43 And Still Growing

I just recently celebrated my 43^rd birthday (yes, you read it right) and it has come to my attention that I am not young anymore, you think? I just realized that!  With all the things going on around us, particularly me, I thought things are well but in a blink of an eye we are here at this moment.  I scarcely deny how old I am because I don’t feel that old at all.   I felt that years has gone so slowly and dragging that I don’t feel I have even aged or grown.  But as I ponder on the years, it hit me like a sack of rice in the head that time, do fly by so fast.

 I was 33 when I came to America.  Naïve but full of vigor, I thought I could do anything.  Realizing that it would take a lot of sweat and tears to survive this journey I have to take.  Sweat and tears indeed, because I have no doubt that that was what I’ve gone through during my 10 years here.  That is one thing I love about Filipinos, we are resilient and adoptive.  We can live anywhere and everywhere in a good or bad situation.  We adopt, like a chameleon.  I learned that through my years here and I am thankful to the people I’ve met along the way who made the journey easier.  Here are a few things I have come to discover and learned for the past 10 years:

1.   Not all “friends” are real. I discover that a lot of people who said that they are your friends meant nothing of the sort but they wanted to be your friend so long as they can benefit from it and get something out of it in return.  Too bad I learned that the hard way.

2.     Not all “relatives” are blood related.  Same as friends, there are so many who pretend to treat you like one but there are only few who are sincere and true.  Sometimes it is better to have a non-relative to be with rather than a blood related relative who stabs you in the back.  I have fortunately able to identify them both and happy to say that true ones have emerge the winner.

3.       In connection to number 2, you can’t choose your relatives. It is unfortunate that in a family, there will always be one who is the black sheep or a bad “apple”.  Even if the tree is as good as it gets, it does not mean that the fruits bore was as good.  Sometimes, one or two fruit is rotten.  And they are still relatives, so what can you do?

4.     Last certainly not the least, I have learned not to trust people as easily as I used to.  There are people who will just take advantage of that trust, stomp, crushed and beat you until you are lying on the floor screaming.  I have also learned my lesson here the hard way.  I am just really sorry that it had to be that way.

And so, here I am.  Forty somethin’ and still learning… growing!

Happy birthday to me.

p.s.

thanks for the best gifts ever!!!