of roses and daisies

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It was my plan to attend mass this afternoon. I thought it to be an ordinary mass since it’s a Tuesday and nothing’s so special about this day. I was wrong, I forgot..today is May 31- the last day of the flores de mayo  (Flowers of May)- a month long church festival every May in veneration to Mama Mary. So when I came, a bishop was presiding the mass ( I was late! I came in during the gospel reading :)) my first question was “Why a Bishop?’ As I listened to my his sermon, I came to know that it was supposedly the Culminating Activity for the flores de mayo hence the celebration was kinda grand.

The bishop’s sermon wasn’t really a typical gospel sermon for most of it were words of thank you to him and her, this and that. Hence, my eyes wandered inside the church thinking how time was so fast…

We were little girls then, my friend’s names were An-an, Atoy, Cristina and Precious. It was summer so we always had the chance to attend the Flores de Mayo.  After hours of playing around the neighborhood, we would eventually have the consensus to dress up for the flores. After dressing up, we’d get three to four stems of  bougainvilleas from our backyard then were off, taking the shortcut route to the church ( we always walked from our houses to the church). On our way there, if we see flowers without owners, we sometimes pick them and add them to our bougainvilleas.

Since the offering of the flowers would not take place until the end of the mass, we just stayed outside the church during the mass. While waiting, we’ll try to search for flowers to add up to our collection and  since we were children, there would always be  that competition on who gets the most number of flowers or who brings the most beautiful flower. In my case, I seldom win since our backyard has only one kind of flower planted- those bougainvilleas! We’d drool with envy if we see a group of children bringing a bunch of roses or daisies.We’d then make a fuss about how rich those children could be since they have those flowers on their backyard! (i’m laughing at the memory of it!). Then if a child would be bringing some orchids, we’d just stare at her and envy everything about her (oh children!).

When its almost the end of the mass, we would then line up ourselves at the entrance of the church. The front liners would be the angels- they are kids dressed like angels- their dress must be white and they must have a pair of wings(either made with real feathers or japanese paper). I’ve always wanted to be an one yet I was never recruited to be an angel during the flores. Up until now I would ask my lola why she did not volunteer me to become one and she would just answer me with a shrug. Adults were assigned to carry the letters AVE MARIA, one letter for each, and guided by two angels on each side. They would then traverse the entire pathway towards the altar. Of course there is singing and prayers are said throughout the entire veneration. The last would be the offerers and that would be us. The children would come first singing the ave maria then the adults would follow with their flowers.

”Please stand“… and I was backto the bishop’s sermon. Thing is, flores de mayo was one of my most looked after activity for summer when I was a child, and I bet most of you agree to this. Yet as I observe during the mass a while ago, there were more adult offerers than children. In my time, children rule the flores de mayo– there was the angst and the eagerness of the children as they push their way up to the altar. I picture it out as a convention of children everyday for the whole month of May. It was a blast!

So where are the children now? Should we blame the parents for not encouraging their children to attend the flores or the church for not actively campaigning?

” Ave, ave, ave maria”….and the flowers were different! I didn’t see anyone bringing bougainvilleas! That’s an improvement! There were long stemmed red roses, colorful daisies, sampaguitas on sticks and gladiolas. These flowers were sold outside the church so you don’t have to bring from your home or pick a flower from one’s backyard. Hassle- free yet I still love the idea of picking bougainvilleas from our backyard and bringing them to the church 🙂

beating the battle of wakefulness

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Sleep is one of man’s greatest pleasures in life. All of us long for that zzzz’s after a long day’s work. Problem is, some of us have trouble going to sleep- our eyes maybe drooping yet our brains are still lingering around every bit of idea that pops into our head. Annoying isn’t it? Wish our brains could just have the SLEEP MODE in our laptops. What’s worse, when we are able to finally go to sleep after an hour of tossing and turning, we then wake up in the middle of the night and tada!!! our brains’  booting again!  And the cycle would go on until the alarm clock goes off leaving you feeling and looking like a zombie.

So how do we deal with insomnia? Here are some tried and tested ways( by me of course)  to beat the zombie look we dread to have.

  • Have a regular sleeping time. Let’s say, you want to sleep at 10 pm so you can have a full 8 hour sleep when the alarm hits 6 am on the next day. By the way, an average adult needs 7-8 hours of sleep during the night. They say its variable but many experts believe that this number is the ideal.
  • Do your bedtime routine an hour before your bedtime. Most of us take a shower before we sleep. Try adding lavender oil on your bathroom floor before you step in. The scent of lavender removes nervous tension keeping you relaxed and calm. Lukewarm water is also a yes when taking a shower before bedtime since it has a soothing and sleep- inducing effect.
  • Avoid stimulating activities an hour before your bedtime. Watching television, surfing the net or playing computer games can lure you into sleeping late. Try to disconnect from these activities an hour before going to sleep. Consider this 1 hour as your “me” time-  try to reflect on the day before you and plan out the day ahead of you.
  • Warm milk and banana contains the chemical tryptophan that can help promote sleep. A glass of milk or a piece of banana before hitting the sack can help you sleep, just try not to overeat.
  • Don in the lightest and softest bedtime clothes. You don’t want to sleep feeling too overdressed do you?
  • Reserve your bed for sleeping only. This means that no watching television from your bed, no laptop, psp nor any activity other than SLEEPING.
  • Keep all the baggage under your bed when you hit the sack. When you are worrying about something, shut it out when going to bed. Remember, your bed is your throne, its a a holy place for you. Problems and worries will never have a chance to sleep on it.
  • A soothing music helps. Every time I go to sleep, I listen to my iPod’s relax melodies application. It’s a collection of  sounds from nature. I especially like the combined sounds of river flowing ,oceans rushing  and rain pouring.  And before I know it, i’m already drooling!
  • Avoid all sleep medications and alcohol. Sleep medication could just worsen the problem leading you to an increasing dose over time. Although alcohol is a depressant, it disrupts your sleep states leaving you groggy and tired in the morning.
  • When you still can’t sleep despite everything, don’t remain in bed tossing and turning around. Instead, get up, grab a book or try to do something until you are tired enough to do it. Try to wake up on your predetermined time no matter how zombie- like you may feel. Remember that correcting insomnia is not a one-shot deal. It is a process since your body has yet to adapt to theses routines. A week of repeatedly doing this can correct the problem.

the morning after- simple tips to boost your day

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Be it another boring day at work or a special day for an anniversary or birthday, we find ourselves sulking  to the same morning routine that we have- pressing the snooze button 2-3 times, then finally waking up, cursing and hurrying our way to the bath, to dressing up and having breakfast(a tall coffee and a bagel) on our way to the office. Then a series of paper works overwhelms us in the office and we get to go home late in the evening-  tired,  dreading our work, cursing the boss and everything around. We sleep, sometimes with our office clothes on, and hitting the snooze button xx times again in the morning.

Thing is, we always start our day hurrying and everything else would follow. Starting your day an hour earlier would make you enjoy the simple pleasures of waking up relaxed and smiling in the morning. Here are some activities that you can do to make your mornings stress-free as possible.

1. Personalize your alarm. You can choose your favorite song or a song that would make you feel MOTIVATED. Personally, I have the song  Empire State of Mind by Alicia Keys to keep me motivated in going to New York (my dream city). If your favorite song is kinda mellow and would make you want to continue sleeping, you can opt it out for a fast, feeling good song. Our motivational speaker has the song I Feel Good by James Brown since it would make her all revved up for the day.

2. Fluid up! The 7-8 hour sleep you had will make you dehydrated hence drinking a glass or two of water first thing in the morning will do wonders.

3. Stretch. Stretching loosens up our muscles. Some sleep all curled up in bed, while others have those military positions (straight and up) and a few take really odd positions in bed (my cousin rotates 360 during his sleep). This makes some of our muscles compressed for a couple of hours. Stretching relaxes these muscles and prmotes blood circulation throughout our body.

4. Have some sun , take a morning walk. As Hippocrates said, ” Walking is man’s best medicine”. A 15-20 minute walk under the sun will help us clear our minds from all the worries and stress. The sun also has this feel good effect on us, making us more in tune with nature. Try walking without thinking of anything else- it  can put your mind at ease.

5. Make your breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day hence it is a sin to skip it. It increases our energy levels and  prepares us for the challenging day ahead. Choose a healthy breakfast and try making it special by cooking for yourself  and enjoying every bit of it.

6. Take and enjoy your shower. Most of us stick to that “wet body-shampoo-soap-rinse” shower routine, and ola! all is done in just 3-5 minutes! We need to pamper our bodies. Pampering does not necessarily mean applying every hair or skin product in the market. Enjoy your shower, put on some Beyonce or Rihanna and sing and dance with them. We owe this to our bodies.

7. Plan your day. After clearing your minds up through your morning walk and shower, it is best if you list the things that you have to do aside from working- list it according to the degree of importance. Do not overwhelm yourself, plan one at a time so that you won’t feel bad if you are not able to achieve all your to-dos  at the end of the day.

8. Dress to Kill. Dress to impress. Even if your day will all just be a series of errands, you still have to dress nicely and neatly. Who knows a ” someone ” might bump in to you. Right?

9. Arrive 15-20 minutes early. Arriving early at the office would spare you the time of having to rush all the workload. It might even give you the “me time” you’ve been craving for in the office. Take this time to clean the clutter, arrange your desk and have some chit chats with girlfriends.