Ten Things That Make Me Smile

I came across this thought question.

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I have been busy lately that I felt the need to pause because I might miss something beautiful. A lot of things make me smile. I am really easy to please.

1. The nephew.

Two weeks ago, the little guy was taken to the hospital for fever and abnormal bowel movement. It was amoebiasis. When the IV needle was inserted to his tiny vein, he cried his heart out.  I told him, “Don’t worry, you won’t remember this happened.”  I said it with conviction. Like him, I had amoebiasis when I was a baby. I don’t remember it happened. That was the first (and the last) time I was hospitalized.  I even think that my stomach  can fight any other bacteria who want a piece me because my stomach already won a war against amoeba. In college, there was a food poisoning incident in my dorm. Nothing bad happened to me even if I ate the questionable embutido. Here’s the little guy two days after being confined.  Doesn’t he make you smile?

2. The pet.

My aunt’s dog is now big. He barks at strangers. His barks are deep and strong. He can startle anyone. It can be embarrassing when we have guests because he barks at them as if they are criminals. He is truly a guard dog. The only command he understands is “Sit!”.  He is funny whenever there is a siren blasting in the streets. He apes the sound by howling so loud and so creepy.  I took the chore of walking him in the morning and in the afternoon. He makes me feel like I am protected from harm. People we meet while walking would change their course upon seeing this large dog. That makes me smile.

3. Little Treats.

I am home most of the time. My cousin who works nearby would take his lunch in my aunt’s house. He would drop by my room to take a short nap. We would catch up on the latest news. Whenever his payday is near,  I would egg him to buy me pizza, coke, ice cream and whatever food that catches my fancy.  It takes awhile before he gives in to my requests. It takes constant nagging. ha!  The other day, he brought me ice cream cake. It pays to be persistent (and annoying! ;))

4. My penmanship.

When I uploaded a scanned copy of a page in my journal in college, a few of my friends commented on my pretty handwriting. Too bad, the digital age ruined my nice penmanship. I am trying to recapture the lovely penmanship. When I get it right, I smile. When I don’t, I can always try again.

5. The weekly trip to the market.

This is a chore I do not like doing. The market has wet floors. I don’t like the smell and I always go home smelling like a fish. But I have no choice but to go with my aunt because I need to save money. I pitch in my food budget with their budget and I join them in their meals. It is a clever trick. I do not have worry what I will eat everyday. HA! This is also a weekly bonding activity with my aunt.

When I was on a trip, my cousin accompanied my aunt to the market. The vendor noticed my absence.

Vendor:  Asa imong anak? (Where is your daughter?)

Aunt, without blinking: Nilarga. (She went on a trip.)

When I got back, I went to the market with my aunt again. I have a habit of just waiting for her in one corner while she hops on one stall to the next.  The vendor noticed me.

Vendor: Asa imong Mama? ( Where is your mom?)

Me, pointing at my aunt: Tua. ( There.)

We anticipated a long conversation so we did not bother to correct. It is a long explanation: She is my aunt, single, without child. She is my mother’s sister. My mother passed away. No, I don’t live with her. Yes, I’m single. No, I don’t have a job. It is exhausting. The market trip gives me my weekly dose of iodine. 😀 This appetizer only costs Php 5.00!

6. Manageable health problems.

We had a health scare. Last week, my aunt’s urine was reddish. We went to the doctor immediately.  She underwent various laboratory tests. Her ultrasound showed  kidney stones. The x-ray showed an enlarged heart.  The electrocardiogram show a left bundle branch block. She has high blood pressure. Cholesterol is high. Uric acid is high. The good news: no diabetes. The results were alarming for my aunt because she never had health problems before and now she is bombarded with a lot of medications. She  was prescribed medicines for each condition. Every time she takes her medications, she frowns at the prospect of swallowing bitter pills. We often encourage her to see the positive side: be thankful for the reddish urine. There are medical conditions that do not show symptoms until they got worse. Because of the blood in her urine, we found out about her other problems. Good thing there are medications available. There are some diseases with no cure.  We kid her: “You have a big heart, literally and figuratively”.

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taken from pinterest.com

7. The gift of sight.

I do not have a perfect vision but it makes me smile that it did not worsen. I started wearing eyeglasses when I was 11. I had bouts of severe headaches. My parents suspected I had problems with my sight. True enough, after I had my eyeglasses, I never had headaches as severe as before.  My first eyeglasses, they say, were correctional ones. They would correct my 25/25 vision.  Through the years, I have a love and hate relationship when it comes to wearing eyeglasses. I’ll wear them for a year and quit wearing them a year after. In 24 years, I have had five eyeglasses with different grades: (25/25, 100/75, 50/50, 100/50, 50/50).  Now, I have astigmatism with a 50/50 vision. I am glad that through the years, it never got worse. I know friends who are blind without their glasses. I’m not.

8. Music. I have reached the age where I do not recognize new singers or new songs. I get my updates from my cousin who is in high school. I stick to my perennial favorites like Lea Salonga and Josh Groban. Thanks to Glee, YouTube and friends who are music fans.  My playlist now includes Train, One Republic, The Script.  A friend shared this music video. It’s upbeat and fun. I heard my cousin sing the song a number of times but I did not appreciate it much until I saw this video.

9.  Family and friends.

I am an only child and single. At 33, I became an orphan. Yet I do not feel alone nor lonely. I have an extended family in my aunts, uncles and cousins. Family and friends are there to keep a smile on my face. I cannot choose my family yet I was lucky enough to be blessed with people who love me.  Friends, near or far, put a little smile on my day. It may be through witty banter with their cute kids, a funny status update or a simple compliment. I am thankful for the family and friends I have. They have managed to touch my heart in many ways.

10. Faith.

So, what are the ten things in your life that make you smile?

42 Responses

  1. dindin

    kkbc’s blog posts always make me smile! 😀 thank you for sharing this kat! 😀 tama gyud ka in all points (and i think your dog is a MODEL hahaha)

    • KatAuthor

      Hi, Chyng! For a moment there, I thought you wrote “Siberian hunks”. 😉 Oh, they are cute dogs. Now that we have a large dog, I think large dogs look cool.

  5. Grace

    I’m sorry to hear about the health problems in your family, Kat. But I admire your positivity in handling all these. You are indeed the unstressed!

    • KatAuthor

      I really try hard not to worry. I do have my moments of weakness when I entertain scary thoughts. I have similar lifestyle and hereditary traits as my aunt. It is like seeing myself decades (hopefully) from now.

  7. itin

    We have the same penmanship, except for the ‘g’. And your being an orphan seems to have never taken its toll on you. You look like you’ve had everything good disposition in life. And please tell your aunt, stay away from red meat as they are the most high in uric acid. Try mongo instead. =)

    • KatAuthor

      Hi, Penmanship twin! 😀 I try to stay positive. God is good. I lost my parents when I can already stand on my own. Oh, I will tell my aunt. Thanks!

  10. Yhey Garcia

    This is my first time visiting your blog and I love it already. 🙂 I agree that even the small things make us happy and that they should be appreciated! 🙂

  12. Rochelle

    Ice cream cakes looks delish and you mean Iodine? seaweed right? That’s nice very healthy.
    I think your list wouldn’t be complete without faith. Very nice list! happy blogging and God bless! (:

  15. anne lei

    is that lato sis? here in my place, it is P25 per 1/4 kg.

    My office mate used to have headaches too. She found out she needs to wear eyeglasses na. How about contact lens?

    • KatAuthor

      In Butuan, they do not sell it per kilo. They bunch the lato on a saucer for P10. We asked to buy only half which they obliged.

      I can still see without glasses. There are days I don’t wear them. So, no need for contacts yet.

  16. jellybelly

    I love the way you write. I’ve been hearing about One Direction and I keep confusing them with New Directions of Glee. I’m still stuck with my favorite 80s music.

  17. Rosemarie_Pinay Singlemom

    You’ve a beautiful hand writing, I love how you write the letter S. I always have problem writing the letter and until now I am not happy with my letter S when writing. And we are in the same boat, I am not usually wear my glasses. When I feel okay and no headache I stop wearing it. As of now, I have astigmatism and 100/50 vision I think, I almost forgot 🙂

    • KatAuthor

      True. The things that (and people who) make me smile are the things (and people) I am grateful for. 😀

  21. Pinay Ricamora

    Did you know that there was a time Penmanship was a subject in Grade school? We were in St. Theresa’s College Cebu and our strokes were corrected if they were not uniformly slanted and the loops too! I noticed there is no more emphasis in penmanship in school.

  22. Pinay Ricamora

    I used to have very good eyesight until I was Age 40… then, my work requires me to read through computers and so my eyesight deteriorated and now reaches 275 for reading! I have a separate grade for far distance and for intermediate distance! Difficult!

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