Simple pleasures - heaven on earth !

There is one member of my family that has given her entire life to her family – and that’s my MOM.

MOM eloped when she was just almost sixteen years of age, and ever since then, she has dedicated her life to the welfare of her husband and her six children (5 sons and a daughter).

She’s up and ready to attend to her usual morning routine at the crack of dawn: gardening, laundry, filling up the water tank, hosing down the patio, attending to her pet dogs and had breakfast ready…and if it’s a Wednesday or a Saturday, she tries to go to the market before it even opens since she’ll be taking care of my Dad as he gets his 5-9 hour dialysis treatments at the Philippine Heart Center. (The treatment only lasts for 5 hours but the waiting time can be up to 4 hours)

“Exhausting” is an understatement in describing how my Mom’s day is like. She rarely smiles I think because she is just exhausted. But there are a few things that make her smile brilliantly: ORCHIDS.

My youngest brother had been taking Mom to Manila’s seedling plant. He urged me to go with Mom today to see how Mom’s eyes sparkle. So today, off we went.

Mom was like a little kid surrounded with toys. Her eyes did sparkle and her smile brightened the day. Even when the rain fell, armed with her big umbrella, we went to one orchid shop to another – just admiring the beauty of every petal.

(Check out this Mickey Mouse plant)

It reminded me of the time my husband and I took her to Brooklyn’s Botanical garden one Mother's Day. She was surrounded with simple pleasures in life but for her they’re priceless treasures that her mind was overloaded with one beauty after another: capturing each color and shape.

I only have 5 more days of being with her, my Dad and my brothers. But I have saturated myself with beautiful memories.

Earlier today, I spoke to my Dad and asked him if he's ready to move on to the next life.

He said, "Yes, my mission here is done. I am just waiting ...."

My Dad who has been very ill for over a year now asked me,

     “This year’s vacation, did you accomplish what you planned on doing?”

Almost, I said.

I had over-filled my heart (and tummy) as much Filipino love that I can fit.

Thanks to my "boy-genuis", my husband, who figured out a way to remotely fix the internet wireless connection problems, I was always "connected"...(He even fixed my Mom's laptop problems which added to the "mama-joys")

I had a few fun days and nights with some long-lost friends,

attended a dear friend’s wedding, figured out a plan of action for my Dad’s properties,

made a few kids happy,

spent time with my dear (4) brothers, heart-to-heart with my dear cousin, visited my Lola, soaked-in all the love I can get from my Mom and Dad,

said hello and "good-bye" to a dear aunt,

and getting more play-time with the cutest little addition to our family (my 2yo nephew).

Almost.

There’s one more thing I’d like to do before I leave.

It rained every day that I was here. Almost every 6pm. When I was a kid, I remember playing outside under the rain. I almost did today but my Mom asked me not to since I have a cold and a little cough.

So maybe before I leave, I will get to play under the rain….

(I'll definitely let you know when it happens....hopefully tomorrow!)

Have a fun day everyone. Go hug your loved ones.

Hugs and kisses and keep smiling.

(PS : I would like to thank Beth from Create Your Traditions for recognizing my blog. Thank you for giving me the Versatile Blogger Award. Please go visit her website at http://createyourtraditions.blogspot.com  )