Grateful Dad #6.24: The First Quarter In A Flash
During the start of the year, I remember when a lot of people were posting on social media how dragging the month of January was. The opposite is true for me though. We’ve been quite busy with a lot of deliverables at work and it’s only this week that I noticed that the first quarter of 2024 is almost over. Imagine that, three months in a flash. For one, I’ve been preoccupied with reports and research work in the office. There were also a lot of senior executive movements, hence the need to provide constant project updates here and there. As such, I didn’t notice the days going by.
Grateful Dad #6.24: The First Quarter In A Flash
Sometimes, we get affected by some office personalities and resort to the usual office blabber. However, before things get the better of us, we remind ourselves that it’s just work and that we shouldn’t take things too hard. So, in the end, despite the challenges we continuously encounter in the office, we choose to be grateful for our work and income.
On a more exciting note, we’re officially entering the dry season (also known as the summer months) in the Philippines, and for most people, that means planning for their out-of-town or out-of-the-country trips. We do have plans of our own but it’s not yet final. What we have in mind is another beach trip because the kids love the sand and the waves. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that it will still push through.
There are days though when I feel that life, in general, has this habit of playing tricks on us and just throwing random events along our way, some are funny while others test our patience. I try to take things with a grain of salt or when things do get a little out of hand, I try to do things that make me happy.
In retrospect, I’m thankful for:
The weekends I get to spend with my kids. That means going to our favorite toy store to buy toy robots and cars at a fraction of the price in malls. After that, we will go to our favorite restaurant to eat and then take the children to play in their favorite indoor play area. In the last few weeks though, a Landers Superstore branch opened near our place and we checked it out, too. We agree that grocery shopping is one activity that we enjoy as a family.
A long weekend in Nueva Ecija. We had one long weekend during the first quarter of the year because of the Chinese New Year celebration and we spent in in my parents’ house in Nueva Ecija. Lolo bought toys for the kids and a random afternoon walk led us to some exciting new discoveries around the neighborhood.
The old shows and animated series I loved as a kid and are still on YouTube. It’s amazing to realize that we still haven’t lost the child in us because those things still bring a lot of joy to us.
Discovering Facebook groups that are similar to my interest in anything old and nostalgic. That means childhood games, snacks, old landmarks, and many more.
Miguel’s teachers. We’re continuously doing our weekly occupational and speech therapy sessions. We may be going slow but we’re progressing slowly but surely. We were also able to get a SPED slot in a nearby public elementary school but we’re still talking to another school as an option.
Rafa learning new things at home. We still haven’t enrolled Rafa in a formal school but we made worksheets for him at home. He seemed comfortable (and enjoying) doing the worksheets.
Being featured in a book. I was included in a book project called “100 Men on Becoming a Dad” and it featured interviews of fathers from all over the world and their experiences. It’s an honor to be part of this book and to share my fatherhood story with the rest of the world. You can get the book here.
Good health. I can’t overemphasize the importance of having good health. This is a treasure that not a lot of people value, to be honest.
That’s how the first quarter of the year went for me and my family. You might’ve noticed that I don’t have any updates on brand collab this quarter and that’s fine. Sometimes, I do feel that brands can be demanding with little compensation for the content creator. So, I’d rather spend my time doing more productive stuff on my blog; I’m earning more from this blog, anyway.
How did the first quarter of the year go for you? Feel free to share them in the comment section below.