Womanhood and Everything in Between

In July 2025, our lives changed in a way we never expected. What began as a medical evaluation for something else, led to an incidental finding: Papa had an abdominal aortic aneurysm. It came as a complete surprise. He had never complained of any pain or discomfort and he wasn't experiencing any symptoms. The diagnosis left our family with a difficult decision. Knowing that an abdominal aortic aneurysm could rupture without warning, we wanted to do everything we could to protect him. After carefully considering the risks and hoping to prevent a life-threatening emergency, we decided that he would undergo open surgical repair. It was not an easy choice but we believed it offered him the best chance for a longer and safer future. But life had other plans. Instead of saving him, we lost him. He wanted to live. We all wanted him to live. In the quiet moments that followed, my sister and I each carried a burden that we rarely spoke about. I know she also wondered if we had made the righ...

Life taught me a lot these past 11 years. Some lessons were easy. Some made me stronger. A few made me doubt myself. And a handful crumpled me in pain. But it was all worth it. You know, when I was younger, I thought life was simple, graduate, get a job, get married, raise kids, buy a house and a car and that’s it. I didn’t know there were battles in between. I didn’t know life could throw you so far off course that you’d question everything you once believed in. But I was raised not to back down from a fight. My father, a retired uniformed officer, taught us how to win battles and how to accept loss with dignity. Losing you, Pa, was the hardest battle of all. I miss you na. In these 11 years, I didn’t just lose a father. I walked away from the corporate world. I lost a friend. We faced setbacks in our business. I questioned my own strength more times than I’d like to admit. There were days I felt like I was just surviving, holding everything together for everyone else, while qui...

11 long years since my last post. I almost forgot how to write or maybe I just forgot how to listen to my own voice. But writing has always been my quiet, secret passion since I was a kid. So here I am, trying again. A lot has changed. My kids are now as tall as me, my eldest even taller. And my youngest, whom I’ve never introduced here, is now 8 years old. And my dad, he’s now with our Creator. Grief isn’t easy, no? It comes in waves, sometimes when you least expect it. But maybe that’s exactly why I’m here again. Maybe writing is where I can sit with it, understand it and slowly heal. So this is me, starting over.