Obsessed to be the best...

PARENT for my own children alone... that is!

Nine years ago, I was obsessed planning our wedding. (Thanks to http://www.weddingsatwork.com/! I still remember its early days when the number of members subscribed was just down to a hundred something I think, or even less!).

When I became a wife, as we don't have the privilege of having helpers unlike in the Philippines, I became obsessed on cooking, baking, cleaning up toilets and kitchen and training dear hubby to be domesticated. (Hahaha! Successful naman so far).

When I first got pregnant, I became obsessed on nurturing my then unborn Wiji. I was eating 8-10 apples a day. (Well, it was the only food my stomach could take). No salt on my fries please and I hated oily, processed food. Listened to only classical music at home and in the car. Said adieu to pop radio station. Dear hubby and I read pregnancy books and was full of conviction that I would give birth the natural way. And we were able to achieve that by reading the Bradley Method book I have ordered from US. (I covered it with plastic cover and used it again for the second son, Yoyon.)

So now that I am a parent, my goal is to be the best mother to my sons. And just like my previous obsessions, I only have one take at this. NO repeats! One of my greatest fear is to fail them. One day they will have a mind of their own and I hope they will perceive me as the best mum they can ever have in this world.

I was reading Bo Sanchez's journal the other day and that of Jim Paredes'. And they made me reflect again and revisit the last six years of my parenting stint. While I can say that I have done my best, I believe there are still a lot of areas in me as a mother that needs a little tweaking.

So I will set a few goals before I hit 40. Whoah! That's another decade from now but we all know that 10 years can go by in a flash. And before I knew it, "Life has just begun" for me again.

1. YES. As inspired by Bo, I will always say YES when my children ask me to read them a story. Kasehodang, pati right vocal cord ko eh ma-paralyse. Oh yes, the left vocals have been damaged for a year now. Depressing but I just pray for a miracle.

But when it comes to requests such as wrestling, transforming Bumblebee and Optimus Prime, or sit on the couch and play PS... I think my sons will understand if I will have to beg off. Those are dear hubby's share to my YES.

2. SLOW DOWN. I said before if I hit an annual gross of 6 digit, then I'm good to quit. That was before petrol prices hit $1 per litre. Unfortunately, now's not the time to quit. Instead, I will slow down and minimize working late and going home late, and will have the discipline to be home earlier for my kids. Long hours will be limited to only twice (tops!) a week. As they say, quantity time with kids is quality time. Gotta hang out with them as much as I could.

3. GETTING REALLY FIT. Even if I'm on my ideal weight right now, I have to start to really look after my health. I can't wait to be 40 or 50 before I become conscious of what I eat and drink. With dear hubby's cholesterol level shooting up, I have to scratch the weekly menu and find healthier alternatives. The after dinner walks and jogs around the neighbourhood with dear hubby must be on a regular basis too. Come to think of it, it serves as a good bonding time for us also. We both need to be strong and healthy so we can enjoy a lot of years being together and bringing happiness and hopefully inspiration to our childrens' lives.

4. PRAY MORE. Need I say more? To be honest, I never appreciated the power of prayer until I hit 30. I never understood the power of His grace that suffices all our needs, that makes us whole, renewed and deserving of His love. And I believe with a lot of prayers, I can be stronger, physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually so I can achieve these goals without too much strife.

So if you notice me going against these goals (which probably my dear hubby would do with regards to #2), please pull me back to this posting so I can rearrange my world again.