my blog orphaned for almost three weeks?!

The family started a new business venture farther down south of the Metro and I have been pretty hands on. I spend several days of the week at the site to check the operations. When I get back home at night I still do some finance work. It’s fun and I am learning a lot. I am kept busy, too. Ergo, I haven’t had the chance to sit in front of the computer and write something.

My mind’s just too preoccupied with other things… but my heart was yearning to write something…anything! 

The other day I opted to stay home and take a day off.  The original plan was to unearth the draft of what was supposed to be my second book and to start working on it again. Either that or post a new blog. Whichever was easier. I told the hubby I would spend the day writing — or sleeping.

I did neither. I practically spent the day in my night-shirt, watching Hallmark Movies (the other option was a Criminal Minds marathon which I decided to save for another day). I thought watching those mushy movies would inspire me to write. Nope, still nothing. Maybe Criminal Minds would have been a better option. I was so unproductive.

My muse has left the building. 😦 

❤

So there I was, a writer feeling quite out of sorts… a storyteller with no story to tell.

Once again I was beginning to be engulfed by insecurity. Couldn’t seem to shrug off the small voice whispering in my head, “You dare call yourself a writer when you can’t even compose a simple blog…”

And then I got a gentle nudge from above.

My very first — may even be my ONLY — fan mail!!! ❤

It was waiting for me as I stepped out of the house this afternoon.

It was a postcard from a reader of my book. I still can’t believe that not only did she buy the book, she went through all the hassle of writing me, reaching out to thank me for the love story I wrote… and telling me how much she enjoyed it… She even mailed the card, with real stamps and all!! I love snail mail!! 

The mail came at the most opportune moment… It came at the time when I was feeling tired, weary and uninspired.

It’s nice feeling appreciated. It is also nice to know that my work touched someone’s heart. It somehow reminded me of why I enjoy writing in the first place.

I often say that I write to inspire. I guess sometimes I should also open myself up and allow others to inspire me, as well.

Thank you, dear postcard sender. It was a very sweet and thoughtful gesture and it totally, absolutely made my day. 

Now I am inspired to write again.

❤

The best love stories are the ones that will leave a smile on your lips… or a tug at the heart. 🙂 

 

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Photos are mine. This blog was written late January 18 and published in the wee hours of January 19… Talk about inspiration 🙂  

Merry Month of December

I was able to decorate my Christmas tree after all!

To say that I don’t feel bad for not being able to write nor blog for quite some time now would be an understatement. 

For the past several nights, as I lie in bed waiting to fall asleep, I mutter to myself, “I should have written something today.” At times I even attempt to sit back up, look at my computer and try and see if it will entice me enough to write. And then I think about the events of the day… and I think of the number of hours that it normally take me to upload a single blog, with photos and all, and yeah before I realize it, I have dozed off.  The spirit is truly willing, but well, the body is tired and the brain cells don’t want to cooperate.

It’s December. A lot of things have been happening. The hustle and bustle of Christmastime seems to keep everyone preoccupied. It is a festive season… it can be an exhausting one, too.

❤

December is about family…

We began the month with a birthday celebration for my mom. 

Just outside Peri Peri

Whenever possible, I find time to hang out with my parents, whether at their favorite  place for jamming —

 

… or watching my hubby perform at the Christmas Cantata.

December is also about Christmas get-togethers…

 

Running like a kid again… ❤ Night baseball with Habagat parents.

 Winners all!

Christmas fellowship with my Lifegroup, my spiritual family.

Home hosts for almost 8 years and counting. Serving the Lord is never tiring. ❤

In between festivities, I was able to do this…

 

Book sales!!! 🙂

Guys, my book‘s still out. Shameless plug, but yeah, if you still have not grabbed a copy, go get one NOW!! ❤

This also happened this December…

My baby boy is home!!! 🙂

And because he is home, we thought of going on a short out of town vacay…

 

It was so cold… but it was so fun, too! ❤

 

Doing what I do best… Indulge me, please 😉

And then this…

Happy 27th (+18) to me!!! ❤ 

And then came another round of get-togethers and meet ups…

 

Planned and unplanned…

 

 

Christmas Eve celebration with family ❤

This month, we have had quite a number of opportunities to bond as a family —

From family gym time… 

… to hotel hopping while unico is out partying. 😉

Or simply just hanging out.

❤

It was a busy month filled with endless Christmas shopping and gift wrapping, party preparations, get-togethers, and all the in-betweens. But thinking about it, though I haven’t been writing, well, I was busy living my life.  

Yes, it may seem exhausting, but my heart is full.

Because really, this is what it’s all about. 🙂

❤ ❤ ❤

ON TO THE NEXT CHAPTER… Hello 2018!

Before the year ends, I would like to take this chance to thank you, dear readers, for sticking it out with me and this blog this past year. 

Truth be told, I still get amazed every time someone tells me that he or she has read my blog (pure ecstasy when someone tells me he/she is a follower!). For the longest time, I thought I was just talking to myself — or to the air… or to some random person in the blog universe. 

But knowing that I have real readers inspire me to write more. It is because of you that I am more mindful of what I blog about… You keep me from nonsensical rants… You keep me from being preachy and self-righteous… It is also because of you that I try to make every blog post as perfect as it can possibly be, sans grammatical or spelling errors. (I try. I really do!)

So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts, my stories. Hopefully you have learned something from me or I have inspired you — or at the very least, I pray my blogs have entertained you somewhat. 

I believe life is meant to be lived… and stories are meant to be told. 

Here’s to more storytelling this coming year! 😉

❤

Lastly, I would like to leave you with this prayer:

“The Lord bless you and keep you;
  The Lord make His face shine upon you,
  And be gracious to you;
  The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.” 

Numbers 6:24-26 NKJV

❤

Daily Dose of Betsy signing off for 2017…

(My work space — yes, I have girly stuff on my computer table… you’ll never know where inspiration may come from; My drafts on yellow pad; Me… This is how I roll!)

Hello, 2018!

❤

 

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photos are mostly mine 😉

 

 

The Little Outfielder that Could

Catch me if you can…

        The 12 year old batter stands at the batter’s box… confident, ready to swing his bat. And when he did, he hit the ball hard. The ball went high and far. By the looks of it, the ball would drop at the space right between centerfield and leftfield. The batter started to run, hoping he had hit a double at the very least.

      The small 10 year old centerfielder ran as fast as he could to get to the ball before it reaches the ground. He dove – and caught the ball. ‘OUT!’ cried the umpire.

        The parents clapped, cheered, went into a frenzy.

        Several plays later, another big boy stood at the batter’s box, swung his bat perfectly, allowing it to hit the ball and send it flying once again to the outfield.

        The same centerfielder took his time, tracked the ball like a pro, then ran to the right spot where the ball was going to fall. OUT! 3^rd out! The inning ends.

        As the parents were cheering and exchanging high-fives, I took a glimpse of the boy’s father who was beaming with pride. When he saw me looking at him, he said quietly, “He remembers what you told him. He listened to you…”

❤

About a month before that international tournament, I went to watch this team of 10 year olds play in the local setting. It was the first tournament they played in as a team. Come to think of it, it was their first time to seriously play together. At that time, the coaches were still gauging which position suits each player best. 

During one of the games, I noticed this player – their centerfielder – looking a bit lost. I think distracted is a better word. Since there was no action in the outfield at that time – meaning no ball was going to him, I could see him fidgety and his attention was wandering elsewhere. At some point he seemed to be watching the ongoing game on the other field. He looked bored out of his wits.

After the game, as the boy and his dad were saying goodbye to the team and to me, I heard the boy say to his dad, “I don’t like being an outfielder.” I saw the look of boredom on his young face. In his mind, he was probably thinking being a pitcher was way cooler. Or, catchers control the game. The action was almost always in the infield. But the outfield is far… And for the most part of the game, nothing happened in the outfield. He probably felt he barely contributed anything.

I couldn’t help myself so I went up to the boy and said, “You know, my son used to play baseball. He was also an outfielder like you. And you know what, he was one of the best – if not, the best outfielder in his age group. He was really good!” The little boy looked at me expectantly, so I continued, “You know, when you are playing against really good players… the ones who can hit hard… you know the balls that go really high and really far?… well, the team needs a good outfielder for that. Someone who can catch a really high fly ball or block a line drive. And when you play in international tournaments, you will get a lot of those. You will face a lot of big batters. So your team relies on you to get that out… You’ll see.”

The boy smiled at me shyly. I added, “So don’t think your position is not important. Be the best outfielder you can be.” I ended with, ”I’ll introduce you to my son when he’s around. He can tell you stories.”

I am not a coach. Okay, I admit I sometimes get too involved in the games that I seem to coach from the bleachers. Yet that afternoon, I wasn’t talking to the boy as a pseudo-coach. I was talking to him as a parent.

❤

Early on my husband and I have ingrained in our own son the value of hard work and diligence. We don’t expect him to be perfect, but we expect him to give his best all the time. Whether in his academics or in sports, we trained him to give his 100% because not doing so will mean shortchanging himself.

We also taught our son the value of respect. Respect for authority and respect for whatever position given him. When my son started playing baseball at age 8, for the most part of his first season, he was the “wanderer.” He was the 10^th player on the field. He was placed somewhere between the centerfielder and the second baseman. We told him, “If you’re going to be a wanderer, be the best wanderer there is!” He took that to heart and true to form, he never lost focus and fielded whatever ball came his way.

When my son started training as an outfielder, his training was pretty intense. I remember the first time I watched him train this way – he was 12 years old then. My husband and another coach will take turns batting really high fly balls to the outfield. My son learned how to track the ball so he’d know where to position himself for an easy catch. Other times he would need to dive to get to the ball. I was really scared as I watched him darting left and right across the wide field.

More than being scared, I was impressed, too. It was just practice but my son showed determination and tenacity. Imagine how he performs during actual games.

To some people, his position was “just” outfielder. He was no star player. But he gave his 100% all the time. His teammates knew they can count on him when the need arises.  He will catch that fly ball. He will block that hot line drive to outfield. He will do what he is trained to do, just the way he trained for it. He will get that out.

From zero to hero…

To this day, my son faces whatever situation, game or challenge that he is up against, with the same determination, hard work and grit. Mediocrity is never an option.

In life, we don’t always readily get that “position” that we want. Most of the time, we have to work hard to achieve it. We either have to start somewhere – or we are given something different from what we aspire for.  I personally believe that you can be a star, regardless of what position you hold. What you make of yourself is more important.

What matters most is that you do what is expected of you, you give value to what you can do, and you give your best, every single time. Your time to shine is bound to come.

❤

        After the game, centerfielder came up to me with a big smile on his face. Their team may have lost the game, but he had two winning moments. That was more than enough.

        I smiled back, letting him know that I was glad I was there to witness it, and that I couldn’t have been more proud.

Note to self! ❤

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photos via personal FB account and google images

When the unexpected happens

So, it has been a month since I last posted a blog entry. Time flies when you’re having fun a lot of things are happening. 

If I can remember correctly, my last blog was about my son’s short visit from college. Yey, good times! Though unplanned, and truly short (it was only five days long), it was a fun reunion with the family. 

After that Quarter Break in September, the plan was for me and my husband to fly to Singapore to attend the College’s Parents’ Orientation Weekend from Oct. 13-15. I was really looking forward to that trip. For one, we would see the unico again after only three weeks — no chance to miss him too much, right?

Also, well, I love Singapore. The flight is just 3 1/2 hours, so it’s bearable. The country is safe, it’s not polluted, the commute is easy. I can go places by myself and not get scared out of my wits. Then there’s Sephora and Victoria’s Secret (aren’t these good enough reasons to be excited??!).

And of course we go back to the fact that my son goes to college there — so yes, I was looking forward to the trip.  So I booked our flights early, even decided to extend our stay for a couple more days (for shopping, what else?!).

Three days before our scheduled departure, I received a message from my son saying he had an accident in his dorm. His foot and leg went numb while he was walking, he had a bad fall… and he broke a toe.

Yes, he broke one of the little piggies — to be more specific, the one who didn’t go to market, nor stayed home, nor had roast beef. It was the little piggy who had none (the ring toe). 

If you can’t imagine how he broke it nor how it looked broken, well, you are not alone. I couldn’t imagine it at first either. In fact, when I called him up to check on him, I was even quite cool and dismissive, I told him that the hospital will probably just pop it right back — like what people normally do with dislocated shoulders or knees.

We respond to accidents differently. On hindsight, I believe I was cool and not panicking because I was a thousand miles away and I couldn’t see the extent of the injury. Plus, when I was talking to him, I couldn’t quite tell if he was crying or laughing. “Mom, I broke my toe!! *giggle*giggle*giggle* ” And I could hear laughter in the background, as well. Apparently it was one of his room mates who was making my son laugh to keep him from passing out. (When I saw a photo of the broken toe, I thought I was going to pass out.)

My son’s dorm mates had the presence of mind to call an ambulance right away. One of them placed pillows under my son’s leg to keep it elevated. And despite the scary, icky sight of his broken toe, they kept him conscious and alert. God bless them for being there!

The ambulance came right away. He was brought to the emergency room of the nearby hospital. And then we didn’t hear from him for quite sometime. At this point I surmised that the doctors were cleaning the wound… or popping the bone back in. 

Do you see the fourth little piggy? Of course you don’t… because it’s bent. 😦 I have a photo of the broken toe, but I will spare you. Believe me it’s not a sight to behold. 

When we finally got to talk to someone from the hospital, we were told that the bone cannot be just popped back in (actually they tried, but it was much too painful and it didn’t really work). So my son had to undergo surgery. Right away. That same afternoon. 

The doctors will have to put a wire to straighten the bone again and correct the alignment. And they had to stitch the open wound up. Everything had to be done in a rush also to prevent infection.

And so my son had to undergo surgery, in another country, without us there beside him. 

Thank God he had such great dorm mates and friends who waited for him at the hospital. Thank God for our Singaporean friends who rushed to the hospital the moment we informed them about the accident.  

❤

Patient B32

Not at all related to B1 or B2

After about three hours, my son was awake, and back from surgery and recovery room.

He was able to text and update us. Told us he was asleep the whole time, and that when he woke up, his toe was already all stitched up, with a wire holding it straight. He was to stay in the hospital for the time being so the doctors can monitor him, xray his toe and check the outcome.

At this point we all decided there’s no need anymore to rebook our flight to an earlier day since the surgery was over anyway. We told him to just rest and relax in the hospital and that we will go straight to him the moment we arrive on Friday morning. 

The following day — which was a Wednesday — we were told that the xray showed that although there’s already a wire, the bone was still not perfectly aligned. The doctor explained to my son that they could leave the wire as is, but the bone will still be a little crooked when it heals and there’s a risk of the joints experiencing some pain eventually. So my son was given an option to have another surgery, this time a ‘not rushed’ one, to fix the bone properly. The hospital called in their best orthopedic and trauma surgeon to do it. 

My son being 18 decided for himself. He said he opted to have the toe fixed. Yup, that very day. And we were a thousand miles away still.

Two surgeries in two days. How’s that for independence and adulting?

Post 2nd surgery. Little piggy has a wire sticking out. 

❤

To say that I don’t feel bad for not being there for him from the moment of the accident to the surgeries (both of them) will be an understatement. For a mom who prides herself on being “always there” during important moments, well, this time I wasn’t there. I couldn’t be there. 

Yet I believe that the accident showed my son’s independence. It gave him the chance to make mature decisions. It made him decide on certain matters that concerned his physical well-being.

It gave him a taste of the real world — a world where mom and dad are not always there to make things easy. 

I can say he was able to hold his own pretty well while we were still away. I couldn’t be more proud. 

Welcome to adulthood. 

We arrived in Singapore –and the hospital — Friday morning, as originally planned. 🙂 

❤ ❤

More stories to tell… About the accident, our visit, and our extended stay. Do stay tuned! ❤

 

photo credits: Most of the photos were sent to us by my son…Because truly, why wouldn’t one want to document something as exciting as this?! 😉