Skip to main content

The Tickle Fairy



What a week this has been. Something urgent came up at work, back home Mama is sick; and in the wake of Ketsana in the Philippine capital plus its threat to wreak further havoc in northeast Thailand and our neighbors Vietnam and Indonesia, I was wondering what kind of positive report could I turn up with. The one admirable function of FFF is the motivation for participants to find the good out of not-so-good situations when they happen. So find them I did, and they make up my faves this week:

1. Caring family and friend. Being an only child has a few disadvatages. I am away from home and two days ago Mama had an asthma attack. The only immediate family members that she has at home are our two dogs and a cat. So who would have taken her to the doctor but a great-niece of hers and a close friend who were not just around, but also caring enough to help her. In the course of our phone conversation yesterday, (they were all inside Mama's hospital room) they laughed over something I said. It made me feel so much better and told me Ma would be fine. My head-splitting worry gone!

2. Golf umbrella. It's huge, it's heavy and since my divorce it has stood idle in a corner, but it proved very useful this week as I walk to work in the unceasing downpour brought on by Ketsana.

3. Going down to DK Booktown and Asia Books. It's not for leisure reading which is one my of all-time favorite pasttimes. It's an errand to search for a reference text then arrange a mass order. But the thought of being in the midst of books sent me hurrying out even through the heavy rain. I had the best time browsing new titles and blowing mental kisses to old pals in the world classics section. It was fun fun fun and highly therapeutic.

4. A small step but I did it! After procrastinating and harboring thoughts that it's not possible because of major hurdles, I finally told myself off, "what the heck; if you didn't try then you'd never know whether you can or not." So last night I timidly but finally began entrance application process at a UK university. I know it's a long shot but seeing my reference number, a signal that I could now start working for step 2 requirements, was both encouraging and exciting.

5. The Tickle Fairy. It's a strategy I tried on my 5-year old's display of typical misbehavior. I am very pleased that he laughed his way to obedience as I can't be upset while I need the rest of my energy to assemble ideas for a dissertation proposal.

~ FFF is brought to you by Susanne. Click her name for more faves ~

Comments

Anonymous said…
You always find such positive things to talk about. It's so refreshing. I'm glad your mom as people there that will take care of her for you. Funny what a little laugh can do for you. Congrats on the starting at the UK University. That's great and good for you. Thank goodness for the Tickle Fairy...clever. Have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend :) Aloha
Islandsparrow said…
Caring friends and family are the best. It must be such a relief to you to know that your mom is cared for.

I find browsing in a bookshop totally therapeutic too. A little expensive but definitely soothing :)

Good strategy with your boy - and congrats on starting the process of applying to UK uni - that's 90% of the battle - getting started.

Have a great weekend!

Blessings
Kathie
Susanne said…
I am so pleased you dug deep to find good things from your week. That is exactly what I love about FFF and has become an unexpected blessing from doing it.

I love your creative thinking in the "tickle fairy" approach! Wonder if it would work with my 14 year old? LOL. If anything it would shock her! LOL.

Good luck on your application! That is exciting!
Susanne said…
Oh and I forgot to say I am so glad your mom is doing well and there were people there for her when she needed it!
Anonymous said…
Glad that you are surviving Ketsana and that your dear mother is doing better. I can't imagine distance-worrying -- I'm sure it's very stressful. So good that you had some therapeutic book time.
Lisa notes... said…
My m-i-l is an only child, and I've seen her take on far more than her fair share of caring for parents. I pray for other friends and relatives to help you out when the time comes for it.

Hope all goes well with your application - good for you in taking that step!
Jewel said…
This is my second stop on your blog and I love it! I think I'll be a regular. :)
Your son is beautiful, and I have always loved the name Cj.
I pray you well during the next sweep of Ketsana. I have many friends in the Philippines and I'm keeping myself updated on the happenings of this storm!
Brenda said…
Glad to hear that your mother is doing better. And good for you for applying to a university!

Popular posts from this blog

The Hunchback of Abella

A Duet When I was about 8 years old, I sang Something's Happened to Daddy in church. My father was not a church-goer so the guy I sang with was my mother's friend's husband. Papa keeps coming to my mind these days. January is the month he was felled by a massive coronary. Next week on the 14th is the anniversary of his death. The only times he ever set foot in church were during weddings and funerals of family and friends. I remember him being present in church eagerly when I was a flower girl at an aunt's wedding. Finally he entered church one more time. At his own funeral. I made sure church was the very place he went to before the cemetery. I only wished he was the one I sang with. Amy hosts head over to Signs, Miracles and Wonders for more music or to join ************************************ Guns n' Roses and the Hunchback of Abella My childhood was what can most likely be called normal. There was a balance of happy and sad memories. Today's

Sense and Sensibility: 200th anniversary

In 1811 Thomas Egerton of Whitehall, London published Sense and Sensibility . Quick math shows it has been two centuries since Jane Austen became a full-fledged author. Quite an anniversary, indeed. A celebration, I declare . Blogs regarding the publication anniversary of this romance novel picture Jane Austen 's engagements whilst making the final touches of her manuscript from Sloane Street. In letters to her sister Cassandra, Jane gave accounts of her shopping for muslin, the party that their brother Henry and SIL Eliza gave; mentioned several acquaintances, and referred to her book as S and S . As a fan I wonder which between sense and sensibility did JA deem more important since she portrayed both attributes equally well. I'm obliged to enthuse over my S & S reading experience. Alas, I only managed fourteen chapters before getting sidetracked by another novel, the very first that JA wrote. I will resume and complete my affair with the celebrant before 2011 end

Thirteen 13-word Quotes

1. I may be wrong , but I have never found deserting friends conciliates enemies. Margot Asquith , British Political Hostess (1864-1945) 2. Man's love is of man's life a thing apart; Girls aren't like that Kingsley Amis , English novelist and poet (1922-1995) "A Book Idyll" ~ see possible origin, also a 13- word quote: M an's love is of man's life a thing apart, 'Tis woman's whole existence Lord Byron (1788-1824) 3. An autobiography is an obituary in serial form with the last instalment missing. Quentin Crisp , English writer The Naked Civil Servant (1968) 4. Happy the hare at morning for she cannot read the hunter's waking thoughts. W.H. Auden , English poet (1907-73) Dog Beneath the Skin 5. Kissenger brought peace to Vietnam the same way Napoleon brought peace to Europe. (by losing) Joseph Heller, American novelist (1923- ) 6. Guns aren't lawful; Nooses give; Gas smells awful; You might as well live. Dorothy Parker ,