Rain, Rain Come Again Another Day

Here's the news, "Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales on Thursday called on the faithful to stop the Oratio Imperata Ad Petendam Pluviam or the prayer to request for rain."

When the faithful stormed the heavens with prayer for rain, the heavens literally retaliated with storms- sending more rains and strong winds than what we could ask for. In a couple of days, we were lashed by typhoons Chedeng, Dodong and Egay.

Continuous rains translated to floods last Wednesday. It caused horrendous traffic. To make it more awful, DepEd suspended classes around 8:30 a.m. when most of the students were already in school. DepEd can sometimes be very much like the cops in Pinoy movies. They come to rescue only at the tail end of the show. Anyway, the Department did their job better the succeeding days with earlier announcements of class suspension.

Out of personal interest, I savored the suspension of classes to visit the gym for fitness program and to join aeroboxing and belly dancing. This may be fun but too shallow when I give a thought to those being evacuated from their homes due to flooded areas.

The recent storms caused devastation of crops, landslides and loss of livelihood for fisher folks and farmers. For this reason, we can't be completely joyful. Nonetheless, we give thanks for casting out a total drought in the country.

These rains were proofs that we have a living God who would readily listen to our collective prayers and who would command the winds and the seas, at His obedience. Perhaps in the future, we may better be specific in our prayers of how much rain each city and province can tolerate per day. ;-)

I won’t ask the rain to go away as kids would usually sing it since the dry spell in portions of Luzon is still not over but I wish it would come again another day- when we are more willing to lend a hand to typhoon victims and when our country will be more than ready to brace for strong rains.

Joy Ride

I wanted to go to St. Clare Monastery in Katipunan, Q.C. I didn’t know how to get there so my mother agreed to accompany me last Saturday (which I learned, coincidentally, was St. Clare's feast day). We didn’t push through though since she said we weren’t prepared to go –not without dozens of eggs that we would normally offer. I was bent to go that Sunday with or without chicken lays after all I have contracted someone to drive me. Sad thing was, that early morning, I could hardly move my body after a workout the previous day.

By some stroke of luck, I was able to go to St. Clare in the afternoon taking the LRT and a short cab ride with my Aunt Mel and my nephew, Ainon. The last time I was there was in my teens with another aunt and my cousin who was diagnosed with a scoliosis and was told to be needing a medical operation. She was young then and it was quite abrupt to correct that curve under a knife. Heavens answered the prayers for her healing with some help from the monks in the monastery.

When I arrived, I made petitions in two small papers. Then while having the eucharistic celebration, the thought of so many parents seeking help surged - single/guilty working moms, battered mothers, parents with disrespectful children, parents with ill kids, desperate OFW husband with cyberspace hooked wife and the rest who opt to suffer silently. I went back to the basement and wrote a longer petition (read: 10 font size in single space, crosswise paper) beating the three-minute closing time. I quickly wrote all the names I could think of including their families and their wishes.

Going home was a thrill. I asked the MMDA in their aquarium-like office on how to get to LRT and she directed me to cross the street and assuringly said that a few steps will get me there. I was spellbound to realize how easy it was to get to the monastery all along. LRT, on a weekend, was a respite of sort as there were few commuters around. It was such a great trip I knew could go there more frequently with eggs next time.

The trip was a breeze with an interesting tale to tell. I caught sight of a disconcerted grandmother who seemed to have run out of patience for her grandchild who was restlessly wiping up and down the windowpane while the train was in motion. It reminded me of one ride home when a child in school uniform was endlessly narrating stories to her mother and I was quite displeased to see that her mother looked half asleep and not responding to her child bursting with energy. The child just didn't stop talking about her day and her old teacher. Until finally, the mother could probably no longer suppress her emotions and twitched a smile that revealed (vamp bite looking) fangs. That's why she was not reacting to her child at all. Of course, I pretended not to see. ;0) My disappointment to the mother turned out to be a comic relief!

There is absolutely a joy in any winding road. On a hassle-free day, one gets to see that every ride is worth a story and every single trip can be fun.

My Kind of Transformer

My kind of transformer
You're off again to Indonesia
Exported without a better choice
For you and your bashful son.

It took years
Before you finally gave in to our friendship
It was good I didn't give up on you
And your dense, calculated manner
Fashioned from your cross breed
Of Assumption and Ateneo de Manila.


We were only cordial and that's how it was
You were such a snob
Not a course in Cebu could change that
You have your own impression of me
And I couldn't care less
I have my own perception of you
So to each our own high horses.

I crafted a course in environment
Back when very few minded it
And with it, you started liking me.

Thanks to our common interest
For the mangroves, the coral reefs,
For the uplands and the indigenous-
Our polar ice melted.

Besides we like trailblazing
Scaling Banaue, Palawan, Bukidnon,
Discovering Davao. Bohol, Cagayan De Oro
Romancing Rome, Japan and SEA
Without new sights, we're no smart alecks.

We clicked with the obscure and the obscene
We defied and accepted
Then suddenly you became spiritual
Your transformation was unbelievable
No matter how short lived.

You were striking up once more
You questioned faith and brushed-off heavens
Pronouncing your doubts
And petitioning with an attitude
With a careful thought
I would have done the same for a son.

No ordinary friend can see
Your diffidence and difference
Yet face it
You are a rebel no more
Time did tame
And did transform you enigmatically.

Remission

I used to have an efficient helper in my household. For more than three years, she took care of my kids and the other stuff at home which I can't meticulously attend to due to my work. When I gave birth to my second child, she was the next biggest blessing that came to me. She was a mom of three and I was confident I can leave my newborn son and my eldest to her care every time I needed to be out of the house.

Where I go, she goes with me and the kids. She bonded with the children like her very own and I never treated her any lesser than a family. I didn't mind giving her a generous pay for someone who can be my good substitute in running the house especially when I know that she's supposed to take care of her own kids but had to leave them for the money.

How she got to me was another story. She run away from her own home and was in custody by my in-laws who kept her from an alcoholic husband who mauled her day and night. She left her two daughters and a son because she couldn't bear the molestations she had to endure for years.

When she was with us, I hardly saw her drop a tear. Maybe she was numb or done with the drama. She was just glad to be fending for her kids and slowly, she started renewing her relationship with her family. She takes time off with us during Christmas and summer breaks. That was the routine for several years until she got pregnant with her fourth child and had no choice but to go home.

My grown-up kids and I made sure we see her whenever we visited the province. She was ok and looked with content raising her kids.

Until last Saturday, I got a call from her eldest who was the brightest of her children and gave me the sad news. Her mother is now in Balintawak and she is also now in Manila. She has turned herself into a domestic helper and gave up her studies. They have fled home because her father is now on remission- back to his old ways and has even worsened- totally alcohol dependent and violent.

In an instant, I offered whatever is best for her-to stay with us and to study. I knew her mother's dreams to educate her so she could get a decent job and avoid the tragedy her mother suffered. By the sound of her voice, I could tell she wasn't ok. I was calming her down but she wasn't listening. She was hurrying up for fear she might be caught using the phone by her strict employer and her words were in a flash.

I'm in a daze thinking about their condition. I don't know why she had to be a maid herself. I don't know why this had to be a vicious cycle for the mother and daughter who try hard to swim out of poverty. Why can't people just be nice and bother really to care for someone else's lives rather than drag others to wallow with them in a grave six feet under which they have yet to perpetually occupy?

Speaking in Different Tongues

While I was at the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, I took up French for two years and a few months of Spanish to reinforce the basics I learned at the University. Years after getting familiar with UN's major languages, I took Nihongo only for conversation purposes when I had my training there. Isn't that cool?

The irony, I'd say, in this learning foreign languages is that we seldom get to immerse ourselves in the countries where these are considered their mother tongue. My friend, took French and Bahasa Indonesia for her graduate course in Asian Studies but got posted in Russia. Some took Mandarin and are sent to the US. Neat.

Now, my kids are taking Mandarin as part of school curriculum and I barely know it! So my son is asking me to help him write Chinese Characters with strokes that are so strange to me! Talk about speaking in different tongues. The school maybe thought of how China is shaping the future and they might as welll prepare the students to take advantage of its market going in rapid progress with the globalization (and the Olympics fever in 2008) even if my kids' school is not Chinese at all!

Well, this means I have to ride the tide and learn Mandarin, too.

Not Interested

My friend came to me asking for help or just wanting to be heard. She said the man he's been exclusively been in touch with for a couple of years has suddenly turned cold to her. She gave many explanations and was on the right frame of mind explaining her case but she was still obviously holding on to a piece of hope that she's sensing it all wrong.

She's got it all right. She established all her assumptions correctly and concluded with the accurate answers leading to a door she's not willing to take yet- out.

My friend is absolutely in denial that she can no longer rouse the feelings of her man anymore -no matter how much effort she puts.

Dump the guy, I told her, as the love has probably faded due to a reality where my friend is no longer a part of. I hesitated to tell more as she values the person much to convince her to get a life of her own. After all that man is not even at par with her- looks, intelligence and attitude wise. Why does she have to act like that guy is worth keeping? Who told her that a rubbish should be kept sticking on a body when it is actually meant to be rubbed off?

If he's not interested then she ought not to be interested, too, while it's still early and they haven't forged a lifetime commitment. Holding on to someone who is no longer interested is such a pathethic state. The best revenge my friend should do is to collect herself well and let that man drool eventually for losing a total woman like her. I just hope she's listening.

Extraordinary Journey

Malacañang Palace is heavily guarded by marines, army, navy and the presidential security guards. More to these human warriors watching the palace, it’s also fortified and surrounded by churches.

There’s St. Jude Parish where thousands of sweating people (humid due) squeeze their way every Thursday to the Saint of the Hopeless who hardly fails to intercede to those resolutely determined.

San Miguel Shrine is westbound. The image of St. Michael with his mighty sword to be lanced at the serpent he’s crushing will be your first sight if you happen to drop by the Shrine. Inside it are more angels – Saints Gabriel, Jhudiel, Rafael, Barachiel as far as I can remember. This, too, is the church that gives the Sacrament of Confirmation on a weekly basis.

The Basilica of San Sebastian is hard to miss with its gothic architecture. Its detailed pointed arches, steep roofs and all-steel structure (in Asia) serve as teaser to an interior that’s defined with elegance and modishness.

A few meters from Malacañang is San Beda Church. Of Spanish architecture, this edifice is a place of content. There’s no question that you’ll be awestruck with the design and captivated with how it’s meticulously crafted. If you’re one interested in hand painted ceilings, then I’m sure you’ll have a stiff neck for admiringly checking what’s up there. If you’re the ogle type, you’d see the presence of San Beda NCAA players with the unassuming Manny Pangilinan on the side of the altar. While the choir is simply breathtaking.

If you’re in Manila with free time and craving for spiritual nourishment, San Beda Church is one jewel place you must pay homage to. For more than 3 years now, Fr. Ed Africa, has been celebrating the 11 am to 12 noon mass (except when he’s overseas) and he is superb. He inspires without being too preachy and takes his regular attendees to awakenings beyond the liminal space.

Do bring your loved ones with you for this brief but extraordinary journey. And yes, see you!

FATIMA SHINES

When I joined Our Lady of Fatima Parochial School, I thought of coming up with a publication that would focus only in guidance and counseling. I never did it out of propriety that I might be duplicating the school newsletter or be misinterpreted by my colleagues that I'm overbearing. Although I have the idea and the line-up of what to write. The articles would be for parents, students, peers, relationships and a whole lot. Fatima Shines would be the title and it meant to let them feel their own sentiments through the vulnerabilities of other people. These may be based from the many counseling that I have encountered and from my own, too.

And yesterday, I had a casual talk with the School Director/Principal and he expressed his desire to come out with a publication or few pages that will be out on a bi-monthly or weekly basis. So I shared my "Fatima Shines" concept and it clicked!

Fatima Shines will start next week. This blog will be my editing station and from here, I'll share some pieces to them. I love this blog spot as no one from my friends know this (only my kids who doesn't mind me writing). Here, all bloggers have mutual respect for everyone (without being minded). I have my Friendster Blog for my friends but this, this is my cool place under the sun- online. :)

That Winning Chance

"We fear beginnings
We fear endings
We fear changing
We fear "staying stuck"
We fear success
We fear failure
We fear living
We fear dying."

- Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway -Susan Jeffers, Ph.D.

Once upon a time no one dared to get in the way from doing what you want in life. You were undeniably good and everything around you seem to affirm how life has rewarded you well. You have the power and the rest of the world bows down in awe.

Until one day, you were struck with a debilitating experience that puts you in a state of paralysis. You detach yourself from the people who believed in you as you begin to doubt yourself. You are in a situation that requires you to re-organize your aspirations and yield to this defeat.

To counter, you have to move out of your comfort zone and shift strategy. Convince yourself that the quicker you walk away, the better you assume power anew.

Yet, while in the past you have the feel that the universe conspires with you, you now find yourself with complexities beyond your control.

You'd rather retreat than have another painful fall for fear you will drift to nowhere. You'd rather hold on to a thing that keeps you afloat even if it barely gets you moving. That power to conquer is sinking and you're too numb to act as it brings forth naught. Such a depressing thought.

To give yourself that winning chance, you have to let go of yourself and do what you want no matter what. You just have to trust more that you can handle anything that comes your way and there is nothing to possibly fear. Nothing.

What couldn't be possibly worked out could be. You have to stop asking yourself why and begin to take charge again. You have to let go of the pain of that nightmare and wake up to relive your dreams. And if you tell me that you are too numbed to feel, then let the numbness go so you could discover a sense of peace. Stop analyzing the troublesome areas of the mind as it is impossible to figure out e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g.

You're still alive so give that winning chance a shot. That failure shouldn't prevent you from taking the risks to get what you wanted so just go ahead. No one would pick yourself up but you.

Rest and Relaxation

My kids and I spent the weekend with my brother and his family at Holiday Inn, Clark, Pampanga. The kids got the time of their lives swimming, playing Scrabble and Domino, watching cartoons and going to Clarky (kids' station). This R & R concluded their summer fun as the school is set to begin on 13 June, Wednesday.

My brother, on the other hand, brought his work while my sis-in-law and I went to duty free shops located within the vicinity. It was fun to be doing this with her and I admired her stamina to be checking all the items in store. Her purchasing power is superb. That spells the difference. :0) I have such a high regard for her caring and thoughtful ways. Her generosity is a trait similar to my brother's.

I read newspapers and finished Nicolas Sparks' At First Sight. The story was easy to digest and predictable but it didn't leave me longing for more. I was just glad I was over it and can proceed with the books I have yet to read.

This is my kind of R & R- one that makes me secretly rejoice for realizing that my kids have grown fast; one that renews family ties; one that awakens me to be grateful for who and what I have now; and one that conditions me to persevere more in work for my kids.

Shout

You are not in a battlefield so stop shouting
You are out of the court room
And if you figured out of wits
That you are more superior
When you yell and roar
Kindly think twice
You act more like a hideous beast
Than a prudent man.

That steaming explosions
Is totally uncalled for
You make me stunned
In unimaginable stance
To always give in
To your adrenaline rush.

You notice when it wears off
You come purring
Licking the wound
That needless agitation caused.

When your pitch is beyond the talking decibels
You get your point across
But you hurt
Over and over.

If you are in disdain
Or not in the mood
Say it straightforward
Without shouting
And in that way
You keep one's worth.

Don't let me be compelled
To return your
Untoward gesture
Because when I do
You will see the beast
You made out of me.

Closest to Heaven with this Song

There's a song that won't leave my head. It makes me feel good, that's why. I just love this. :)

Artist:
Goo Goo Dolls
Album:
City Of Angels Soundtrack
Title: Iris

And I'd give up forever to touch you
Cause I know that you feel me somehow
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be
And I don't want to go home right now
And all I can taste is this moment
And all I can breathe is your life
When sooner or later it's over
I just don't want to miss you tonight
And I don't want the world to see me
Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming
Or the moment of truth in your lies
When everything feels like the movies
Yeah you bleed just to know you're alive
And I don't want the world to see me
Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
I don't want the world to see me
Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who
I amI just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am

Chill

I'm working on the student handbook which I need to finish today and I'm working at home to get enough time alone. Argh, I'm beginning to think I'm one of my students who need more focus. Can't wait to see the end product of this handbook. It's a matter of breaking in to put the excitement and thrill into writing - one which I'm getting paid for. It's time to channel my energies to a higher purpose. Gotta make a living now. :)

Love Much

I just read this quote, "They say little who love much." These less than a hundred word-post should show my affirmation to that. It's a brand new day, a brand new work week that will all perk us up. Love, which makes the world go round and loco begins with oneself. I'll certainly do that. Perhaps, you can fill yourself with much of it, too. Hugs. xox :0)

Stages

We're great spectators of how amazing life unfolds
The world is our constant stage
As we go through different stages
At our own pace and convenience.

It's not meant solely for watching
It's far awesome lived by
Moving, learning, healing, changing
And loving.

Whichever way
We decide to live it
Depends on our own play.

The important things
Should get us going
Keeping our head up high
Laughing off the problems
Doing well and not hurting.

It's up to each one of us
To find joy
In every stages
We are into.

Take chances
Never miss out on life.

It's All About Attention

There’s this little girl in school who’s so ecstatic every time she sees me. I’ll call her Sarah. Since last Wednesday, the start of the School’s Foundation celebration, she’d really flash a big smile, tug, hug, and ask me anything. Last Friday, I saw her participating in the ground demonstration and she was dancing along with her classmates. She was just a foot away from where I stand so I was teasing her to show the usual smile she’s been giving me so that her parents could get good photos of her. What I got from her was a timid glance and her head bowing down hastily.

Right after Sarah’s performance, she came to me and I started kidding her again but she didn’t say anything and started to jiggle her legs. She whispered to me that her parents weren’t there and nobody came to watch her. She said her parents have been separated since she was a baby. Her mother is now in Japan while her father is in Davao, with a new family. She is under the care of her maternal grandparents who didn’t see her perform either.

Sarah was with me for more than 2 hours while waiting for her grandma to pick her up. And it was there that I learned Sarah wasn’t doing well academically. Most of her grades were failing . She said her grandma was too old to help her. So I told her to see me every lunch or before she goes home to breeze through her notes, at least.

I’ve seen many of Sarah’s kind (some kids are tricky though and good in faking emotions so good discernment is a must)- neglected because both parents are compelled to work away from them or have to mind their own separate lives. 9-yr old Sarah and the other kids without a choice go to school as an obligatory function and maybe, exercise their right to be educated (or pretend to be). While their parents try as much to fulfill the obligation to send them to school- they missed the whole point of parenting in their absence and worst, if both are out of reach. By meeting the financial needs, all other equally important rights of the child are compromised. It's nobody's fault alright. But don't you think that there should be a policy where all absentee parents acquire at least PCs or mobile phones for their children to feel them or merely narrow the gap of being away from home? The heck, just communicate.

Of course, there are other children from dysfunctional families who grew up well and better than the regular families we normally see but children are children and they need attention. Some kids are lucky to endure tough times at a very young age and some aren’t. Sarah is one who can hardly paddle the lessons of life with less attention and instructions from her family. There’s really no short cut in raising kids- a little assurance from grown ups would matter .

Please Stop Cooking Up Excuses

I was warned by my OB-Gyne friend that scheduling with a developmental pediatrician should be way ahead. True enough, I booked two of my students last week of March and got a word from the medical secretary only last week of April for a definite schedule in May. The consultations will be done separately for a two-hour assessment to tell if their attention disorder are mild, moderate or severe and to gauge how these would affect their schooling, among others.

Generally the parents I’ve met are genuinely concerned with their child and will get to the bottom of things to find out what’s wrong and, in no time, identify solutions to cure the problem. Like this couple who I’m now collaborating with, they may consistently get into the battle of highs and lows in dealing with their child’s hyperactivity and yet they never succumb to defeat. They’re still around – very much cooperating and wanting to get involved with their child’s life.

On the other hand, I have parent encounters where a dozen of alibis have been concocted to cover their mess. Take this incident I just had with a mother whose child was diagnosed with an ADD. I have had many serious talks with her and I committed to help her get the treatment that would suit the individual needs of her child.

Since last week, I’ve contacted her office and mobile phone to notify her of the schedule and I got that funny feeling she was serving me amusing lies. In the initial call, she said she can’t remember me despite the fact that I have spoken to her several times about the red marks her child got; 2nd call, she pretended she was not the person I was looking for and had the nerve to say she was out; 3rd call which was today, she said that the lady I was looking for was no longer connected in that (family) hardware store (?!?); 4th to succeeding calls were brewing me mad as she cooked up a pretense that something’s wrong with her telephone line.

Sadly for her, I would not allow her to spoil my day. I waited a few hours to simmer down, called her in her mobile phone and gave her a decent whipping up. I told her that the school is her partner in working for the best interest of her child but she cannot rely on it to make wonders when she and her husband barely cooperate. She said her bag was snatched, blah-blah... She said her child has been seeing her own tutor so she decided not to enroll in the Summer Enrichment Program her child was required to take. I guess it's the minimal doctor's fee that's bothering her...But it took us two months to finally end the waiting.

I have had enough of her excuses. Her child may physically look ok but the attention deficit disorder has alarmingly affected his academic performance. At the end of my conversation with her, I have minced strong words to let her taste her own bitter broth, if only to let her realize that her child needs a spoonful of help.

WORRIED MOM NO MORE

A mom of one of my students unexpectedly called this morning. Last week, I texted her to ask for any progress on her child’s therapy but I didn’t get an answer. Over the phone, she mumbled an excuse which I perfectly understood for a curt reply translated to “give me a breathing space while I try to absorb all that’s happening with my child.” I may have felt the same way if I were in her shoes so I just let it pass.

She’s called to inform me that she’s with her kid today who’s attending a speech therapy session. She mentioned about the counseling session that her child and the whole family were required to undergo. She gave me the impression that she wasn’t expecting to engage in this kind of activity too soon. There was despair in her voice and had to calm her. I could sense she felt guilty for the condition of her child which, any mother would spare her child to avoid ridicule or difficulty that may affect her child’s future.

See, mothers could go at any length to make sure their kids would grow well and she is no exception to this. Her intelligent child had a trauma which she can’t trace where and how it originated. She just knows her child’s life is not as normal as she would have expected it to be. She is awfully bothered and would willingly seek any intervention to help her child improve.

A child draws strength from his parents especially his mother. And while any mother would put a brave front on her kid, she’s really not as strong as you think. She crumbles for fear of not succeeding and not getting things right. “What if the therapy won’t work? What if my child’s condition will not improve? What if my absence has caused this to my child? What if I am a terrible mother despite trying to make ends meet?” These questions are actually in the back burner put off by a mother built with significant high hopes and optimism. On the other hand, these can also trigger anxiety to a mother when her emotions run low.

They say a mother is like a lighthouse. Most of the time, she can see what’s coming ahead, shed her light and anticipate better than anyone. She can map out solutions that would work best confronting her child. She can and will prevent harm from knocking on her child’s door. Although, she does not have all the might to prevent the things that are bound to happen to her offspring/s; she cannot predict the minutest that the future brings; and she does not have the answers to all the questions - as with all of us.

Yet as long as a mother (like her) would try to instinctively act tough and do what’s right for her child, she’s doing a good job. When her child is quite grown-up, he’ll be the one to reassure her, that despite the complications of life, she is a great mother and an endearing one.

Heartland

Somewhere in a tranquil place of Norzagaray
A retreat house lies
Isolated from the cluttering city noise.

We arrived late afternoon
Our eyes feasted on the verdant trees shrouding the hills
With perfect view of a cloud-draped mountainside
The shy kisses of the gentle wind greeted us
And we were all like kids wanting to laze around
That idyllic piece of heartland.

The chimes glided playfully
As if inviting us in that blissful edifice
Made to soothe baffled souls.

Silence was so pure
We were engulfed in a somber mood
The kids were in whispers
The murmur of their soft grunts filled the room
While soft music was played for reflection
Set certainly for a retreat.

That night, the shrilling sound of cicadas echoed
Along with the sound of children weeping
Of fear and confusion
Of love and faith
Awakened emotions in slumber
There were only silhouettes of innocence in darkness.

And the morning came
The birds hummed with delight
The sun bathed the room and its rays reached for a warm embrace
The thrill of a new day was invigorating
The cheery teens were up and awake
With tears no more.

We were summoned by the bells
To jubilantly fill up our appetite
And then the cravings of the heart.

It was quite an eventful journey
Without loud whimpers this time
Only infectious laughter and brief pauses to breathe.

It has got to be the place that tamed them
And the affirmations of kindness
Meant to last
Hopefully, a lifetime.