The Rhythm of the Rain

Have you ever listened to the sound of the rain on your roof? I would do this especially in lazy afternoons and everything is quiet. I find the sound soothing to the mind and soul that it helps me gets in touch with myself.

With the daily hustle and bustle of daily living, we would take for granted the importance of being attuned with our self. The stresses that one receives nowadays as compared to the stresses experienced before is much more heavy and frequent. Thus, listening to the sound of the rain makes me slow down and ponder on things no matter how trivial and short it may be.

As the season changes from summer to rainy, so must we. It is the time to gather strength and recuperate the energies we have lost. A time to know more about our self..... a time to feed our soul so that at the end of the rain, a new YOU will blossom.

Are we almost there?

Half of the year has passed and I think it is good time to start assessing if the goals we have set upon ourselves for the year 2007 has a fair chance of being achieved. At the start of the year, most people would have set their own list of what to do's and not to do's. Often, we would fall short of that list for reasons or excuses that only we could know. But, it is still not too late if we are behind in meeting our objectives this year. Let us make use of whatever time left in attaining our own dreams, may it be big or small.

Back to School

Vacation is over as quickly as summer ends. For mothers like me, I'm sure you are also preoccupied getting ready the things for school. This also means a seemingly endless covering and labelling of books. Thank God for the notebook cover packets that are now available in the market. For moms with more than 2 kids, I'm certain you understand what I mean with "seemingly endless" book covering.

Not only do we have to organize the things for school but we also have to prepare our kids for the opening of classes. This is important as it would minimize the adjustment that they have to go through from vacation back to the rigors of school life.

For my kids, I make them sleep early at least two weeks before the scheduled opening of classes. This would enable their body clock to adjust to sleeping early and that means 9pm. As you know, my kids resist sleeping early when they know that they do not have classes the following day. So this rule is really met with a lot of resistance and side comments. The comments would include from me being "KJ" or "kill joy" or being too strict. They would even reason out that since summer would soon end then I have to allow them to sleep late because they can not do this anymore once school starts. Whew! Imagine what mothers have to go through for such a small rule.

I also involve them in preparing their stuff for school. Depending on their age, I would let them choose their shoes or bags as long as it is allowed by the school. This would also include their school accessories such as pencil cases, erasers, etc. Somehow, doing this eases the transformation. I remind them as well of the good times they had with their classmates and favorite teachers.

Lastly, this is also the time to discuss how much allowance they should get. For my high school son and grade 3 daughter, I ask them to write down in a piece of paper what they expect to spend in school. This could be for snacks or school stuff that they might want. It is also best to allot a portion of their allowance for savings. From the amount they have written, I then decide with my husband if the amount they gave is reasonable or not. Expect to have a long discussion over this which could be a good exercise for them later on in life when presenting their side or argument.

In the end, it is how we parents handle the situation. School time should never be seen as negative. Instead it should be viewed with much optimism and enthusiasm.

Rainy June

As I write this, rain continues to pour and the sky is filled with darkness even if it is still early in the afternoon. Is this a sign of a gloomy afternoon to match my sullen feeling? What is it with rain that makes one feel downcast? I'm sure there is a scientific explanation about this but I am too lazy to research about it. And I prefer not to dwell so much on this feeling.

So what do you like to do when the rain starts to fall on a lazy afternoon? For starters, here's my list:

• spend the afternoon in bed with a good book surrounded by lots of pillows
• update my blog
• listen to soft music
• watch a horror movie with my kids
• catch up on my snooze
• eat champorado ( a warm glutinous rice chocolate )
• cuddle with my loved ones

That's all I can think of right now. You are welcome to share your own fave activity for the benefit of other readers and of yours truly. Tralalala....