A Great Start!

It was a busy Tuesday and prior to this day, I was in school even if it was a holiday for us.  I was doing some cutting, preparing materials and printing boards and toppers.  I was scouting for natural materials and open ended ones for the different centres in the classroom. It was going to be our Parent Evening Meeting!

And on that day, I prepared all the tables and centres to showcase the varied activities we do in school along with how learning takes place at each centre. They were meticulously arranged according to how I envisioned the class and how each centre complimented each other.  It was a marvelous set-up!

The Light Atelier

The Light Table

The Clay Table

The Numeracy Centre

The parents came and they were greeted with wine and hors d'oeuvre.  As they walked around looking at the many interesting things, I was engaging them in small talks about their child or how students cooperatively work and play at each area of the room.  I can see the approvals in their smiles and faces.

When I finished a small talk about the ongoing project for this school year, I asked the parents if there have any questions for clarifications. There was dead silence and after a few minutes or so,  a voice from my right shared something and asked me this question.

Mum: "I am wondering why my child always look forward to coming to school and always telling me that he will be missed if he is late or absent in school.  He also tells me that he loves you. My question is why do you think the children loves you so much?" 

All eyes were on me and I smiled.

My Weekend Getaway

A lot of beautiful places are to be visited around Thailand but one of the nearest would be a beach called Hua Hin in Prachuap Khiri Khan province. I have been to this place many times but it is always customary that I go beyond the touristy trails thus visiting Thap Tai and Nong Kae. Thus, this side of Hua Hin is something new. 

Almost three hours away from the city of Bangkok, Hua Hin have been a favourite among the many Thais because of its waters, food and serene sceneries.

Hua Hin Beach

Beautiful Skyline

A group of dog lovers

After a hearty breakfast, I left the hotel and traveled some more kilometres to visit the well known temple of Huay Mongkol.  Lur Mongkol is a famous monk who had been doing miracles thus the revered and honour accustomed to him.  It is said that anyone who carries and wears an amulet with his image will be lucky. 

Huay Mongkol Temple

Walk under the elephant

It is also a belief among the locals that aside from worshiping and paying respect to the monk, one needs to walk under the wooden elephant for luck. I saw some people circling the underbelly and glad that it is a wooden one, not a real one. 

Wooden elephant for luck

Right beside the enormous garden and pavilions housing numerous statues and saints is a small plot of land owned by a private person.  He transformed his land into a sunflower field.  It only takes around a dollar to enter and snap photos to your delight. 

The field is very small compared to the vast fields of sunflowers in Lopburi but since I was there, why not bring myself some sunshine with its flashes of colours and sizes. 

An old carriage

An old mailbox

And when the day is about to end, I retreated back home traveling another three hours but with delight in my heart and soul on a fruitful weekend. 

An Old Person saying,
"Let the Merry Sunshine In!"

Adenium and Me

It has been raining everyday and with all the gloomy skies and wetness, not a soul of despair permeated in my being.  I love the rain and the coldness it brings.  It has a certain enigma attached to the pitter patter of the rain on my roof albeit noisy because of the roof material.  The wetness glimmers on the pavement as I look outside the window. It looks like the sky is creating a mirror to reflect upon its shape.

But all things are not good as the sun shines this morning.  Armed with a broomstick to clear the brown leaves that had fallen from the branches, I looked around and saw something saddening.  My collection of Adenium have their leaves dropping.  The leaves are black as well as some of the smaller tips of the plants.  I know the culprit, it is the rain.

As we all know that plants need water or rain but not in all cases.  My life is like how the weather changed the Adenium in my garden.  My struggles in life has been hammering me down the ground.  In as much as I rise up against odds, I find myself back on the ground feeling hopeless.  Then I resort to being busy, which is also not so good for my health.  I also started drinking around three cups of coffee each day and then pushing myself to be sleepy around nine in the evening.

It is an unhealthy lifestyle, as much as the rain have caused havoc in my garden. My health is failing as evident by my weekend fever.  As I look at the plants that once coloured the landscape of my abode, I resolved to put a solution to these erratic changes.  And as I reflect on what I have been doing recently, I resolve to change a few things in my life.

I wanted a flowering garden once again in as much as I wanted the happy Jonathan I was before.

Some of my Adenium collection.

A Timely Message

As part of our daily activities in class, the children are asked to write a message for their family members or for a friend.  When I was sitting with the children, one of the boys want to make a message for his mum and told me that I could also make one for mine.

Student: Are you making a message for your mum?

Me: Sorry, but I don't have a mum anymore.

Student: Is she dead?

Me: Yes, she passed away two years ago because she was sick.

Student: You did not take care of her?

Silence from me.

At the end of the day when I am to go to bed, the thought of not taking care of my mum when she was alive kept running through my head.  I did take care of her during her last Christmas back home. It was her birthday when she had a stroke. As it was vacation time for me, I was with her in the hospital the entire time.

Though it wasn't a vacation I was aiming for, my stay in the hospital became a bonding time for me and my mum.  We were sharing jokes or should I say "I" was being comedic.

Though I know I wasn't there during her demise, I knew that I had done a small part, though not as big as others, in taking care of my mum physically. God knows how much I helped them out in other ways.

Me: I did take care of my mum but I guess it wasn't enough.

Student: You can still write her a message.

Me: What should I write?

Student: Tell her you love her. 

I gave the child a smile with a big appreciation for his empathy and wisdom. 

My mum and I

Remembering Them

Though the colour of the leaf changed,
the shape was still intact. Heart forever!

During these few days when I was bored to death, I happened to stumble on a programme through YouTube which is called Undercover Boss. Watching each episode brought tears to my eyes because of the generosity of the employers toward the most loyal workers and hardworking ones.  I was wishing that my employer will also do the same, if not of any monetary help, but of a personal encouragement and gratitude for every great year of teaching.

Anyway, I am then writing a handful of great things that happened to me since I was much younger so as to celebrate the generosity and support of the many people around me, still present or long gone but always remembered.

The generosity of friends - When my mum passed away, my friends were there not only as a support but also to help carry the burden of the expenses.  Then, when my dad passed away two years after, the financial help I got from all of my friends was exceedingly generous.

The magnanimity of others - When I got hospitalized and then recuperated at home, there was a daily supply of food from breakfast to dinner for a week until I was able to go back to work.  The doorbell rang everyday and there was something hanging on the gate of the house.  There was also a mum who came in with a large pot of soup for me to eat. They were exceedingly helpful.

The compassion of people - And there were also emotional support from friends such as my conversation with an Italian friend inside her car; when I opened my soul to a Singaporean buddy; when I stayed over in the house of a Malaysian pal while I was in Kuala Lumpur; when I spoke about my school's dilemma with a French teacher; when I am constantly being guided by a high school buddy in Manila, and when I cried on the phone talking with my good friend in Australia.

The absence of individuals - I will never forget my best friend from the US whose death gave me sorrow.  She was the penultimate in giving support both emotionally and socially.  Also, I will never forget how my beloved friend invited me over for their church service and later becoming my closest. His presence at the wake of my dad was priceless.

I couldn't thank them enough because no words are best fitted for their help. However, I am still writing them here not only to remember them but also to celebrate their friendships and memories.