Unwind

The preparations' the biggest production so far. Imagine almost a month of planning for just an overnight stay for a milestone party. Exchange of emails during work hours for the planning of committees and assignments is so much fun. The preparation is already some sort of relaxation for us behind our very toxic work. And the excitement is somehow killing us as the days come to near. It's suppose to be our team's milestone event but other co-business unit members were able to come with us, at their own expense, which made the event more enjoyable.


We had our first stop at SLEX Petron to assemble the convoy. After which, the next assembly was after Star Tollway at Lipa exit. The bad thing that happened to us was getting lost. Burn the map! Or should I say punish the head of the convoy who didn't follow directions which caused a bit of traffic on the two-lane street at Lipa after 7 cars are turning back. =)

The place may not be too exceptional since I used to live in Davao surrounded by beautiful beaches. Anilao is famous for its rocky coast. But we still had a good time. Marvin and I just opt to prepare the food for the group and hone our photography skills instead of plunging in the waters. At night, we had a few drinks, indulge in merry-making and snugly rested at our beds before midnight since we still need to be at Tagaytay in the morning to be with our little girl who was brought there by her grannies.
All that starts well, indeed ends well. We hope that there'll be another event such as this so we'll not always be thinking about work and the office. =)

Balance

I bumped into a blog of a wife's point of view regarding the limitations of a person who entered into married life. I only agree to her point that family should come first, above all the affairs at work, among all others. But definitely not on the premise that all the time aside from work must be spent solely to be with the family and never to go out with friends or co-workers to socialize or have some clean fun. And most especially, to reject all invitations for the reason that all free time must be spent bonding with the spouse and the kids. I should say that there must always be a balance on everything.

I believe that to each her own. As for our case, we always honor all the invitations given to us unless we already had prior commitments, we are sick, we wanted to have some time off from our busy schedule, and our worst reason is we don't feel like coming to the affair. The very reason why we always want to grace all invitations with our presence is we love to go to merry occasions and we enjoy the company of friends. We don't want a rebound; friends rejecting our invitations which is saddening.

Marriage is not supposed to be an imprisonment. It's true that marriage makes the husband and the wife become one, but not too literally to become physically one, to be always together. There are times that couples do things together and times spent doing things without each other. The balance will help keep the relationship healthy.

I remember some occasions when I pushed my husband to go and meet up with friends to unwind and catch up with them. His circle must not only consists of "US", he must also extend it to relatives, friends and co-workers coz there will definitely come a time that when things go wrong, those people might just come as saving grace. There are some incidents when I bring him along with me when its my time to go out with friends. We allow each other to have some sort of clean fun with other people as long as we don't abandoned our family's needs (i.e. food, security, etc.), it' not very frequent like every week, or that will lead to philandering.

Marvin and I work in the same company, but we don't meddle much on each other's matters at work although we do talk about it everyday. Communication and respect are some basic roots for a problem-free relationship. We respect all the decisions we make but not those that would jeopardize our family and relationship. We always support each other on the things we wanted to do and achieve because we don't want the time would come that we'll feel very sorry for hindering each other's desires and happiness. This I think might be one of the reasons why some marriages fail; spouses tend to be choked and confined with rules.

It must be that I'm a career woman and I chose to juggle my time with my husband, my daughter, my friends and the demands at work. I may not have experienced yet problems when all those balls that I've been juggling falls altogether, demanding me to catch them all. But when that time comes my husband and my kids will always be on my top priority.

Which Road To Take?

Everytime I'm caught into a situation where there's a need to make a decision that would create a big impact on my future, I always remember this poem from Robert Frost. There were so many times I attempted to create an entry of this poem in this blog, but it seemed those prior decisions I was about to make were not that intense as the one Marvin and I am facing right now.

A one-year assignment in Japan. That means leaving Marvin and our 13-month baby behind. Not to mention the ongoing execution of our plans for this year. And some plans would be left done and undone without me. Gosh, a year of separation would seemed like eternity.

We just can't turn down this offer. It's very attractive financially speaking, so as the travel opportunity and skills upgrade. But this entails a great deal of sacrifice for us. Hope we can come up with a very wise decision within the week.



The Road Not Taken

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I?
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.