Eyes Closed and Smiling Faces

Oliver: "Mom, we are not like regular families." Me: "What do you mean? What makes you say that?" Oliver: "Other families, I see that their kids go to 'normal' school and Aiden and I don't." Me: "So you think we are not like regular families because we homeschool you guys?" Oliver: "Well, not just that....

Don’t Minimize Me

Don’t minimize me.Don’t minimize my grief.Don’t minimize my loss.Do not underestimate my pain.Do not belittle my cause.Don’t minimize me.You don’t go through what I do.You don’t cry my tears or live my fears.Unless these feet becomes yours to walk,Don’t minimize my efforts.I do not doubt your pain.I cannot imagine your burden.But my goodness, you have...

Simple Birthdays

What is your best birthday memory growing up? What do you remember most on your birthdays? Mine would have to be my birthday cakes. When I was growing up, there were times when we hardly had anything and then there were times when we had almost everything. Across all those varying times and family financial...

Love Language

I didn't grow up with my parents beside me all the time. My Mom and (step)Dad lived in Japan. My Papa (bio dad) lived in the North end of the province and we didn't maintain regular communication until I became a teenager. My mom called regularly and asked how things were, how school was, etc....

At What Cost?

In business, people always talk about the "cost of doing business". The value associated to the cost of doing business is mostly regarded as necessary. You cannot run a business, expect profit, and not incur cost. You just can't. Recent circumstances got me thinking that life is much like a business. We incur costs on...

Sharpest Tool in the Shed

Yesterday, as I walked into the living room after work, Oliver greeted me with a question. I did something I typically don't like others doing to me. I answered his question with a question. Oliver: "Mommy, can I have permission to watch FGTeeV?"Me: "Are you done with school?"Oliver: "Yes, I am!"Me: "Ok, so tell me...

Sibling Bond

I have one sibling, a sister. We are 15 years apart. Because of the age gap, I have referred to her as my eldest child. We have always lived in different countries and in so many ways are very different. I want to say we are close because there's love between us. But we aren't...

Middle Ground

Do you find yourself hovering over your child? Have you ever thought of yourself or been called a "helicopter parent"? Between Hubby and I, it's actually Hubby who was more of the helicopter and overly safety-conscious parent. That's not to say that I didn't care whether my children got hurt or not. It just means,...

My Big Picture

With everything that is going on in the world today, it can be tempting to forego the joys of what the Holiday Season brings. What brings you joy? Think about it. It doesn't need to be anything grand and it may not even be stereotypically exclusive to Christmas. I'm talking about those simple joys that...

Christmas Traditions

Did you grow up with Christmas family traditions? I know I grew up with Christmas traditions like attending Catholic Mass on Christmas Eve, Christmas Decors and Christmas Music as early as September (yes!), Noche Buena (Christmas Eve dinner), and Christmas presents. Off/on we would host Christmas parties for families and friends. But, if you ask...