Out of all the life experiences, LOVE, I believe, teaches you the most. It is in love that you learn alongside the worst fear, the most pain, the hardest discouragement & the most profound hopelessness & helplessness. Love can make or break a person. And it is the one aspect I am most scared of the most as a mother. Because it is something I have no control of. His happiness is beyond my domination. It is in another person’s hand.

But along with fear & trepidation of the uncertainty of the future, I find joy in his happiness. The inspiration that makes him get up everyday ready to tackle the world at his feet. Love makes the world go round. I just hope & pray that it will never be a reason for his world to stop.

While at his graduation ceremony, my babyson who was seated parallel from me sent a text message as I clapped for the students with honors going up the stage with their parents. Unbeknownst to me, he was looking as I cheered along & must have thought I was jealous. Apologizing because after years of over-achieving is his old school & being a pack leader year after year, he claims to have “under-achieved” in his new one. He was disappointed that I don’t get to go up the stage this time because he became lax in his last 2 years of high school. As a mother, I am not one to push my kids to over-achieve & to over-compensate. Life is a journey. They should enjoy it without putting on too much strain on pressure & expectations. No, of course I don’t want them to be failures. But I also don’t want them constantly seeking for approval and not relishing life in the process -fleeting as it is. Them being them is enough. More than enough. And I am proudest being their mother. That’s the highest level of honor they can ever give me. <3 For the record, they are all above-average students. 🙂

Pre-grad lunch at Neil’s Kitchen, our homegrown favorite. <3 Paksiw na Salmon 695 php, T-Bone Tapa Steak 625 php, Crab Cake Torta with Aligue Pasta 495 php, Sinigang Noodle Soup 325 php, Fried Suman Mangga & Chocnut 250 php and Puto Bungbong with Buco Jelly and Toasted Coconut 250 php.

Congratulations to a highly talented lady, BEATRICE MARIE BUSTAMANTE (L) for writing the DLSZ 2015 graduation song HERE WE GO! \m/

I will most certainly miss this boy Ogs (left). <3 He has been like a brother to my Babyson & Lovey. Because he lived outside the village & there were rules to be followed regarding non-resident vehicles, he had to come in extra early & we would always find him in my babyson’s room and he would patiently wait for them to get ready. The 3 of them would then ride to school together. For a whole year, that has been their routine. Now, not seeing him in the wee hours seem so unnatural. We will miss you Ogs! Come visit please. :-*

From one & only one friend in his old school (okay 2-3 at the most) because of the low student population, I have seen right before my eyes how my babyson blossomed & gained so many friends in so short a time. Our house bustled with so many hang-outs & activities, and I was glad. This is what I wanted for my babyson, to HAVE a life. I didn’t want him stuck at home, I wanted him partying like any 17-year old should. With limitations of course. He is young but once. Soon enough, he will have responsibilities & face challenges that will require his mature attention. So I say, enjoy while he still can. There is time for the serious stuff later. You can never regain your youth. #YOLO

Time and again, I have inculcated in their minds that family will ALWAYS be there for them. In good times & in bad. Friendships may be genuine, but they are fleeting. Blood will always be blood. In the 2 years that he & my Lovey were together in their new school, I have seen how he learned to protect her & take care of her in their Ate‘s absence. At their former school, they always had their Ate to look up to & follow. But in Zobel, my Babyson had the sole responsibility of being the Kuya. And my how his character & self-confidence have grown & developed in those 2 short years. I am a proud mommah.

Post-grad celebratory dinner. <3 We were feelin’ some steak so we went to Midas Cafe for some surf & turf. <3

Hail to the Graduate of 2015! <3