GottaLoveMom

A few weeks ago while sitting at the doctor's office, I realized that the Big Five-Oh that I have been waiting for was just 500 days away. I had the same anticipation 10 years ago when I was approaching the awesome Four-Oh. Turning 40 was my introduction to exercise : sweat and sculpt. I love to eat. I am on my computer a lot -- plenty. It's part of my job. I don't enjoy the cold weather. I look forward to "down time" with my husband: watching back-to-back episodes of TV shows our friends recommend that we watch. I walk outdoors at least once a week, not as much as I should have. I go up and down the steps carrying the kids' laundry. I scrub the floors the Filipino way - quite a workout! I envy those who has a regular gym routine. But going to the gym was just not for me. I tried. So before I know it, it's that time of year -- once again. It's spring. Its time to focus on getting fit before summer begins.  It's 70 days b...

 Mom has been through a lot, more than I can quantify...and yet, she continues to give so much more. Whenever I speak to her on the phone (she lives in the Philippines ), she starts our conversation with a cheerful "Good morning, Good evening". She then lists the usual inconveniences of taking care of a very sick loved one, and being so far away from her children and grandchildren. I occasionally insert my usual simple complains in life, but then I picture what she's been going through, and I feel so totally guilty of even complaining about the cold rainy day when she one day longs to escape the sometimes gruesome heat wave in the Philippines.   No matter what time of the day, our telephone conversations usually happen when she's either cleaning the backyard or while I am washing the dishes. I guess her and I are always busy attending to the needs of our families.  This weekend, the kids and I went to church   -- to say praise and than...

   "Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love." ~ Mother Theresa Global Brigades USA is the world's largest student-led global health and sustainable development organization. Their mission is to empower volunteers to facilitate sustainable solutions in under resourced communities while fostering local cultures. Since 2005, more than 5,000 volunteers from 110 university groups have traveled to implement nine skill-based programs to benefit more than 100,000 Honduran and Panamanian community members. Willy Gonzales, a senior at Rutgers University is one of the Medical Brigade volunteers who will go to Panama . Gonzales is an Exercise Science major and aspiring physician, born and raised in Bronx , NY .  He is passionate about making a difference - helping those who are in need. As a Medical Brigade volunteer, Gonzales will help set up temporary clinics in Eastern Panama to provide health care where access is ...

An insightful blogpost from someone who lost so much and learned how to share so much more... by  Sonia Lopez Simpson – CPC, ELI-MP , Certified Life & Transition Coach My darkest hour….. Imagine the best of the best friend you can have. A friend that listens to you, always wants to help you, loves you unconditionally – like if you killed somebody not only would she help you bury the body but she wouldn’t judge you for having committed a crime unconditional kinda love.  I had that friend. She was my Mom. My mom and I were such soul sisters, I came to the conclusion that we had shared past lives together.  We had everything that comes with that kind of love.  We fought, we bickered, we laughed our assess off (many times) and we understood each other’s language. I never thought my mom would die.  I know, sounds silly but in my childlike heart, I thought she’d live forever.  But she didn’t.  If you ask me I think she ...

What do I want to be? Who am I? Why do I feel the way I feel? How in the world...? Months before we even sounded our first cry, people and society have already waged their expectations. Some might even say that even before we are conceived, our destiny has already been predetermined.  So... Do we live our lives because someone dictates who we are supposed to be? Or no matter how we resist, the person we are to be -- eventually emerge? Is our happiness dependent on what society dictates happiness means? Do you even know what it is that makes you happy? A lot has happened in my nearly 49 years. And looking back, I was mostly happy -- well, scratch that, I was generally happy. I am not one to have a bucket list because there's only one thing that motivates my day-to-day, and that is to live a happy simple life . But what happy and simple to me may not be happy and simple for others. ...

I sat at the steps of my sister-in-law’s house one early evening in spring. As the sun bid its goodbye, drenching glorious oranges and pinks as it sunk below the horizon, we were brushing off mosquitoes and sharing thoughts when she said, “I believe that if I love someone and they don’t feel the love I am giving them then I must not love them enough. Or maybe I don’t love them after all because they are not able to know that I do.” I smiled and found myself saying something I didn’t expect. I told her, “I disagree with that. The sun shines equally on everyone. If someone chooses to live under the ground or under a rock and refuses to come out does this make it the sun’s fault that its rays can’t be felt or seen?” For the longest time and ever since I can remember, this, I felt it was my job in the family--to love and to prove that I love. As the oldest in the family, the “Ate”, I was tasked with being the role model in every possible way. This ranged the gamut from scholastic...