Welcome 2013!
Something special happens in every Filipino family every Christmas season.This season starts from December to the first week of January the following year.
I wish I knew how my parents celebrated their first Christmas as a family, since I was only 3 months old then in December 1961.There was no picture to document and remember such event.
I came to know the essence of Christmas when I was a preschooler (5-6 year old) at that time. I would have a new dress that my mother brought from Cinderella (the shop is still existing).The dress was worn for my school’s christmas party, at misa de gallo, and when going to my paternal grandparent’s house. My paternal grandparents would speak to us in Kapampangan and English that’s why I understand a few words from the language.
This is my 24th year celebrating my own Christmas with my children, the usual hustle and bustle of activities,though less strain on my part because all the kids are grown-ups. I have more time for my own shopping and I stayed home a lot.
Christmas for me means family gathering, renewing friendships with long time friends, gift giving and attending Christmas parties. Yes I have to have time for reflection about what I still want in life, my spirituality and faith, my health and future of our family.
This year 2013 , just simple things , simple life plus good health. This season has to be merry and joyful, it has to be….
1. Gift giving / Wrapping gifts – practical and useful gifts
2. Christmas parties with Costumes – Gangnam dancing
3. Shopping – Great finds at Divisoria and Baclaran
4. Food galore -New dishes to try this season
5. Fatigue -Too many parties, late nights
6. Families- Skype
7. Simbang Gabi-
8. Vacation – 2 weeks of waking up late
9. Traffic – at EDSA
10. Sad face!- sad memories
Merry Christmas everybody !
Busy month for the family this September, it was the 75th birthday celebration of my mom and my 51st year .It was a surprise birthday party for her. My siblings planned for the party since July.
What was good about the whole thing is the “family spirit” that was revived. Everybody had their own share to make the party a successful family affair. The theme of the party was “Bigtime na si Nanay”, a spoof of Willie Revillame’s evening show. My daughter was responsible for the theme. Every segment of the party revolved on that theme, even the music and “bayong girls”. Everybody made a video greeting and answered the question “Bakit bigtime na si nanay?”
It was a “family affair” all the way, relatives from Sibul, San Miguel , Bulacan , hometown of Nanay, dominated the guests.
Nanay was so surprised and overwhelmed about the whole thing. She deserves only the best . We hope she will have a long life ahead of her.
“There would be no one to frighten you if you refused to be afraid.”
-Mohandas K. Gandhi
One of the topics discussed in a nursing psychiatry class is about phobia. A phobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by obsessive, irrational, and intense fear of a specific object, an activity, or a physical situation.
The irrational fear usually results from early painful or unpleasant experiences during childhood involving a particular object or situation especially.
I asked my students to list down their phobia and these were what they mentioned : fear of height (Acrophobia), insects (Acrophobia) such as coach roach and spider (Arachnophobia) , snake, fear of darkness (Achluophobia) and being alone (Autophobia) , fear of death (Thanatophobia) and dying were the most commonly mentioned phobia. Two students said they fear dogs (Cynophobia) due to a previous dog bite. A student said he is afraid of clowns (Coulrophobia) because of the color of their faces.
Based on my experience with my patients I have dealt with for the last 15 years, the needle (Aichmophobia, fear of needles) and syringe used for intramuscular injection is a common source of fear. The mere sight of the injection created anxiety especially among male patients. In a private hospital for children where I attended training, nurses were discouraged in wearing an all-white uniform because this gave rise to fear of nurses or doctors among pediatric patients.
Read this article about fear among children.
My fears? I fear snakes since I was a child, but lately I fear heights and closed spaces (Claustrophobia). I believe that as one gets older, you become fearful of a lot of things.
