Anyway, as with my past birthdays, we opted for a simple dinner celebration. in fact, I thought for a while of not going out altogether and just ordering food delivery because we were busy the past few days.

On October 18, we went to Miguel’s developmental pediatrician for his scheduled assessment. I don’t hide the fact that we’ve been challenged for the past two years because of our son’s on-and-off therapy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. What the doctor told us is just as we had expected.

We were disappointed, of course, but there’s no use in wallowing in despair. The best course of action is to employ the necessary interventions. So, on October 19, we went to Miguel’s school to discuss with his teachers the doctor’s recommendations and the options that are available to us. It was reassuring to hear that most of the classes that Miguel needs to take are still open.

By late afternoon, we were already a little tired because of the meetings. We decided to rest a bit before going out again. I just wanted to eat something good for my birthday to reward myself for all the tiring almost daily commute to work. Also, the past few months have been good to us so it’s just proper that we celebrate.

We booked a table in one of our favorite buffet restaurants – Sambokojin in SM City Fairview. It’s good that it’s operating normally again in the sense that all of the food stations are already open and self-service. The restaurant staff still tries to control the number of diners which is good. We also appreciated the fact that the table that they gave us was located in the less crowded area of the restaurant.

We were also glad that both Miguel and Rafa enjoyed the food at Sambokojin. Miguel loved the lechon kawali and fried chicken while Rafa enjoyed the yangchow fried rice, chicken, and chapchae noodles.

That’s how my 41st birthday went. Simple yet well-spent because I was with my family.

In terms of the lessons learned, well, I don’t have anything significant to say. However, I do admit that I’m relearning a lot of old lessons lately. I guess these are things that I’ve taken for granted during the last few years but the recent turn of events in my life had me going back to the most basic yet important things in this world.

Positivity, gratefulness, appreciating little wins – these are things that I always remind myself to do. I hope you’ll do the same because these are, in a way, part of being kind to yourself.

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