Listening Through Heartbreak

Heartbreak happens. Heartbreak hurts. Eventually, heartbreak disappears.

But I never actually experienced my own heartbreak.

I had a boyfriend when I was sixteen. After high school graduation, we simply drifted apart without ever talking about breaking up. I left home for college, and from then on, we had no communication.

“Why didn’t I experience heartbreak?” I sometimes asked myself.

Are You or Are You Not?

There comes a time when children begin to keep parts of their lives to themselves. They say it usually starts during the teenage years—or sometime after that.

No matter how close you are or how tightly knit your family is, one day you may wake up realizing that you know only a little about what is happening in their lives. They say children naturally become more private as they grow older, until some things are simply no longer shared with their parents.

And they say, "It's okay. It's part of growing up."

But what do I say?

"I'm Proud of You" Was Never My Love Language

Author's Note (2026)

I wrote this letter to Tenten in 2017 as he entered a new season of adulthood. Reading it again almost a decade later, I smiled at the mother I was–so proud, so involved, and admittedly wanting to be part of almost everything in my children's lives.

Time has taught me that our children don't stop needing our love as they grow older. What changes is how we love them. Sometimes we guide. Sometimes we simply cheer from the sidelines. And sometimes we finally say the words we once assumed they already knew.

Birthday Lessons from a Glamping Trip

On celebrating my birthday as a widow, I couldn't help but still feel lonely. I had moved on but I hadn't gotten over the loss. Anyway... enough of the drama.

Birthdays are usually happy occasions celebrated with family and friends. As for me, birthdays have become opportunities for growth, regardless of age. By the way, I am now 57 years old. 

I believe I am still learning—learning from both the young and the old. I continue to grow, hopefully in wisdom, knowledge, and in becoming a better mother and solo parent to my adult children.

Monday Morning at the Breakfast Table

Memory Lane (May 2016)

I remember posting this on Facebook months ago.

The status read:

The mother called for a family meeting...
Rey and I introduced our family meeting to our children when they were still young. They have no choice but to follow. 😉 We usually held them once a week during breakfast. One by one, from the youngest to the eldest, everyone shared what had happened during the previous week. Everyone was encouraged to share a thought, whether serious or not. Somehow, even the simplest conversations always became part of the fun. 😄

Even after Rey was gone, we continued the tradition every now and then.  

Pero super tagal na ng huli! Kelan na nga ba? 

So, God made a reason for me to call a family meeting! This time, it wasn't around the breakfast table. It was in my bedroom. 

❤️❤️❤️