broken nose

it was an uneventful sunday. until that fateful moment when the little big man mistakenly turned away, looked back and his opponent's foot hit him right smack on the nose. i stared at my boy, his nose bleeding while two moms approached him, applied ice on his nose. coach approached too and called off the game.

a technical knockout.

and here i go again, saying, he could've won the game had he not been hit on the nose. 

the following tuesday, i had him checked by a EENT doctor who declared, without batting an eyelash, that the little big man needs to undergo surgery -- as in, general anesthesia kind of surgery.  the f---?! at first, i was stunned. all i could think about was somebody knifing my son's face and fixing the broken bone. (later i found out, the procedure was by way of lifting the skin from the upper lip up to the nose. no wonder he needs general anesthesia!) the next thing i thought about was how much it would cost to undergo this operation. doc said a safe ballpark figure would be 70k. the f---?! i was stunned twice over.

i held back tears as i told the hubby much later. good thing he was calm and said, a surgery probably wasn't needed anyway because there's no dislocation. which was a bit comforting. later, reading through google searches about broken noses and fractured noses, i did find that a surgery is not always the only option.

which made me relax a bit. but not until we get a 2nd, 3rd opinion from a different doctor this weekend.

meantime, as always, we got another learning experience on our list. 

“One mistake does not have to rule a person's entire life.” 

― Joyce Meyer, Any Minute

loss

three days ago.

this story is supposed to be about my two kids'  taekwondo tournament but it's gonna segue into a totally different, devastating story.  that is a forewarning.

it was the bulacan taekwondo championships held in marilao convention center in, where else, bulacan.  the kids were psyched for another fight and so were hubby and me.  i can say that we live for days like these.  it just makes us plain happy.

little girl was sent to the mats early and won her first game without a sweat.  (that's me, the mom, talking.)  second game was a breeze.  (again, proud mom moment.)  

her finals match was unexpected.  she was up against an older girl but with the same height, the younger sister of a veteran champ in clraa (central luzon ahtletic association or something) and although wearing a white belt, we expect has been training way longer than my little girl.  little girl overwhelmingly lost her finals match.  and her tears of furstration and hurt were overwhelming as well.  i consoled her of course that it was not something to be ashamed of and that we're all still proud of her.

...ooOoo...

little big man's first game was a breeze too.  then finals match was definitely not hard but sadly, he lost by 1 point.  he was disappointed of course, being hungry for another gold again but i guess, luck wasn't on his side.... yet.  coach told hubby that the little big man already has everything -- skills, form, speed -- we just have to be a little more patient and we will harvest soon. this guy's time will come.  i've said this time and time again, everytime he loses, because i strongly believe so.

...ooOoo...

towards late afternoon, the intense games of the kids' high school teammates got us all worked up and cheering on the sides.  it became an opportunity for some nitwit to steal my handbag which i left on a chair together with our team's bags and equipment.  the thief singled out my bag because i left our low bat iPad®  inside.  he must've been around already since morning, checking out who would be neglectful of their belongings, and i turned out to be the unknowing victim.

when i found my chair without my bag, i told the hubby and we informed coach who announced it over the microphone to please be mindful of belongings since a parent (me!!) lost her bag.  a little while later, coach's wife when she found out, told us she noticed an abandoned bag inside one of the stinky toilets.  and there it was.  my ransacked bag without the iPad and my wallet.

three lessons in losing today:

1)  the little girl's loss tells me that despite doing your best, if the other person who beat you is way ahead of you, you have to accept.  but you better train harder so you will be as good as her, if not better.

2)  the little big man's loss tells me that being the winner is not a one-time thing.  the process of getting there, overcoming obstacles, learning and maturing marks the true champion.  his time will come.

3)  and what did i learn from my loss?  never leave your personal belongings unattended.  God bless that nitwit thief.  and God bless me more.

“Winning or losing achieves the same result-- change.” 

― Shannon L. Alder

cool school

the little girl's entrance exam results at the little big man's school were released yesterday.  we went in for interview and were so happy to be told that she topped her test in reading with the highest possible score of 9.  her math is 8 (above average) and her language is 6 (average).  

the guidance councilor told us that per her assessment, the little girl got a 4 (average) as to her ability to keep up with the school's system of education but was happy to find out that her test results showed otherwise.

so, it is official.  she's going to big school and there's no turning back.

Big school

the silver lining

i'm sad as shit right now.  but i don't want it to get to me.  so i've decided to write down the things i have to thank for so as not to feel the hurt.  i have to re-affirm to myself that i am still blessed despite the troubles i am going through.  surely, there are more people in far more worse situations than what i am in right now.

for starters, i am super thankful for my two wonderful kids.  they make me crazy most of the time, when they argue or try to compete for attention but hey, i cannot ask for anybody else.  they're my treasures.  and i'm glad that they love me back even if i scream at them at times.  and i know they won't ask for another mom too.

secondly, i am mega thankful for my friends.  my younger set of colleagues keep me sane at work.  the gays add the spice to living daily in our office.  also, my best friends who i get to talk to online for they're far away are also present in my daily struggles.  these people don't have a clue as to my pain thereby giving me spontaneity and a sense of normalcy.  they don't know how much they're helping me cope.

i am uber grateful for my mom and my dad who understands me and let's me be.  


i am very thankful to God for giving me problems He knows i can handle.  indeed, there is always a silver lining in every cloud.  i haven't seen it yet but i know, it will be visible soon.  i just have to trust and have faith.

Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to. 

George Seaton

10 things to be thankful for despite getting sick for a week

10. on tuesday, i was at the hospital e.r. getting my blood and urine tested. my temp was 40 degrees, i couldn't sit up and all i could do was lie shivering on the e.r. table. cesar, although he wasn't feeling well too, was with me all this time. my mom was there too.

9. by 5pm, still on tuesday, i was to be confined to rule out dengue. there was no room available, only in the ward. there were still 8 patients waiting for a room. i chose to just go home and wait it out there until somebody checks out. my mom (bless her) who has her ways of getting what she wants, made a quick phone call. in less than an hour, i was being wheeled into room 604 -- private room with cable tv and telephone line. good enough.

8. on thursday, julla and cesar are sick too with fever and coughing. migo was in the pink of health.

7. on the same thursday afternoon, the pedia told us that julla has to be monitored too for dengue. that night, i coughed like crazy. i couldn't lie down flat on my back coz it's causing more cough. i prayed to God, please take away this cough. right after i said that, i took it back. "ok, i'll bare all this coughing, as long as julla gets well." whoever said God doesn't like to bargain? the next day, julla's temp was 37.1 and was playing as if she never got sick.

6. my coughing lasted overnight. at around 4am on friday, i turned on my bed and lay flat on my belly. perfect! the coughing stopped and i was, finally, able to sleep. at 6am, an intern came in to inject antibiotics into my iv so i awoke. she forgot to turn off the lights afterwards. i couldn't regain the sleep i wanted. well, who says you can have everything, huh?

5. friday morning, cesar is more sick than me or julla. but he's resting so he stayed away from the hospital the whole day. i had to content myself with reruns of house, guiness book or world records, numbers and other axn and hbo shows. but i was feeling lots better.

4. a warm bath on saturday morning. (i got sick monday so it's been a while.)

3. friends calling and visiting.

2. valid reason not to go to work. hahahah!

1. hmo took care of ALL my hospital expenses. finally, am well and resting at home on saturday evening. still felt weak but nothing compares to the warm hugs and kisses from my kids. i'm home.