Behind A Mother’s Tears

Did you watch the Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan?

I watched  the  parade of cars going to the church and when the two exchanged their  vows. In between, I went back and forth to watch the proceedings. What I noticed though was  Meghan’s mom, Doria Ragland  who escorted  Meghan going to the Windsor Castle.

Now and then, the camera would focus on her and you can see the countenance of a proud  and loving mom, a strong woman, a bit shy looking at the camera with tears in her eyes. It clearly shows the love of a mother to her loving child. In any part of the world, when love is celebrated via a wedding we sometimes get teary-eyed. Never mind if it is done in a simple chapel or church or in  the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world.  And it is even more touching when your daughter becomes a real princess. Not everyone dreams of this scenario but every mother dreams of her daughter walking down the aisle  to be wed to a man she loves.

I remember when Nissa got married almost seven years ago. I didn’t actually cry at the wedding but cried a lot when they went on a honeymoon,  then came back to get her things at the house for good.  Gone were the late mornings waking up during weekends and preparing  simple breakfast together. Gone were the days when she would sing non-stop while cleaning the house on weekends. I learned to adjust through time and when she told us that she was on the family way a few months after and when we all watched together the sonogram of our baby Nate inside, I could not really explain what I felt. Joy that we were having a grandson at last and apprehension on the childbirth. Nissa was born premature at only 3.9 lbs. and she was left at the hospital for a month when I came home. The agony of seeing her laboring for almost twenty-four hours only to be told that she would deliver via a C-section.  Nate had sepsis when he was born and like Nissa, he was left at the hospital for more than two weeks. Now we have a healthy, smart and active big boy Nate. He turned five last November.

Watching your child grow, knowing that you raised him/her well is the ultimate  in being a mother.

Mitch Albom in his book For One More Day said it simply: ” But there’s a story behind everything. How a picture got on a wall. How a scar got on your face. Sometimes the stories are simple, and sometimes they are hard and heartbreaking. But behind all your stories is always your mother’s story, because hers is where“ yours begin.” 

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Thoughts On Motherhood

The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.

Perhaps you are familiar with this poem written more than two centuries ago by  an American poet William Ross Wallace in praise of all mothers.

Haven’t we always heard this phrase, “wait till you become a mother yourself and you will appreciate everything that Mom is doing for you”.  This is so true, you can never appreciate enough, love enough, make sacrifices  enough for your mother  until you become one, for motherhood is something not taught in any school but  still you embrace it with gusto, dreaming of a family of your own,  hoping of having smart kids you can be proud of, hoping against hope that even as you grow older, you will  still be strong enough to embrace your grandchildren and share something of what you have learned when you were still young.  Wisdom grows with age, so they say.

Can you still remember the time you cradled your first-born child in your arms? Such a fragile thing, you thought, but you were full of wonder and  you were simply amazed that such a tiny child, with her fist held high in the air, lustily crying her heart out is yours, all yours to take care of and to love?  Can you still remember the times that you had to snatch just an hour or two of sleep because she has to play in the middle of the night and smile that naughty smile while you felt so sleepy thinking that you have a nine to five job to go to the following day? Can you still remember the first time she smiled at you and seemed to recognize your voice, her eyes following you everywhere you go?

I read an article in Reader’s Digest years ago about the wonderful world of the unborn.  She is there listening, learning and very much aware of what is happening in the outside world. Even at an early  stage of pregnancy, the unborn baby’s awareness of the outside world develops rapidly. Amazing, don’t you think? The reason why there is always that instant hush when you hold your crying child is because she recognizes your voice and she has been aware of it when she was still in your womb.  She knows when you are agitated and she knows when you are elated as well.  The closeness that binds a child and a mother is something inexplicable. We call it the wonder of motherhood.

I found this very touching poem from an unknown author and I wish to share it with you:

Your Arms Were Always Open – Anonymous

Mom is always there, whenever you need a friend.

Your arms were always open
when I needed a hug

Your heart understand
when I needed a friend

Your gentle eyes were stern
when I needed a lesson
Your strength and love
guided me and gave me wings
to make me soar….

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The Gift Of Motherhood

There is one more day to celebrate this month.

May 14, 2017 is Mother’s Day. Celebrate it with creative gifts with your mum or nanay or mommy or whatever you call her in the process.  They need not be expensive gifts that you have to buy. You can even share your precious  time with her.

The gift of motherhood.

Precious.

Wonderful.

Lovely.

There was a time when you were old enough to take care of your younger siblings that you wondered how it is to be a mother. There was a time when you asked yourself, will I be a mother someday? Will I be good? Will I be blessed with lovely and wonderful kids?

There is no cut and dried formula that would make you the best mother in the world.  There is no hard and fast rule that you have to follow.  Motherhood is a learned experience and that comes from the heart. Once you become one, you are like a bear always protecting her cubs.

Who says motherhood is easy?

Being a mother may be the hardest job you will ever have.  24/7 may not be enough for you to learn things along the way. It’s funny how sometimes  you learn from a mere baby.  The gift of patience, the gift of giving, the gift of unconditional love – these will always be learning curves in your life. You smile at the thought of those early days when a mere movement of your sleeping child was a pause for concern. You smile at the thought when you catches his or her glance and smile back at you. You remember the first words. you keep record of those days  when they first learned those words,  when they first learned how to walk, when their first tooth appeared, when they had their first hair cut. The many blessings of firsts in their lives.

You don’t stop to be a mother just because you turned sixty. You’ll always be one until the end of your life.  When you are blessed with caring and responsible kids, it’s really a big bonus.  When you are blessed with smart and intelligent kids, it’s  probably like you won in a major lotto draw although when you are blessed with kids, it would be enough.

Motherhood.

I would not exchange it to any occupation in the world.

 

 

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Happy Mother’s Day

Of course I didn’t forget. This is just a little late but I am extending my greetings to all the blogger moms here at WordPress. HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY TO US!

I’ve blogged about Mother’s Day celebrations since 2010 I think documenting those moments of bliss, lovely sharing with the family  and choosing where to spend the day – those special moments that make me smile just remembering. I still could remember the places where we spent lunch and how much we enjoyed bonding together as a family. Early this morning Josef and I heard mass together. He came straight from a night shift so I suggested that we just go home so he could rest. Besides, the place where we want to have dinner is fully booked until next week.

All  moms who attended the 9am mass received a special prayer/blessing from the presiding priest. There was a time when they gave a white rose each to the moms after the blessing. It might be just an ordinary day to some people but I must admit that moms are special so celebrating that one important day in their lives is kind of special too. Having a great mom is one of the many gifts and blessings a child could ever have.  I have one and I am blessed.

“A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor  by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.”

That’s a lovely quote from Washington Irving.  I had a good laugh hearing Nate greet me earlier. Nissa taught him to say “Happy Mother’s Day Nonna” but the one clear word I heard was Nonna. Listening to him say “love you” made my day.

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The Hand That Rocks The Cradle Is The Hand That Rules The World

Happy Mother’s Day to all our wonderful mothers out there. Every year since I started blogging at WordPress, I write about my own experiences as a mother, my tribute to motherhood. I would love to share this lovely poem by William Ross Wallace.

Blessings on the hand of women!
Angels guard its strength and grace,
In the palace, cottage, hovel,
Oh, no matter where the place;
Would that never storms assailed it,
Rainbows ever gently curled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.

Infancy’s the tender fountain,
Power may with beauty flow,
Mother’s first to guide the streamlets,
From them souls unresting grow–
Grow on for the good or evil,
Sunshine streamed or evil hurled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.

Woman, how divine your mission
Here upon our natal sod!
Keep, oh, keep the young heart open
Always to the breath of God!
All true trophies of the ages
Are from mother-love impearled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.

Blessings on the hand of women!
Fathers, sons, and daughters cry,
And the sacred song is mingled
With the worship in the sky–
Mingles where no tempest darkens,
Rainbows evermore are hurled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.

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This Is Nice

Congratulations on getting 20 total follows on Our Precious Bundle of Joy.

Just got this message from WordPress, thank you very much. It’s my latest blog dedicated to my first grandson Nate which I started a month ago. To all my regular readers and visitors here at Dreams and Escapes, thank you too for appreciating my new blog and leaving your comments at the site.

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Embracing Motherhood With Love

I watched Kris.tv this morning, one of those rare times that I get to sit in front of the television for an early morning show. I am glad I did because I liked her guests, Janice de Belen and her kids with ex-hubby John Estrada. It was a thrill to watch them, three lovely girls and her bunso, a John Estrada look-alike but he has a charm of his own. We all know that Janice de  Belen has gone through so much in life but watching her and her lovely kids during the interview,  you would surmise that she is a very strong woman and I admire her for that. She said that it was only last year that she found herself again without her kids knowing that she cries when they are asleep. She cooks and it is so obvious that she is so proud of her kids.

Motherhood! What a sweet word and yet it entails a lot of responsibilities  but still you embrace it with love. Time and again, I’ve shared some blogs on being a mother but now I relish the thought of being a grandma ….in less than two months. It is quite exciting to see your kids finally having one of their own. How you brought them up would reflect on how they will tackle the responsibilities of married life and all.  I am also looking forward to having baby Nate to play with, and to pamper (just a little, maybe).

“It takes a Mother’s love to make a house a home, a place to be remembered, no matter where we roam.”  That’s a quote from Helen Steiner Rice.

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Thank God For The Gift Of Life

Two nights ago, I blogged about my daughter  and my son-in-law spending the night with us. The weekend is always such a joy when they are around. Nissa showed me the result of  the baby’s sonogram taken at thirteen weeks. I showed it to our Catholic private group at Facebook and I was simply amazed by their comments when they saw the picture. Sheryl, one of our members from Hong Kong said, it was not only the fetus she saw in the picture but the happy face of Mama Mary clapping and Jesus cuddling a baby in His bosom.  Some members of the group said the same thing so I looked closely at the picture and I knew what they meant. I am reposting it here.

I wonder if you’ll be able to see what they saw in the picture. The figure on the left  which shows the defined spine of our baby also shows the picture of a face with hands clapping and the right shows a figure more like holding a baby  and gazing at it.  Their faith is such that they see God in everything.  And we don’t need miracles in our lives to know that God is near us, lovingly guiding us, being present even  in the ordinary and uneventful happenings in our lives.  We could feel God’s tender touch  through the wind on our face, we could feel God’s loving hand through the outreached hands of a child, we could feel God’s loving embrace  through a tight hug from a friend.

We’ll be having a baby boy and I am so excited to be called Nonna come November this year. Nonna is the Italian word for grandma which Fr. Boy, a priest-friend based in Italy  thinks sounds elegant. I laughed. Whether I be called, Nanay, Lola, Grandma does not really matter. I just pray that he’ll be a healthy baby boy. He is the first grandchild in the family (on our side) so I am counting the days and imagining holding my first apo in my arms in a few months.  He is a wonderful gift to our family –  a wonderful gift from God.

Have a nice Sunday and Happy Father’s Day to all the wonderful fathers out there!

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Just Another Lovely Weekend

Take that as something I look forward to because tonight my daughter and son-in-law are coming for an overnight stay. I really miss those days when Nissa and I used to spend Friday nights watching our favorite movies on DVD. Never mind if we are still awake at 2am, the giggles, the laughter and sometimes the tears while watching a sentimental story more than make up for the eye bags  and headaches the following day. It’s the togetherness that counts, right?  I seldom see her now, once or twice a month is how frequent our meeting gets but it is always something I treasure and look forward to. Text messages and phone calls are part of our daily routine though. Sometimes, just out of the blue, she would text and say “I miss you so much Ma, I love you very much” and my heart melts because I miss her too. She’s been married for more than seven months now and come November, before their first wedding anniversary, I am hoping to see my first grandchild. Gosh, does that makes me old? Who cares about the numbers beside your name anyway?

She said that she brought her last ultrasound so I could see her baby, the much-awaited figure in our lives now. A friend even suggested that if it turns out to be a girl, we should have our pictures taken, four generations in one frame – mom, me, Nissa and her baby.  How I wish Mom would still be strong enough to see her grow up.  Don’t get me wrong, whether it’ll be a boy or a girl, he/she would be very much welcome. Maybe, at five months, we’ll be able to see if Nissa will have to prepare something blue or something in a shade of pink.  Who knows, but if you ask me, I’d rather it be a surprise, the sex of the baby I mean, but technology nowadays robs us of some of those lovely surprises because every month, there is a scheduled ultrasound. I am praying that her pregnancy would be smooth and she’ll have an easy delivery. I remember my ordeal when I gave birth to her because she was a premature baby. I had pre-eclampsia on my seventh month and had to stay at the hospital until the doctor decided that it was okay to give birth at eight months, an induced birth actually because my blood pressure was too high, a little  risky  for mother and child.

There is something so special, so endearing and so poignant about a mother and child relationship. The wonder of having those tiny hands curl up in yours and those lopsided grins even when your baby is asleep.  The many firsts that you’ll witness in your baby’s young life – the first school day, when she goes home crying because she misses you, the first time she could write her name and proudly shows you how it’s done, the first heartaches of teenage crushes. I could go on and on but those times are well-remembered with joy and fondness. Nissa and I have a different kind of sharing now and it’s all about our new baby.

It’s another lovely weekend, my day is complete when my kids are around. And I remember what Sophia Loren once said,  “When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts.  A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.”

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Simply Call Her “Mom”

I was looking for a nice  quote about mothers and I found this instead. It’s a lovely story about someone we simply call “mom”.

A baby asked God, “They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?”

“Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you.”

The child further inquired, “But tell me, here in heaven I don’t have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy.”

God said, “Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel’s love and be very happy.”

Again the child asked, “And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don’t know the language?”

God said, “Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak.”

“And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?”

God said, “Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray.”

“Who will protect me?”

God said, “Your angel will defend you even if it means risking it’s life.”

“But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore.”

God said, “Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you.”

At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, “God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel’s name.”

“You will simply call her, ‘Mom.'”

– Unknown

 

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