What Is Friendship?

What quality do you value most in a friend?

She saw it

It just started to bloom,

And it seems to be saying

‘Come join me here.’

And she did and enjoyed the lovely scent.

Friendship bloomed.

I could no longer count the times I wrote about friendship and what it means to me personally. When you could be as you are with a person, no pretense, no hiding behind walls and bridges, accepting everything warts and all, then I call it true friendship. You cry bearing the weight of the world on your shoulders and your friend is there besides you just holding your hand, that is true friendship.

I seem to be using more of the daily prompt. It is easier to write when you have at least a topic to think about. I finally found an easier way to use my hearing aid every day instead of removing it and putting it back again when I take a bath or doing some chores that I need to do every morning like sweeping the yard or cleaning the house. I do them first before I put on my hearing aids so I could use them without interruption. I am on my second day of an eight-hour adjustment. After a week, I could go outside with my hearing aid on.

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You’ve Got A Friend

I am having an LSS since this morning. James Taylor….You’ve Got A Friend, Fire And Rain. Wow, I miss listening to his songs.

Back in high school, there was this guy (he was my oldest brother’s classmate) who sang the blues and strummed his guitar like JT. Everyone, my classmates and I got a crush on him. In every joint program in school, he had the intermission number. Boys and girls were separated during our high school days so we only saw each other during joint activities. Which reminds me, today is the start of our golden celebration/grand reunion since we left our high school alma mater back in 1973. It is a week-long celebration with some schoolmates/classmates coming back home from abroad to join the scheduled activities. Some classmates asked me if I am joining. How could I? I could not leave mom alone here. They are scheduled to go out of town and enjoy the events.

Today we also celebrate the Feast Day of St. Thomas Aquinas, an Italian Dominican friar and priest, a philosopher, theologian and doctor of the Church. He is the patron saint of the University of Santo Tomas where I spent high school and college days. It is around this time when most graduates of UST have their reunions. One schoolmate told me that the grand reunion for all Thomasians will be held on Sunday.

How lovely to reminisce high school days and all because of the lyrics of one song….you just call out my name and you know wherever I am, I’ll come running to see you again.

Don’t you miss that kind of friendship during your younger years and you were just beginning to discover what a beautiful world it was because you had kind and loyal friends? And aren’t you blessed and lucky that you are still friends after all these years? I do and I am. So glad there are now social media sites where we could meet.

What a wonderful thing friendship is🥰❤💐

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Journeying Through

My, my same old story.

I’ll have my FBS lab test tomorrow and a visit to my ENT so she could interpret the result of my CT Scan. It has been more than a week now since I had my check-up. Quite a little apprehensive though but still hopeful that I won ‘t need to go further test. Although it is no longer painful, sometimes I think my ear is full.

About two weeks ago, my doctor suggested that I file a disability benefit at SSS (Social Security System). SSS takes care of retirees like me and mom too as a survivor pensioner of Dad. All private employees contributes to the fund every month so they will receive pension when they retire. My monthly pension is now the only means of earning that I have although I have shares of stocks in two banks which I’ve been holding on long-term. BPI declares cash dividends twice a year while UBP has one. You cannot earn those dividends if you’ll just put your savings in a bank. One has to learn how to invest in blue chips. I don’t intend to sell them in the near future because the market is bearish. And speaking of the disability benefit, the application should be signed by the doctor and you have to attach those documents proving that you are disabled. Praying it would be approved.

I am a follower of this lovely site on Facebook called Sketches On Stillness. I look forward to the messages and quotes every day. They uplift my soul. Here’s one they posted a few days ago:

I feel loved by you my friends when I read all your inspiring and positive comments.

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Blessed

Ver, a balikbayan friend from Canada gave me all these books this morning. He is a photographer, writer, poet, vlogger and a voracious reader. I learned from him several authors and their works. Can’t wait to read them all.

I particularly want to know how Roger Housden analyzes ten poems which include that of my favorite poet Mary Oliver, Rumi, Neruda, Naomi Shihab Nye and other writers. Finally, I have books by John O’Donohue, A Celebration of Rumi by Andrew Harvey, The Ascent of Truth by Thomas Merton (my fourth book of him) and Albert Camus’ The Outsider.

Many, many thanks Ver, so nice seeing you and exchanging news with you.

Isa ulit magandang kumustahan at pagkikita🥰😍😘

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Another Weekend

There’s that trigger again reminding me to start another blog post. I feel so lazy. I haven’t visited WordPress in a while.

I had a conversation with a friend from Canada (there were four of us when we were in college). Grace met an accident last Easter Vigil, had multiple pelvic bones fractures surgery which was not successful so she had a hip replacement surgery. Then she got infection in her gall bladder so she went under the knife again. Among the four of us, she is the only one who was not affected by cancer. All three of us had it, the two with breast cancer and me with colon cancer. Three survivors. Grace introduced me to their parish priest who also blogs about all of his homilies. I visited his site and left a few words via e-mail. He answered, how nice.

Last January, Sr. Thea, an FMM nun, told me that she was diagnosed with lung cancer this time after several years of being free from it. I don’t know about Precy since we haven’t gotten in touch for so long now. She changed her cellphone number.

Grace told me to be gentle and allow myself to grieve. Sometimes though, I still feel so low and couldn’t think of something nice to blog about. But I read, I am on my 82nd book this year. I found a book with Japan as the background during the 15th century. Just started so I don’t know yet if it is worth-reading or not.

I was laughing finding this on my newsfeed except that I no longer use a library card. I mostly read e-books nowadays and have my virtual library at Goodreads.

Another image the words of which I find provoking but it’s true. I remember a friend who told me once that the journey to life is not always a straight path.

Have a beautiful and peaceful weekend😘☺💐🌷🎉🎈🎊

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Those Days

Do you remember?

The shy “hi” and “hello”

The hesitant smiles.

Then came the laughter

Listening to each other’s stories in between.

Crying on your shoulder,

And hearing those comforting words.

When friendship blooms,

Life alters.

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When The Sun Shines Again

The sun is showing its face again but yesterday, typhoon Pepito brought havoc to some towns in Quezon. Some roads collapsed due to heavy rain waters  which overflowed from the rivers and rice fields.  Towns affected by floodwaters were Gumaca, Lopez, and Guinayangan. The flood waters reached  as high as chest-level.

Around this time the previous years, we were on the road to the Amihan season, where it seldom rained but it slowly got colder especially at night. The weather bureau said La Niña will stay with us till the month of April. La Niña  refers to the periodic cooling of ocean surface temperatures in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific. Typically, La Niña events occur every 3 to 5 years or so, but on certain  occasion, it  can occur over successive years. I hope by December we would no longer experience strong typhoons.  We were under signal number one yesterday and it rained all day.  We are just on the sixteenth weather disturbance and we average at least  twenty a year. It is during the months of November and December where strong typhoons occur.

Ah, I just smiled seeing the book I chose to read which I started the other day. It is entitled Thunder and Rain, another Charles Martin book.  I love the books of the author. When the prose is meaningful and poignant, you just can’t put it down.  The characterization tugs at you making you excited to  finish the book and maybe, just maybe start another one. I have read at least seven books by the author. He is that good.

I have a priest friend who said, “rain, a book  and coffee, perfect combination”. I agree but I prefer a spearmint and chamomile  tea on a rainy night.

I had a good chat with an online friend here who lives in Australia. It was her birthday yesterday.  I enjoyed our chat. Again, my birthday wishes to you Techie – good health, happiness and peace of mind. May you meet  more friends here through your lovely photo blog.

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Echoes

 

I spent some time in the garden early this morning. Removed the old and dried Zinnia together with my drying Four O’clock.  They have self-propagated, small seedlings that don’t need replanting. A few more mornings then I’ll be able to finish pruning and weeding too. Such a hard job but it has to be done.

Aren’t I lucky? I tried searching for John O’Donohue’s website on Facebook and what do you know, I finally found one and some of his writings are posted there. The page is maintained by the Director of John’s Literary Estate, Ann Cahill, in partnership with the O’Donohue Family. Beautiful! I won’t need to go to other sites except to his home page.

It is more complete and is being managed by his brother. Wow, I am enamored by  his words. Echoes of the past that create beautiful and lovely memories of the author.  You look behind and you look back and it seems like one does not really goes away but he stays because of his words. This is what we experience when we find something wonderful like a good book that lets you live and visit the places  with the author. Such thrilling adventures created by words alone.

Another author whose words touch my soul is Mary Oliver. Like O’Donohue, she left some wonderful works of art in her books of poems. She died last year. And this reminds me of another favorite author whom I discovered  a  few years ago and like Oliver and O’Donohue,  Peter Mayle died two years ago. And they have something in common, they all passed away in the month of January.  They were all gifted writers.

I am on my 94th read on Goodreads 2020 Reading challenge. Another lovely book I found  about India.

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A Promise To Keep

I’m sure we’ll meet again someday

One of these days I guess.

And we would smile and laugh

About those long-ago days

of our youth.

We’ll share more cups of coffee

Just the way you like it.

Friendship is such a lovely thing.

The stories get more interesting.

Along the way, we’ll meet again

That’s a promise.

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You Are Family

I found this on my newsfeed a few moments ago. Too good not to share it.

from dailynet.co

Friendship, that one word that makes the world go round.  I have my share of friends for almost half a century now and I love it that we still get in touch after all these years. And yes, my high friends are still there too. We have regular reunions every three years but I don’t always get to attend.

Doesn’t it feel wonderful when you find someone who is attuned with what happens in your life? Don’t you find it beautiful when they are by your side through thick and thin ?  Isn’t it lovely when someone laughs and cries with  you?  We are one big family.

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