FOR MY MOMMA, ON HER SECOND DEATH ANNIVERSARY

I have issues with my Mom since forever.

We would always "argue" at the slightest provocation kahit on hindsight, we'd realize na pareho naman kami ng point. (Ang labo di ba? Hehehe).

I would always feel na "threatened" siya sa akin especially when I joined the family business and was able to expand it only after a year or two of being its' (the business) Administrator.

We also sort of competed sa love at approval ng Dad ko kaya imagine the tension and the stress considering we live in a compound where the business is.

When my Dad died in 2012, I promised him that I would take care of Mom and never ever make "patol" anymore with her.

At this point, she has Chronic Kidney Disease and had to be on dialysis 3x a week.

I made true my promise to Dad.

By God's grace, marami kaming "awayan" episodes na bigla ko na lang siya yayakapin at sasabihing "Tama na Mom, I love you. And itigil na natin ito ikaw na masusunod".  

She would also soften and hug me back at doon na natapos yung diskusyon. Love love love na ika nga ni Kris Aquino. Haha.

Believe me, HINDI AKO YUN!

It was the Lord working in me kaya I could not take credit for it at all.

Ma-pride akong tao at kahit magkamatayan na I will hold my ground.

Pero yun nga, the Lord took over.

Surprisingly, she has also changed.

Domino effect talaga! Tipong love begets love ang drama namin.

We would argue less, agree more on things and the tension at home just evaporated in thin air.

I am so blessed din with a very understanding husband.

I would bring Mom to all our lakads even out of the country. I contacted Dialysis Centers in Japan, Dubai and Korea just so Mom would be accommodated while we were there.

Ayun, happy siya at na addict kaka-out of the country and would boast to her co-dialysis patients about her experience in each of the clinics we visited.

In all of these, wala akong narinig sa asawa ko.

He never complained as in.

There are several times pa nga na ready na kami to go out on a date and all of a sudden Mom would feel na di maganda pakiramdam niya and I had to cancel the date.

A few of those times I know it was just my Mom being clingy to me hehehe. Inarte lang ba...

Kaya what we would do, we wait for her to sleep and instructed her Caregiver na wag na sabihin na umalis kami para di na kabahan na wala ako sa house.

Last year, she suffered 3 cardiac arrests and we were in ICU for almost a month.

The prognosis wasn't that good so my brother from Canada and my Uncles from the US went home na.

I prayed to God na sana ma extend pa ang life nya kahit kaunti pa kasi 69 lang siya nun and pangarap niya na maka grand 70 celebration siya.

You know what?

God granted my request. She miraculously recovered na sobrang kinagulat ng family.

As in we were all resigned na to the fact that her time was up and we were arranging na for her interment and all.

To cut the long story short, bumalik siya sa dati although of course, mas naging limited ang pwede nyang gawin.

From Sept 2014, I know na bonus na ang buhay ng Mom ko so every single day, I was conscious of it.

Because she cannot ride an airplane anymore, di na rin kami muna umalis and instead puro local trips na lang na long drive o kaya staycation.

She enjoyed adding a province to her list of Dialysis Center she had gone into from Bicol to Ilocos to Pangasinan and Baguio. Hehehe.

Hindi madali ito because I literally converted a vehicle as her mobile clinic. May oxygen etc at may team ako ng nurse, masahista at yaya just for her.

She had a bonggang 70th Bday Celebration last May too.

Sobrang saya nya!

Sept. 18-20, we were in Antipolo.

She was very makulit, and happy and madaldal. Sobrang mabiro at malambing.

Sabi ko pa nga "Ma, kung magpapatuloy kang malakas na ganyan, we can ask your Cardio kung pwede ka mag HK this Nov."

Kayang kaya daw niya.

Sept 21, she went for Dialysis treatment as usual. She left the house early in the morning, bagong ligo at full make up pa.

As fate would have it, it was the School's Field Trip too that day so I had to leave the house at 4AM (much earlier than her).

Nagdadalawang isip ako if I should go to her room and kiss her goodbye or would slip quietly para hindi na siya magising given the fact na hirap siya minsan kumuha matulog.

I chose the latter.

Around 10am, I got a text message from her Caregiver na baka iderecho sa ER after the dialysis kasi parang naging unresponsive at mahina.

I had to rush home.

Sept. 22, she breathed her last in the ICU.

When I saw her Death Certificate, kinilabutan ako.

Sept 22, 2014 noon when I asked the Lord if He could extend my Mom's life some more. I remembered mouthing "kahit isang taon pa po".

True enough, the Lord was never a day early nor a day late. he granted my request ng eksaktong isang taon!

(Sana pala 30 years ang nasabi ko hehe).

I am thankful for Mom's 70 years of life well lived.

Wala na akong karapatan pa na magtanong kay Lord why kinuha na Niya.

He had been generous and faithful to us.

If your Mothers are still alive, I know that you know how everyday is an opprtunity to right the wrongs and how a change in attitude could cause the breakdown of walls na matagal ng pinatigas ng pride.

My prayer is for all of us to be given second chances and enough time to show our love to our parents.

The Lord gives, the Lord takes away.

Blessed be the name of the Lord!

SERIES ENDER: OUR LAST DAY IN UAE

Our last day in the United Arab Emirates was not really spent in Dubai but in its capital city: ABU DHABI.

Our flight back home is not until 11 in the evening so we really had time on our hands to spend.

So we left the hotel early and off we traveled through highways and highways of desert.

We stopped midway at a gasoline station to relieve our bladders.
We noticed that there were many tourist buses going to the City.

It was sad that we were not able to go to the city center of Abu Dhabi itself as we were dead set in spending the day in one of its islands.

Sayang, the City looks promising pa naman kasi outskirts pa lang mukhang
maganda na.

Anyhoo, our time was limited so we zeroed in on Yas Island na lang where you could find the world's largest indoor theme park:

The FERRARI WORLD!

Entrance fee was expensive pero we have no choice naman so keribels na lang.
Seeing my boys' eyes beaming with glee was enough para ibuntunghininga ko na lang ang lahat.

True enough, piyesta ang Mag Ama at Ate Lyn.
Pero kami ni Mommy, BORED to death.

O eto ang mga pictures that I took.
Sapilitan lang yan. Hehe.

But na lang they have shows din kaya Mommy and I watched it na lang.

It was so-so.  Entertaining but not spectacular really.

Later, I coaxed Mommy into riding a slow ride inside if only to kill time.

She had a relaxing time naman. :)

What was so disappointing was the variety of food choices inside.  It was mostly Indian and Arabic food.
Bukod sa hindi namin masyado bet ang lasa, aba eh pagkamahal mahal.

Even the attendant of this resto admits that the food there is very expensive.
Talk about monopoly huh?

Anyway, our day in the park was happy naman over all.

Upon reaching our hotel, we just got our luggage from the Concierge and off we drove to the airport na.

We managed to sneak in a quick dinner at the airport's food court pa.

We had no time though to go around the airport nga lang.
Sayang, the DUTY FREE inside the airport was huge.  Parang grocery lang ang peg sa dami ng cashier!
Kaso lang talaga, we were in a hurry na kasi boarding time na soon eh di ba isang kilometro pa ang layo ng immigration at exit gates.  OA di ba?

Only to find out that our Cebu Pacific flight is delayed for at least an hour.
Hayyyy.

Like a true blue traveler, my son is taking the delay in complete calmness and
maximum tolerance.
Enjoy na enjoy na ang screen time nya na privilegelang nya  pag nasa airport
and other confined places. :)

The delay was due to the "surprise" check by Dubai Airport Authorities done randomly.
They checked the cleanliness, safety and air worthiness of the airline.
Kaya pala ang daming officials inside the aircraft.  Kala ko may technical issues na o kaya may bomb threat or somehing.
Okay na din di ba?
At least may mga ganyan ganyan for the safety of the flying public.

When we were inside na, I was quite happy to find out that the flight is not full.  In fact I overheard na 98+1 passengers lang kami.  Eh A330 kaya aircraft namin. Super konti namin.

As in this ganito ang eksena!

It worked to our advantage kasi we all slept flatly the entire flight. As in tag isa isang aisle!

Business class lang ang peg sa himbing ng tulog namin.

It's actually a far cry from our flight going to Dubai.
Sobrang daming passengers that time.  As in, OA sa dami.
Di maubos ubos ang bumaba promise.

Anyhoo, the flight back to Manila was very relaxing.  Not even once did the Pilot switched on the "fasten seatbelt" sign except during take off and landing of course.

We were all asleep as the plane crossed the skies from the Middle East to
Southeast Asia.

So much so that when we landed, our Senior Citizens looked well rested and ready to go Duty Free shopping pa nga.

Where to next Mommies?

That ends our trip to the UAE.
Thank you Lord for the resources.

Let me end this series by posting our loots from Dubai.

Four days of shopping resulted to this.
Ang taas ng EQ ko don't you think?
Nag mature na yata ako as a traveler.  Only the bare essentials. :)

And of course, how could I ever forget the magnets to add to my fridge?

Posted!

Thank you for reading friends.
Until my next kuwento.

SPENDING A SUNDAY IN DUBAI

I think I have mentioned at the start of this Dubai series that Sunday is an ordinary day in Dubai.
Unlike here in Manila where people go to church and spend the rest of the day with the family, they go to work on this day.

Strange huh?

Good thing we are only there for vacation.

Mommy, Ate Lyn and I had to wake up earlier than usual because today is Mommy's dialysis schedule.
She had to be in the hospital by 8 AM.

All set and ready to go!

It is at least 45 minutes travel from our hotel to Al Barsha 3 where the Saudi German Hospital is located.

Sleek, modern and clean.  Two thumbs up for this medical facility.

Actually, it was just Ate Lyn and Mommy who will go there for the day.
I have to be left behind for the little boy.

Good thing, we have visited the day before and I have already prepared for every single detail and met with the Doctors and the Nurses.

The hospital was huge too

After a quick check up by the attending Doctor, Mom was hooked up to the machine immediately.

Ang pogi ni Doktor!

Back at the apartment, we were getting ready for our date with the tallest building in the whole wide world!

Ang sarap ng left overs from Cocos Restaurant the day before!

When the van that Mom and Lyn used going to the hospital arrived in the hotel, we immediately left for our 10:30 Tickets to the top.

Being married to an Engineer, I am so excited to step foot in this building.
Keber na lang ang mahalia na ticket fees at 125 Dirhams. Hmp.
Eto lang naman ang maakyat mo.  Truly a once in a lifetime experience!

Photo not mine.  Grabbed from Dubai Dhow.com

When we got inside, there was a long queue to the entrance.

There were lots of  interesting things naman to see on the way up so hindi naman nakakainip at all.

It is also worth mentioning that most of the Personnel there were Filipinos.

Kahit saang unit nga daw ng office man o hospital ay may mga Filipino.

So, it goes without saying na hindi tatakbo efficiently ang lahat doon kung wala ang ating mga Kababayan.

Hooray to these unsung heroes!

Anyway, back to our kuwento...

It took us only a minute to reach the 124th floor of the building.

Kamusta naman yon?

The Outdoor observatory

The spectacular view from the Indoor observatory.

Syempre pa, I took a lot of pictures of my boy at the top.

He actually thought we were on an airplane. Hehehe

Inside, there were restaurants and souvenir kiosks.

Eh ano pa nga ba, eh di ang MAHAL MAHAL MAHAL ng tinda dyan!

We went down na after several minutes.  Yun at yun din lang naman ang makikita.

Tom Jones na din kami kaya.

Below the Burj Khalifa is actually the Dubai Mall - one of the largest mall in the world.

Talagang panisin ko lang, Dubai has a penchant for everything biggest or largest.  

Isama mo na din ang most expensive, hehe.

It was really GRAND!

The Mall was an attraction in itself.

After ogling at the awesome structures of the mall, we ate at the food court and waited for Mommy and Ate Lyn to arrive from the hospital.

When we got together later that day, it was time to see the Burj Al Arab - said to be the most expensive (sabi ko na sa inyo eh) and most luxurious in the world.

Syempre, sa nearby beach lang kami because to get inside the property of that hotel, one has to pay  handsome fee for just a cup of tee and some pastries.  That or you have to book in one of their rooms for hundreds of thousands of pesos for one single night.

Both choices seem absurd and ridiculous for me kaya picture picture na lang ang beauty namin. Hehe.

Later, our driver was gracious enough to bring us to the closest area where we could catch a glimpse of the Hotel.

Feeling mag che-check in ang mga Azarcons!

Atlantis Hotel was next in our list.

As usual, picture picture lang sa labas ng property.

By 6PM, we were back at the Dubai Mall to catch the Fountain Show.

It was a lovely laid back afternoon.  We enjoyed just sitting by the promenade and people watch.

NGANGA kami diyan pero masaya. Hehe.

Not long after, the fountain show was up and we oooohed and aaahhed for a few minutes.

Nung magbalik na ang aming mga ulirat, ayun picture picture na ulit.

Before heading home, we asked the driver to bring us to Day to Day store for some serious "pasalubong" shopping!

When we got to our Apartment, we prepared for the arrival of some guests.  Some relatives of the Azarcons were coming to celebrate Mareng Anna's birthday.

The food was delicious!
We definitely had a taste of Filipino hospitality in Dubai.
What a fun night indeed!

That ends our Sunday in Dubai.

The series ender is up very soon.  Stick around will you?

A DAY IN OLD DUBAI CAPPED WITH AN ARABIAN NIGHT EXPERIENCE

Day 2 of our Dubai Trip was actually my favorite of all the five days we were there.
It may be because of the "shopping" part in the itinerary but I am sure it is also because of my natural love for history - this day was devoted to see the old Dubai before those skyscrapers rose in this progressive city afterall.

We started early as usual and we were surprised to see hazy skies.
We are not sure if it is because of the cold weather we were experiencing that day or there was a sand storm brewing from somewhere.

Whatever.

We would not let it dampen our day.

Ready for Day Two!

We were a little pissed with the assigned driver for the day.
It turns out, he knew nothing around Dubai.  There even was a time when we had to direct him the way.
Tinawanan na lang namin ng bongga kaysa ma-bad trip pa. Hehe.

First stop was Dubai Museum.
I first saw and heard about this Museum from no less than John Lloyd Cruz himself courtesy of their film "Dubai" starring Aga Muhlach, Claudine Barreto and himself.

So in honor of that movie, here's my boy posing ala JLC in the exact spot where
he (JLC) stood. Showbiz!

The Museum was very interesting to say the least.
For the admission price we paid, it was definitely bang for our buck!
I would have stayed longer if it weren't for the long list of places in our itinerary.

After the museum, which was in the Bur Dubai side of Old Dubai, we passed by the Textile Souk
(souk = market) and part of Bastakiya and proceeded to the port to get to the Deira side of Old Dubai.

To get there, we need to ride an Abra (same as the picture above only bigger).
It is really designed to ferry people form Bur Dubai to Deira and vice versa.

And for Tourists, it is an authentic way to feel Dubai for only 1 Dirham (or thirteen pesos in peso).
Cheap and lots of character. Me likey!

O, sakay sakay!
Isa na lang lalakad na!

It was such a lovely experience and Mommy Cecille and Mommy Toning could
not agree more!

We were in Deira after a few minutes.
And because it is still very early, we caught the rawness of the place.
People rushing  to work, shops gearing up for their opening... It was silently humming the real feel of Dubai in every angle.
Nice!

We headed to the Spice Souk first just to see the place and take some pictures.

I love the colors!  

Along the way, we were distracted by the many stalls selling Souvenirs.
And, without any hesitation, we gave in!

As Arabian as it could get.

One stop shop for Tourists like us!

Even my little boy got his share of loot too!

After the shopping frenzy, we walked to the Gold Souk to entice ourselves with all the golds Dubai is known for.

Sadly, we could only afford a picture.  

We met up with the driver in Bur Dubai once again after another Abra ride.
We had to make a quick visit to the hospital where Mommy would have dialysis the next day.

After that, we drove all the way to Deira City Center (a huge shopping Mall) to have a fine dining experience in Cocos Restaurant.

It was, afterall, Anna's birthday.  Hooray!

Happy Birthday Mare!

After our very late lunch, we met with the Tour Agency we contracted to bring us to the Desert Safari Camp where we would all have a "dune bashing" experience.

Everyone was already excited!

We arrived at the camp after at least an hour of driving through deserts.
The place was busy with activities and there were many tourists.

Sir, gusto mo DVD? Say ni Koya. Hehehe

I was almost enticed to buy.  Buti na lang I remembered: Pwede naman akong kumuha
nyan all over. Napakalawak naman ng desert. Hehehe.

While waiting, we had time to roam around the place first.

Hindi na binitawan ang Camel na yan the whole time we were in Dubai.

Finally, we got the cue to ride our 4X4 already.
This is it.  Bahala na si Batman!

Smile kunwari pero aminadong kabado yang mga yan.

Even my little boy resorted to holding the railings for fear.  

What happened next were one for the books.
The videos and the pictures we took could not do justice for the real thing.
We somersaulted aboard the 4X4 in vast mounds of  desert sand.
The more we shouted in fear, the driver would be so pumped to give us higher leaps.
CRAZY!

Parang ang peaceful sa photo but NO.  We were screaming at the top of our lungs
the whole time.

Magsasawa ka sa kakasigaw pero hindi matatapos ang kakatalon ng 4X4.
Gusto ko na ngang pumara pero paano naman ako makakabalik? Hayy!

This has got to be the craziest thing I ever did in my life!

After what seemed like an eternity, we stopped at a plateau and was allowed to go down the vehicle to take pictures.

Kahit nangangatog pa ang mga tuhod namin, seize the moment na lang ang drama namin.

Ang mag-ama sa disyerto.

At first, he was hesitant to sit on the sand...

Aba nung malaon, ayaw nang umalis at gusto pa yatang magpaiwan!

The sun was about to set when the driver announced that we had to go back to the camp.

Giro and his Daddy Glenn also tried the ATV ride after.
Ang tindi yo!

Caught an awesome view of the Sunset just before we leave for the next destination.

A few minutes ride through the desert once again brought us to another campsite where we would all have a taste of an Arabian Night.

By then, it wa already dark and the temperature dropped to a few more centigrade.
It has gone really cold!

While there, we were treated to a show that featured several Arabian performers.

And of course, the much awaited Bellydancing performance that made all the boys in our party really happy.
Sorry the picture I took was not clear enough.

Through all of these, my little boy was already cranky.
He obviously did not like the show at all.

Afterwards, dinner was served.

Did we enjoy the food?
Hmmm.
Let us just say we had more palatable dinners in the past. Hehe.

Nonetheless, we all had an awesome day and we will not have it any other way.

Hey, you still up for Day Three?
Sana naman. :)

Thanks for reading.