Thanksgiving is a celebration of the things we are thankful for this year. In the Filipino culture, Thanksgiving is not widely practiced. I do believe that Thanksgiving is as important as the Christmas holiday. It is good to stop for a moment and reflect on the things we are grateful for.
In spite of tough times and crazy frenzy in these times, I’d like to share with you some of the things I am thankful for.
I am thankful for family.
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Photo by Andre Hunter on Unsplash
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They say that family is everything, and it is true. God have blessed me my own family, a loving husband and a wonderful son. Even with the imperfections we each have, I am happy to have them in my life. Also, my family circle have grown. I know that not all families are the same, mine is no different as well. We were able to work with the difficulties.
I am thankful for the time I get to spend with family.
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Photo by Natalya Zaritskaya on Unsplash
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I am a stay-at-home wife and hands-on mom. I am grateful for my husband because I was able to be both. We both have worked out our situation into something great. Leaving a career (or your home country) is not easy. But now, I am happy to take care of them. I get to spend a lot of time with my son and also take care of my husband. Seeing my son grow to be a happy person is priceless. It may look easy, but I tell you it is hardwork.
I am thankful we are in Singapore
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Photo by Sven Scheuermeier on Unsplash
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My husband was fortunate to land a good job here in Singapore. We are able to be together and live comfortably in Singapore. Growing up in a third world country, we were raised to be resilient despite the worsening condition of our country. But living in a first world country opened my eyes. There are more to life that we deserve, if we look (and work) really hard for it. A clean and safe environment for my family to thrive and live in. A place where you feel good being a dutiful citizen and paying taxes because of what you can enjoy with it (efficient transport system, clean and safe surroundings).
I am thankful for the comfortable lifestyle we have.
I know most of you know the horror stories of Filipinos working abroad. Most of them are working their asses off 6 days a week for 10-12 hours so they could send almost all of their earnings to their loved ones in the Philippines. Little do we know, the living expenses here in Singapore is high. Think of what they eat everyday here if almost all their salary goes to the Philippines? I assume none or not so healthy processed food.
It is the sad state that one cannot control. So I’m thankful that we are able to live an okay life here in one of the most expensive cities (with me not having to work yet). This is not to brag, but just to appreciate what we have been given.
I am thankful for a wonderful opportunity that came our way.
Experiencing the perks and opportunities the first world countries offer, I can’t help but reach and dream higher. Singapore is a good place to raise a family, if you can get a permanent resident visa or even citizenship. As of the current statistics, it is near impossible for a foreign family like us to be granted permanent residency here. The cost of living here is way too expensive to sustain a growing family for a foreigner.
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Photo by Joël de Vriend on Unsplash
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So we are venturing other countries that are more open to us in terms of permanent residency. I am quite ambitious to say that I yearn for that dual citizenship status where I get to enjoy the benefits the first world people enjoys. Call me spoiled, but free health care and education for my son sounds like a good deal to me.
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Photo by Ty Williams on Unsplash
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Don’t get me wrong, this post is not here for me to brag. This is to acknowledge the things that I am grateful this year. I am lucky that God has given me these things. I am trying to see the positive despite of all the noise and negative things in this world. If you personally know me, I am a big worrier and I get stressed easily by the little things. Having your own family makes you appreciate what you have instead of being stressed on the things that you don’t have. Being grateful and positive is something that I’ve been working on this whole year.
