A Note To My Child

everyday i struggle

to give you the kind of life

that i know you deserve

each pain and and sweat

i hardly notice
after all

they bring me
a step closer

to all my dreams for you...

one day soon

i will let you go

and let you roam 

the world on your own

and when you do

remember my counsel

choose your battles well

for not all fights 

are worth your while...

with all my love, 
Mommy

© Bing (PinkLady) 2010

W E L C O M E   TO

Thursday Poets Rally Week 25 

[July 22-28] hosted by Jingle

Please read Agreement 4 Rally Week 25 to join...

Reversal of Attitude

My daughter Jazzy forced me, as in F-O-R-C-E-D me, to watch a youtube video with her. Thinking it was another Miley Cyrus or Taylor Swift song, I pretended I was too  busy to be bothered. But she persisted. For fear of hurting her feelings, I finally gave in. And I did not regret it.

Jonathan Reed's poem, The Lost Generation, carries a timely message, not just for teens (like my kids) but for everyone else who cares about the world he or she lives in. The video that my daughter and I watched together is here but I found a clearer and better version.







Positive attitude can make a big difference. The fact that a meaningful awareness is spreading among our youth spells H-O-P-E. For it is true that change should begin with us.

The Birds And The Bees In The News

News of a sex scandal has rocked this country for over a week now. The scandal arose from the sex videos that were taken by a popular cosmetic surgeon/actor during his sexual trysts with unsuspecting women/girlfriends, some of whom are well known celebrities like him. He admits to owning at least 40 of such videos but claims innocence in distributing and spreading them in the internet and the DVD circuit.

So when you see this kind of controversy every night on primetime tv news, how do you explain it to your pre-teen and teenage kids? Do you tell them to stop watching the news? Or do you awkwardly attempt to explain how the birds and the bees found their way in videos and the news?

We can’t be with our kids all the time. Eventually they will have to face the world on their own. It’s not easy to let go but if we have armed them with the right ammunition to fight their future battles, we can sit back later and trust their judgment.

This scandal gave me the best opportunity to discuss with my girls about the most dreaded topic for parents, that is, sex.

In a country like ours that is ruled by old beliefs and traditional values, sex before marriage is totally unacceptable. NOT that it’s not happening here. We just don’t talk about it. Having come from a more open-minded generation, I am quite aware of what reality is.

I gave a long lecture on finishing their studies first to broaden their options. Along the way, they would be able to define the kind of man that they would want to spend the rest of their lives with. The higher they go, the higher their standards would be. But they will lose this chance if they trust the wrong person early on. By “trusting”, I meant having a boyfriend. Lol! Now isn’t that a subtle way of brainwashing?

As I always tell them, they can do something really stupid only once and that can ruin their lives forever. That includes putting their trust on the wrong person. In this world of technology, a simple kiss taken on video could mean the end of one’s future, career, relationship or marriage.

That also includes the wrong choice of friends. Friends can either make or break them. Friends can also lead them to drugs. See, isn’t that a convenient segue? That’s hitting two birds- sex and drugs- with one stone.

It’s still a long road ahead of me. After becoming a single parent, I have learned to discuss the most sensitive topics with my kids like I’m talking about the latest craze in town. I am left with no choice. If I talk in riddles, how would it get the message across? I do hope that this opportunity has not been wasted. But it will take years for me to know how they will fight their personal battles. I just hope that when that time comes, they are already fully armed with the life lessons I have instilled in them.

Blessings to all,

The Twilight Experience

I must admit I had no expectation at all when I agreed to watch this movie with my girls. I did not even have any idea at all what it was all about except that it was a teen love story. I have seen the posters but never bothered to read the details. Nobody warned me there are vampires in this movie!

But the girls were adamant and so, along with Jazzy's bestfriend Ingrid, the girls went to watch with me acting as their chaperone. We arrived at the movie house just in time for the next screening. Imagine my surprise when I saw that most of the people coming out were teenagers and pre-teeners with no parents in tow. I felt out of place right away.

Jazzy and Ingrid saw some of their classmates there. 9-year-old Jamie and I simply shrugged our shoulders as we followed the two excited teeners find a seat for all of us. I paid for balcony seats but ended up somewhere between the third and fourth rows of the orchestra.

When the Cullens first appeared on screen (just silhouettes as they passed by outside the window of the school's mess hall), the cinema was filled with long and loud shrieks from the audience. Jamie covered her ears as she looked at me and I could only give her a bewildered smile. At least I wasn't alone in my confusion.

And then Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) appeared... camera slowly zoomed in on his pallid face and the shrieks became much louder and longer. This time though, I caught myself and Jamie joining in. Jamie did not even realize that she was already pinching my arm. Lol. So this was what the frenzy was all about.

It was reminiscent of Christopher Reeve's first appearance on screen as Clark Kent/Superman. Or is that an antiquated comparison?

And did I tell you why Laurence was not with us when we watched this movie? Well, he was in another cinema with his classmates and buddies watching the same movie.

I have 2 teens in the house. That would be 3 soon. Help!