As I enjoy my week-long leave, I can't help but notice that nothing much has changed compared to my normal routine. Yes, I still take my daughter to school every MWF morning, but I still found myself deep-diving into my Lotus Notes emails, negotiating time-frames and chasing people for approvals ~ all just to move a handful of computers from one floor to the next!
Needless to say, despite the 3-hour delay, I still got the job done. I just hope other groups involved did their part as expected. You know who you are!
I welcomed my daughter outside her school, both of us eager to get home to Mommy and Sophia and to a heaven-sent home cooked meal. To my delight, my wife Amy cooked her special Crispy Binagoongan! Imagine slices of pork stewing in garlic, onions, tomatoes, fish paste AND coconut milk ... then imagine the pork taken out of the stew, thrown into hot oil to fry til crispy, then thrown back into the stew! A modern twist to a classic dish - one that only my wife can do creatively and deliciously! Thank you Honey for the fine, fine meal!
And as part of my routine, I gave my kids a bath right after lunch and was able to get both Samantha and Sophia to take a nap - a 2 hour nap! So what did I do while they were napping? I worked, of course - go figure! I love my wife for being so understanding and supportive. Not many wives would tolerate a husband who would bring work home - especially during those times when he is supposed to be focused on his family.
With a mission to run some errands at SM City Sucat and drop by my parents' house for a favor, I quickly took a shower and threw some clothes on myself and Samantha the moment she woke up. We eventually got invited by my mom to their house for early dinner - all four of us with them.
We never made it to SM City Sucat once we were able to leave my parents' house, but we did make progress on an important favor that I had to ask my parents.
It has never been easy for me to ask for financial support, even through a loan; most especially support coming from my family. Ever since I started working, I made it clear to myself that I will strive to become self sufficient - even more so now that I am the head of my own family. But because of the circumstances that we are in, I am left with no other option but to seek financial support from my parents to help pay debts that I have accumulated for the past 4 months - mostly as a result of purchasing a home (to think that we were debt free at the beginning of this year).
My wife and I were caught by surprise of just how much of an investment a house and lot can be. But despite the herculean conditions facing us, we still pushed through with it knowing that it will still be of great help to my parents.
But until now, I just can't 100% comprehend why such a good deed would entail so much sacrifices and challenges. So much to handle for a single good deed. I have no regrets in helping out my folks, but at the expense of my family's comfort - that, I cannot fully understand ... at least not yet.
Am I still being a good husband? A good father? A good provider?
I know that years from now, Amy and I will just look back at these events in our lives, smile at each other and maybe even laugh at it. But until that time comes, I need to figure out how to get my family and myself out of this rat race.
Please Lord, give me and my wife the strength, the resilience, the patience and the perseverance that we need to overcome these challenges.
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