Grateful Dad #45: Appreciation
The last two or three weeks of December have been quite a roller coaster ride. There were some unexpected things that came along the way which left me feeling challenged but I’m glad to say that I was able to find ways to survive the overwhelming days. Aside from that, there are also other noteworthy events and milestones to be thankful for.
Grateful Dad #45: Appreciation
In terms of work, I received my 180-day (sixth month) evaluation from my supervisor and I’m happy to share that I passed my probationary period with flying colors. I do admit that it wasn’t really a smooth sailing journey in the beginning; I even came to the point of quitting.
Again, when I feel down and confused, I go back to the things that inspire me and make me happy. I think of my family, they’re the very reason why I’m doing all of these things in the first place. The physical stress and even the heartaches all dissipate when I think of the future that I want for my family. That helped me survive the days of uncertainties and prodded me to just continue to learn new things, to pick up from my mistakes, and to listen intently to my colleagues.
Things are also beginning to ease up a little in the office in terms of health restrictions. As such, we were able to hold a Christmas party in the office. It was a lot of fun, even the simple games. We all just missed having Christmas parties at work after two years of having none.
For Mommy Khris’ Christmas party, we went to Vikings in Jazz Mall (I was her plus one). When we went to Vikings in 2020, the health protocols were still strict; you had to ask the servers for the food items that you like. This time, it was back to normal. I told Mommy Khris how much I missed her team as well as the October birthday outings, random food trips, and out-of-town trips.
On another note, we celebrated Mommy Khris’ birthday earlier this month. We make it a point to celebrate our birthdays, even in the simplest of ways, because it’s our way of showing appreciation for another year of togetherness. We had dinner as a family, yes including our two kids. We are starting to take our children outside little by little.
Last Sunday, we took our children to SM City Fairview to play in iActive (it’s an indoor playground). I can see that they’re really having a great time each time we go here. We usually stay for just an hour but it’s getting harder to convince Rafa that it was time to go. Maybe we’ll stay for two hours the next time we go here.
For the first time, we also had the children try the kiddie rides. Again, they enjoyed it so much so that Rafa doesn’t want to stop. We had to exert effort to get him out of the airplane ride.
Lastly, Christmas is here in a few days. We’ll be spending Christmas in my hometown in Nueva Ecija, which is something that we’ve been looking forward to since the start of December. Speaking of Christmas, I finally received Christmas gifts from three PR companies this year (Greenbulb Communications, Writers Edge, and EON).
I think this is the first time that I’ve received gifts from PRs after years of blogging. And for that, I’m truly grateful. I pray for the simplest things – peace of mind, healthy relationships, and contentment. I hope that you get to realize what you pray for, too.
Also read: Grateful Dad #19: Holy Week In San Antonio (Nueva Ecija)