Early Christmas presents

TWO months to go and then it would be Christmas. Just like any other ordinary human being, I am always excited to embrace the month of September since by then, December is just around the corner.

For most of us, December is the month of merrymaking, endless reunions and catching-up-moments with our relatives as well as with friends, pigging moments with food and other delicacies (be careful with sugar and fats) and of course, gift-giving.

But who would have thought that I would be receiving my Christmas present much earlier?

The past year has been very challenging for me, both work and at home. I was teaching full-time at a state university here. And I had my best and worst moments to consider.

The best moments include being able to interact with my students. To know that they are learning is something that I am truly proud of. I was also very happy working with my colleagues that despite of our differences (personality or fields of expertise we’re involved in), I was able to find some means on how to meet with them half-way, especially in dealing with academic (and even attitude) problems.

Last year also gave me a lot of opportunities. I was offered to do part time teaching in a prestigious university. I gladly accepted it not because the chairperson was my former teacher, but because I happen to love the subjects assigned to me. Yes, I admit, I am passionate with Development Journalism. We are soul mates.

Invitations as a resource person kept coming in and I even had a short stint to tutor two kids in English. And there were more.

But like I’ve said, I also have my worst moments. If there’s one thing that I would never forget in my teaching career, it was when I did not receive my Christmas bonus. Poor me. The situation pushed me to confront the payroll department and worse, the head for Finance. That was probably the most awkward experience I ever had and I hated myself for doing it but nevertheless, I felt that during that time, it was the most practical thing that I had to do. Had I not queried the finance department, I wouldn’t have discovered that there were actually three of us who were “forgotten” to be in the payroll. Tsk, tsk. So sad for a part-timer who was teaching for four years and yet, “forgotten” to be in the payroll.

But as they say, life must move on. We were still able to prepare our Noche Buena, anyway.

The early months this year was also a struggle for me as I adjusted with a new environment. I finally had a new job (and I hope no late Christmas bonus this time). And yes, new workloads to consider.

For two months, I had separation anxiety with my two kids since I was assigned in Misamis Occidental. I get to arrive here by Friday midnight, spend quality time with the kids and hubby on Saturdays because by Sunday, it’s bye-bye time again.

As a mother, it was painful to see leaving my kids with their yayas since my husband was also sent to Surigao that time to investigate the “Taganito burning incident.” And I said to myself, “I am indeed the queen of misfortune.”

But despite of all the miseries and trials that I had, life still continues to surprise me and fills me with wonder. Just last week, I received my early Christmas present. I was very happy to know that finally, my husband’s case has been officially dropped and closed.

Thanks to the two agonizing years. There were lessons learned and during those trying moments, I learned to value the meaning of family and friendship.

These were also the times when I realized that there are indeed friends who would remain true to you even in your hardest moments while there are also “friends” who are so pretentious they would die in envy when they see you smile.

Another early Christmas present that I got was when my husband finally decided to choose (and hopefully pay the equity) for our future love nest. Since time immemorial, our long-time dream is to have a house which we can finally call “our home.”

Life really is like opening a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get because when I woke up this morning, I was again amazed as I saw our house being transformed into a magical kingdom of Christmas. I saw our Christmas tree standing tall and filled with pink poinsettias with matching Christmas balls. We have pink and silver bells hanging in some corners and I later found out that our Christmas interior decorator was no less than my husband. While I was busy snoring last night (got tired from my Talakag trip), he was also having his own way with his pink and silver theme for Christmas.

And the best part of it all is with my kids. My little girl has mastered familiarizing the basic parts of the leaf (after familiarizing the basic parts of a small plant and tree) as she is preparing for her exams this coming Thursday. So good to hear the words such as apex, petiole and midrib coming from a four-year old kiddo.

Lastly, (and this is probably the best early Christmas present) I am so immensely thankful that my two-year-old kid finally knows how to say “Ate An” to his yaya instead of just saying “An” whenever he asks for his milk.

So, live your truth. Express your love. Share your enthusiasm. Take action towards your dreams. Walk your talk. Dance and sing to your music. Embrace your blessings. Make today worth remembering.