A beginning and an end

 

It was supposed to be a happy occasion. Like any weddings should be. But destiny has a way that is often hard to understand, to mess up with plans.

There was a wedding last Saturday. The bride and groom said "I do" beautifully, witnessed by family and friends who wished them well. A reception was to follow a few hours after the wedding, at the bride's parents' house not far from the little church in which they were wedded. Right in front of the house is the main road that connects two towns.

The groom's sending off troop had just parked their cars at the compound of the house when a tragedy happened. A boy of about 8 years old ran across the road from the bride's house, just as a car came by and hit him hard. He didn't even had a chance. He's gone, just like that. The joy and laughter at the wedding turned to heart-wrenching sobs.

The wedding reception had to go on, and people tried to pretend that there was nothing wrong. But the atmosphere wasn't quite right. There was a sadness lingering on the air. It must have been a great trial for the bride and groom. A trial in that form, just as they were beginning their life as one. But as they say, trials are a given for any married couple. Some got theirs right after they said "I do".

It was a beginning for them, and an end to a little boy. I can only say a little prayer that God gives the couple and the boy's family strength to accept their fates. No one knows what life has in store for them.

self-confessed scrabble addict

(http://photobucket.com/images/scrabble/#!cpZZ2QQtppZZ24)

So, okay, I'm a scrabble addict. Every chance I got, I'd play scrabble on FB. But hey, I don't play at work...or rather, can't play. The office has kindly blocked all access to any game applications (including language games that my students would have enjoyed in the classroom) so I've been able to discipline myself. Otherwise the temptation would have been great, and I would have ended up playing during office hours. How scary is that? :) It is scary...then I could have blamed all the unfinished work on the game.

Anyway, much that I love the game, and I normally play for a while every morning after preparing the kids' lunch boxes and breakfast (before going to work) and after coming back from work, I try to keep it a secret that I actually play. Reasons being: 1) it's not good for the kids to know that their mom cheats (no computer games allowed on weekdays for them) and 2) I am a professional...a professional shouldn't be playing scrabble, should s/he?

But, oh no, suddenly Arielle, my second girl asked a few minutes ago "Mom, are you playing scrabble?". Not suspecting anything I said "yes, why? Do you want to invite me to play?" (It's weekend anyway, so everyone is allowed to play). Arielle said, "No, it says on my screen that you are playing scrabble". Darn! And I thought I'd carefully hidden all the notifications that let my FB friends know what I'm doing. Hmm, one can never be too careful...so here I am, confessing that I am a scrabble addict. There, done. At least I can claim to play only this game...that's the truth (because I dare not play and get addicted to more games). Hey, I get my job descriptions done despite being an addict! I shouldn't be ashamed, should I? (Ok, I am feeling embarrassed!)

Multifaceted beings

My brother, obviously fed up with the world, said "everyone is a hypocrite", and I think he means that people, more often then not, do not really say what they think, especially when what they think is not popular, and agree to others even when they know they can't do that. One can be a wonderful friend, a tough boss, a gentle parent, an outspoken subordinate, an agreeable colleague; one can be anything depending on the situation. Does that make one a hypocrite? It depends.

I look at people as multifaceted beings though. We all have in us the qualities of being gentle, tough, nasty, compromising, honest, angry, patient...and those qualities take turn appearing in us. That's why I think I sometimes get puzzled by people. I often wonder why was it that yesterday this person said something, and today they say something else? Could the person be a liar? Tough question. Maybe it's just the other facet showing its side. And the person could be just plain ignorant that they are doing that.

Our multifacetedness confuses others, as we are confused by theirs. After all, human beings are complicated. I guess that's why it helps when people communicate effectively. To be tactful when expressing anger, for instance. Maybe despite the multifacetedness, there is one facet of every person that is more prominent. The one that people will know is constant, that makes up the person's basic personality even when their other facets show.

No matter what, as a friend once said, "if they are 10 qualities of a person, and only one seems good, concentrate on that one quality so you don't end up judging the person". I agree.