IT WAS THE LOVELIEST OF REASONS

IT WAS THE LOVELIEST OF REASONS....


Last Monday...January 07, 2013...was the 1st school day after the holidays...everyone had a hard time waking up...esp. the kids.

However, when we got to the school, Nikki and Niccolo got out of the car, said their goodbyes...kissed us and headed out to their classrooms....not before I gave them their blessings of course....this had a become a routine we could never live without...I have to bless all of them before they go to their respective classrooms.

According to Nikki (Mary Nicole)...she thinks of school day as work day....she says..."I start work at 7:15 end it at 4:15 with the regular snack and lunch breaks..and sometimes we have overtime until 6:30 or 7 p.m....then I am excited to get home to family....and to rest."

Niccolo says...."when the lesson starts, it's going to be the same thing all over again."

I told myself..."They seem to be more mature than I am....because I will miss them terribly...their noise, their laughter, their kind of music.....hanging out with them....now it's back to silent mornings....and my own brand of music...but of course...there's always Dinah ...my lovely wife...tailor made for me."

Then....we go to Lizzie....she was the one who really had a hard time...she was teary-eyed as we left her classroom....she cried yesterday...she wasn't hysterical...but I could see her wiping her tears as she kept on waving goodbye at us.....if only she knew how hard it was for us too...leaving her like that.

So last night....while I was at work, my wife Dinah asked Lizzie...."Why did you cry again this morning? Aren't you embarrassed when your classmates see you crying?" Lizzie says, she never cries loudly and she really tries her best not to cry....but....her next words left my wife dumbfounded...Lizzie said..."Tell daddy that it's your fault, both of you...because you love me so much...and you make me feel it...so I love you both of you so much too....and I can't help but I miss you."...My wife says, she melted and just hugged Lizzie.

This morning...I spoke to Lizzie about it...I kissed her and I hugged her while talking to her...I said..."The parents of your classmates love your classmates as well. You have to get used to it baby....you are right, we do love you very much, and we missed you too, maybe even more than you miss us...but school is a necessity and it's a part of life. Hindi ba, every time dad picks you up from school, the first thing I do is to hug you so tight...it's because I missed you so much...so sometime it's good to miss someone you love...so that each meeting is sweeter and more love-filled." Then we hugged.

It's just the loveliest reason ever...isn't it.....I have been accused by some friends and relatives as being OA or overacting and over-emotional when it comes to family...some well meaning relatives even think it's a stumbling block for financial success...but this is who I am.

I live with my parents (84 and 76 years old)....we have problems...we have debates...sometimes heated....but at the end of the day....I can never leave them....knowing where they are, and how they are doing is a part of every minute of my life...again...that is who I am.

My love for my family...may be referred to by most...as my weakness....but again...this is who I am....and I get my daily dose of vitamins from my family and their love....and knowing that they love me....is where I get my strength.

OA ako talaga...when I heard of Lizzie's answer to my wife's question....I wept at the sincerity of her answer....really...it was just the sweetest and the loveliest of answers!

God bless all children! God bless all parents!

God bless all of us!