39 Ways to be a Supportive Mother

My mom is the most supportive mom ever.  Here are 39 ways she has exemplified that:

[She looks 39 to me (a decade or two younger than the real thing), hence the number. But of course this list doesn't comprise everything she has done for me.  The list can go on and on.  ☺️]

1. When I was 3, she enrolled me in school.   
2. When I was 4, she enrolled me in swimming classes. And to encourage me to swim, she played The Little Mermaid album in the car everyday after school.
3. When I was 6, she took me to piano lessons.
4. She encouraged me to read by letting me choose one pocketbook every Sunday, right after my piano lesson. Back then, my favorite was Sweet Valley Kids.
5. She encouraged me to write by letting me choose a pretty notebook every summer as my diary (or whenever the pages of the previous notebook had already been filled).
6. When I was 8, I told her I wanted to become a gymnast.  She enrolled me in ballet. 😂
7. When I was 10, I wanted to buy cassette tapes.  She would encouraged me to take voice lessons by telling me she'd buy me the tapes if I take voice lessons.  But because I was shy, I didn't take voice lessons; yet she still gave me the cassette tapes.
8. She let me try theatre instead.
9. When I was 11, she encouraged me to start a "business" by buying and selling stationaries and earrings.   She would go with me to Divisoria to buy at wholesale prices.
10. When I was in my teens, she had me attend different types of arts classes: arts and crafts, charcoal drawing, acrylic painting, oil painting, etc.
11. When I was 15 and I wanted to become an actress, she put up with my childish dreams and drove me to some VTRs and shoots. 
12. When I was on a diet, she accompanied me to the gym.
13. She also enrolled me in Tennis classes.  I then realized I was not really good with ball sports. 
14. She encourages me to explore.  She even had me take speed reading classes.
15. When I made mistakes, she comforted me by saying, "It's okay.. it happens."  
16. When I was 16, and I didn't have any A1 fan friend, my mom (together with my dad and auntie) watched the concert with me.
17. When I was turning 18, she was the one who organized my debut party. I only had to choose the theme, the color motif, and friends who would be part of the program.
18. When I was in school (from elementary to college), she never complained about my grades.  No pressure came from her.  
19. She protected me from boys before by setting reasonable parameters that I would most likely copy when I have my own children.
20. One time, I was trying to bake and sell cakes.  She suggested that her Christmas gift for me would be Kitchenaid mixer.  I told her no need, because I had burnt many of the cakes already, so I wouldn't push through with the business anymore. 
21. She never pressures me to follow a certain career path.  She lets me choose whatever trail I want to take.
22. There was a time that I wrote blogs as part-time work.  She would be one of the first to read my entries.  And sometimes she'd share them to my relatives as well by asking them, "Have you read Joyce's new entry?"
23. When I had to feature certain restaurants, events, or hotels for the blog, she would accompany me to those places.
24. When I wanted to work for my dream job after college, and the pay was relatively low, she was still happy for me when I got in.
25. When I wanted to quit the job to find my niche, she was okay with it. 
26. During my soul-searching years, she would take me to seminars and classes with her.
27. When I wanted to start my own business, she was okay with it too.  She would take photos and buy innovative products for me as inspiration.  
28. There had been times when she would sleep at 3AM to help me pack products for delivery.
29. She, along with my dad, would help me with my business.  They would sometimes do the deliveries, accompany me to do purchasing, or drive me to meetings.
30. Since shopping is not my hobby, she would be the one buying me new clothes, bags, and shoes.  I remember when I was about to get married, she was the one reminding me that I would be needing new clothes when I get married.  She told me I could choose from those on the mannequins.  (Great shortcut tip, 'coz looking around for clothes was such a chore to me.)
31. She would sometimes cut out newspaper clippings of events and classes, as well as articles, that she thinks would be beneficial to me.
32. She would suggest ways for me to improve the systems in Mori Notes.
33. She would also encourage me to go abroad and take classes.
34. She likes my friends.  She entertains and bonds with them when they come over.
35. She cares for the people I care about.  I remember on one New Year's Day she helped me look for clothes, blankets and other necessities to give to a Mori mom whose house was burnt down.
36. Whenever I felt like collecting something (i.e. Stickers, stamps, stationaries, notebooks, books, musical notes items, etc.), she would help add to my collection.
37. She does not compare me with anybody.  
38. She has word of honor.  She sets a great example to me.
39. Whenever I fail, she never gives up on me.  

Happy happy _9th birthday Mommy! I ❤️ you! :)

Out-of-the-Box-Speaking: One Stressful Vacay

It was supposed to be a beautiful sunny morning at the resort.  Right in front of the resort was such a tempting sparkling blue sea welcoming anyone who wanted to go for a dip.  David, Jeff, Auntie Edna and I just finished packing our things and were ready to check-out.  We left our bags at the concierge and walked at the front yard one last time, enjoying the view of the sea.  Then suddenly there was a loud bang, and the ground shuddered.  Smoke came from behind us.  When I looked back, I saw the sidewalk near the resort building on fire because of a fiery arrow that had pierced through the pavement.  

In the sky there were a couple more fiery darts coming in.  The ground continued to shake.  Everyone at the resort was running in confusion, trying to escape.  We too panicked, and asked for the shuttle service (it was a 4x4 RV) to drive us out ASAP.  Portions of the road were already blocked by fire and fallen trees.  As we waited for the shuttle service, more darts were hitting the resort.

There was a war, I realized, and it was just unfortunate that we were in a resort located on the border of the country.  The RV arrived.  We drove hurriedly out of the resort avoiding the arrows, the fire and the debris along the way.  It was one of the most stressful moments of our lives.

When we had gone quite far from the resort such that arrows could no longer reach us, we slowed down.  We were on top of the mountain and we breathed a big sigh of relief.  From our vantage point, we were able to see a bird's eye view of the war.  We could see not only the city where the resort was located but also the island where the fiery darts were coming from.  

What I noticed surprised me.  The darts from the enemy were only hitting the border of our country.  While the enemy's island were being hit at its heart by much bigger weapons.  Bombs were dropped and cannon balls were shot towards the enemy by our country.  I realized, they were actually fighting a losing battle!  

Then I woke up.  

I realize the war in my dream somehow depicts the real spiritual battle we have today.  There is a war between God and Satan.  And if we are God's people, Satan would be attacking us as well. We may feel that Satan's attacks are daunting and overwhelming.  It may seem that we are losing because we are being attacked by the fiery darts firsthand.  Yet, when we see things from the big picture of God's perspective, we see that our enemy is already losing the battle.  We have God on our side; If He is for us, who can be against us?