It's the little things...

Have you ever had that kind of day when you're told you failed one important exam (simply because you just screwed up) right after you took one and before you're to take another one, and you had fever the night before and your head hurts and your ears ring because of the colds but you had to go through a very noisy meeting of people who just had to shout instead of sitting still?  Sounds quite miserable, right?

Yup, that was Friday this week.  To top it all off, the last test -- which was my only Saturday class in a school that takes me 1.5 hours to commute to (one way) -- was postponed (again).

So Saturday evening, I was shaking off concepts in Child and Adolescent Psychology and thinking hard about ways I can prepare for the upcoming deadline for my daughter's tuition installment, I boarded a bus going home.  It was full considering it was the Saturday equivalent of the rush hour (7pm through Quiapo, Centerpoint, Greenhils, etc.) so I braced myself to stand for a good length of the ride.  This elderly couple with two children made room for me. I sat thanking them and soon realized they gave me more than just a seat on this ride.

The couple were obviously the grandparents, because at one point, the Lola asked the girl what her dad's work schedule was, to which she answered singing with "Umaga... mag-exercise tayo tuwing umaga, tuwing umaga, tuwing umaga..."  That brought a smile.  She was humming or singing all her answers.  Obviously, this six-year old was pretty happy about something.

After a while, the baby, who was about 8 months old, became a bit testy and the Lolo, who was holding it, didn't know what to do.  The girl proceeded to nozzle the baby's neck.  It giggled and made other happy noises.  Maybe the girl got tired of reaching over after while, so she simply pointed out to the baby that there was a train (LRT) and the baby made sounds as if to talk about it.  That interaction was so nice to see, and it made me think my own daughter might be the same way to a sibling if she had one.

Later, the Lola told the girl that they weren't sure if the kids wanted to go with them so they were keeping quiet about asking.  She said," Ayaw naming magsalita kasi mahirap na."  The girl's response?  "Ok lang po.  Sanay na kami sa hirap e."  And then she went on singing again.

That hit home.  For a few seconds, I forgot what pained me and just basked in the happy thoughts of a little girl so excited about spending the weekend with her grandparents.  They weren't rich people.  The couple wore faded clothes and their bags were bursting at the seams.  The little girl and the baby were wearing ternos and the girl was wearing dangling earrings that reached her small shoulders.  The contrast apparently didn't matter to little girl.  She was going ro spend the weekend with Lolo and Lola and her little sibling, and that was enough to send her singing her responses to her grannies.

She is right too: focus on the moment, especially if it's very good.  There is still time, I simply should just take it one step at a time though taking care not to lag.  

Step one:  relax.  
Step two:  don't panic.
Step Three:  focus.

Easier said than done, I say...

=)K