One day…
Me: (upon reaching home) Hello, everybody, I’m home!
Kay: (with a glum look) Hi, Ma. 3.0 ako sa **** subject! (I got 3.0 in ****).
Me: (affected) Talaga? Sayang, ‘no? (Really? What a wasted opportunity, ‘no?) Anyway, it’s good you did not fail.
Kay: Oo nga, e… (Yea…)
Me: But did you not talk to your professor and asked him if you can take the test some other day? You just came from the hospital that day, di ba (isn’t it)? (I knew the answer; a frustrated attempt to neutralize the disappointment.)
Kay:Di ba (Isn’t it that) I texted him and he told me ‘it would be difficult because he will be releasing the results the following week'?
Papsie: (from the kitchen, grinning) Hello, Ma! Si Kay ay may good news at bad news! Nasabi na ba ‘sa yo? (Kay has good and bad news? Did she tell you already?)
(Daryl laughs.)
Me: Oo (Yes)… (smiling)
Papsie:The good news – pasado siya (she passed)! The bad news – 3.0 ang grade niya (she got 3.0)!
(Kay’s face has a combination of a smile and a pout.)
A few minutes passed…
(Kuya E, Papsie’s brother, entered the house and went directly to the kitchen were Kay was.)
Kay: Tito E, 3.0 ako sa **** (I got 3.0 in ****)!
Kuya E: O? ‘Yun ba yung professor na mahirap kausapin? (Really? is that the prof you find difficult to deal with?)
Kay: Hindi. ‘Yun ang subject na me quizzes kami while I was in the hospital and the day after I was released, finals na.(No. That was the subject where we had quizzes while I was in the hospital and the day after I was released, it was our final exams.)
Kuya E: E, paano ‘yan? Di ka na pwedeng cum laude? (How about that: you can’t be a cum laude anymore?)
Kay: Pwede pa, GWA naman ang basis, e. Di na nga lang ako US, CS na lang. (I can still be, the basis is GWA. Though I am not qualified as US anymore but only CS.)
At the dining table…
Me: Natutuwa naman ako sa ‘yo, Kay (I admire you, Kay).
Kay: Bakit (Why)?
Me: Pati ‘yung pagkakaroon mo ng 3.0, ikinuwento mo kay Kuya E (You even told Kuya E the news about your 3.0 grade.)
Kay: Ang inisip ko kasi, baka naman sabihin nila, good news at achievements lang ang ikinukwento ko, ang bad news e hindi. (I thought that they might think I am only telling the good news and my achievements, and I am hiding the bad news).
Me: Well, I am happy of your acceptance of a not so good part of your life. While other people have that look na it’s like the end of the world, ikaw e, hindi, at tinanggap mo ang iyong pagkukulang (you did not, and accepted your weaknesses or your shortcomings).
Papsie: E, pa’no kasi nakita rin niya yung acceptance natin sa nangyari (She felt our acceptance to what had happened).
Kay: That would be my last 3.0… I promise.
Me: Don’t promise, try.
Daryl giggles.)
No matter how much planning and preparation you do, something will not turn out the way you wanted it to be. Yet even when those inevitable disappointments do indeed come, you can adapt and make the very most of them.
Life is not perfect and yet it can be perfectly wonderful. It's great to aim for perfection, and even better to achieve excellence in spite of the imperfections you encounter. When people and situations refuse to cooperate, you can be amazingly adaptable. You can move toward excellence even in the most distressing, imperfect scenarios.
Though what you have is not perfect, you can work with it. Accept what you have, imperfections and all, with gratitude and enthusiasm. Don't spend your time waiting for the perfect situation, something that is not very likely to come. Go ahead with life as it is, with the bumps and the pitfalls, and give your best to every moment.
-- Ralph Marston
I admired how Kay handled the situation. Others would have cried "Unfair". But there surely are things not within our control. All we have to do is to do our best next time.
ReplyDeleteYour girl can roll with the punches, Bing. This was the kind of attitude I loved seeing in my students because it told me that, in the future, they would be able to adequately cope with the good and the bad. You have good reason to be proud! :)
ReplyDeleteamazing how she'd changed, lazarus. when she was younger and in her grade school, she cannot accept failure. there were instances when she had to hide her quiz booklet because she got a low mark. guess she is growing to be one responsible individual.
ReplyDeletethanks, bugs. hope we can always be there when she needs us in her low moments. i believe it helps when she has her loved ones and friends to share her glory and discouragements.
That's really admirable of Kay. People with high level of emotional quotient are usually the ones that possess a good disposition in life.
ReplyDeleteTo Kay....we know you'll get avery much higher grade next time :) Hats off to you.
Kay: hope so hehe ...
ReplyDeleteGrades are not everything in the real world. With Kay's attitude and innate intelligence, she'll get all 1.0s in the real world.
ReplyDeletethere is one blogger friend, named babypink, who also mentioned that, toe. actually, my kids know that already when they graduated from the elementary grades. as they grow, they discover things, and they discovered, that not all who get good grades can speak their minds, can reason with the world, or can be responsible. but this is not to say, let's all have 3.0 for as grades ha ha
ReplyDeleteI used to tell my children and students that the most important thing is how much they've learned, not the marks they've made. Parents used to tell me they're disappointed with their children's marks. Pity. I always ask them, "how much of the 100 marks was learned by heart and how much was memorised?" Only then they'll realise their warped expectations.
ReplyDeleteWith Kay's attitude, she learned more than a 3.0! Good for her.
Me? Happy ako every time I get a 3. Why? Kasi hindi naman ako nakiinig sa classes eh, hahaha. :-D
ReplyDeleteBut really, grades aren't everything in the real world. They do not define success in the corporate jungle...
i admire the way you handled the situation. honestly, i don't think i will be as calm as you were knowing that her aim is to be cum laude. and your husband is right... it made her easy to accept her failure because you showed her that nothing in this world is perfect. with kay's attitude, she'll definitely go far.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with inday ipanema's comment! My parents were happy with my 3.0 days a week of attendance when I was in high school!
ReplyDeleteyou are indeed very right, ipanema. but am guilty of having pushed them a little when they were in the primary grades though the intention was for them to develop the habit of craving for learning and knowledge. :-)
ReplyDeletethere is proof to that, single. and they're a number, too.
guess it is acceptance that matters, evi. we parents have to accept that they are not perfect just as we are.
ha ha 3 days a week? 'yan naman ang di nila ginagawa. takot ngang mag absent, noypetes.
Understandable naman why she got that grade and alam nya na kaya nya iyon bawiin next time. And she's lucky also to have parents like you.
ReplyDeleteyun ang isa pa, ann. there is a reason and it would be unreasonable na magalit, di ba?
ReplyDeleteyup true. it sure is great to aim for perfection.... to strive for more. maganda ang attitude ni kay... :)
ReplyDeletehaha. i could relate on the 'pressure' to deliver on the grades.
ReplyDeletebut my mama was waaaaaaay strict with me and was even the one who spoke with one of my professors when i got a low grade, which would mean disqualification from the honors roll. hehe. stage mom all the way.
you must be very proud of kay!
salamat, angelblush. she still has tantrums though ha ha
ReplyDeletedidnt get the chance to talk about grades, vina. i do want to talk to teachers who teach bad grammar, or subject and predicate disagreeing with each other but they wont allow me. it was always 'we'll settle them ourselves', etc etc.
not all parents have a little lady like kay!
I've a feeling she'll end up a cum laude :)
ReplyDeleteshe's aiming for that, eric. hope she'll get what she wants. :-)
ReplyDeleteHi, Bingskee!
ReplyDeleteI like your entries! I'm a mom too, and my only daughter (I have two boys and one girl, the youngest) is going to college already this June.
Would you like to join Pinoy Moms Network? It's fun! We get to interact, exchange and learn from one another. Kindly check this out:
http://pinoymomsnetwork.net/
hi, rhodora. thank you very much. for now, i can only be a lurker or a visitor. am afraid i cant be able to do my duties when i decide to join. i will be visiting soon when time allows.
ReplyDeletebtw, i have tried to comment on your site before but was unsuccessful. how come that your site seem not to allow comments?
My two thumbs up muna para sa parents on how they accepted Kay's grade. Kung sa iba yun sermon ang inabot at walang katapusang bakit hehe! And syempre I admire Kay for being open.
ReplyDeleteAn open communication between the parents and children kasi really matters, kung wala nagkakaron ng takot ang bata kapag mababa ang grades.
thank you, mitch.
ReplyDeletei am glad that nadevelop na kay Kay ang maging open. she was not like that before. :-)
Openness should come from parents muna kasi, I'm a new mom kaya I'm saying this as a daughter hehehe!
ReplyDeleteI was like Kay siguro, but when I knew na "okay lang naman pala sa parents ko" mula nun ako na yung nagbi-bring up ng whatever gusto kong ishare sa kanila and that included my first kiss hihihi!