I am beautiful every day

 

I am ME!

I am the voice to be heard

I am the book that will be written

I am the moonlight that shines on a lake 

I am the song to be sing

I am the music to be dance

I am those vibrant colors that match the countryside 

I am those lights that twinkle in the sky 

I am that kid who plays without worries 

I am the come and go of the waves in the vibrant blue sea 

I am like those different tones of orange that paint the sky in a beautiful sunset 

I am the fresh scent of the rain when it touches the ground

I am that giggle of a couple in love 

I am that look a mom gives to her child 

I am whatever I want to be

I am ME

                                               Tere Rodriguez-Nora

When you’ll know what life is all about?

When you look at yourself in the mirror and love what you see
When you learned about the mistakes you have done
When you know that the experiences you have lived have taught you life lessons
When you say no and don’t feel guilty about it
When you take life a little less serious
When you accept yourself as you are
When you try to live the moment and enjoy it
When you are not worried about how much you have but rather on how much you can give
When you know what your passion is and you follow that path
When you work to live, not live to work
When you understand that there’s no one who can take better care of you than you
When you woke up with a smile because you are grateful you are alive
When you share your love with others
When you believe more in yourself than in chances
When you don’t care what others say or think about you
When you enjoy simple things like sunsets, holding a hand, long conversations, starry nights, and walks at the beach
When you let others love you
When you laugh out loud like you did as a child
When you care for others because it comes from your heart
When you love yourself more than others
That’s when you’ll know what life is all about!
                                                                    Tere Rodriguez-Nora

                                                                                                                                                               

Be grateful every day...

   

      Be grateful for a sunny or a rainy day,

       for the singing of the birds,

       because someone opened a door for you,

         for the bad and the good days

      for a day at the beach,

         for a tasty piece of cake,

         because things are not going as you expected,  

      for reading a good book or writing a great story,  

      for a tight, warm hug 

for tears of sadness,

    for times with friends and family,

     time with your love,

 for the laughter of your kids, 

for a sensual kiss,

           because someone holds your hand...

       Be grateful every day because you are alive! 

                                                                Tere Rodriguez-Nora                             

  

The year 2017 and I (what it taught me)

                                                 

    

We are almost saying goodbye to the year 2017. I can't believe it's almost over...time really flies. I'm sure everyone has had different life experiences happening through the whole year. I wasn't an exception, I had an interesting and, in some way, a peculiar year.

Let me share with you some of the experiences I lived this year: I started the year (February) with one of my sons having a legal problem (falsely accused). He was arrested and transferred to jail. Difficult times dealing with it, I visited him in jail and saw him in that orange uniform and with handcuffed. Thankfully he's out and next month is his last follow up hearing where his case will be closed and he will be without any records on his name.

Also as part of this year experiences, I started two new part-time jobs that I love, tutoring teacher and after-school Spanish teacher. Another of my experiences was hurricane Irma in Orlando, even though I had experienced hurricanes before; this one was kind of scary for me. Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico on Sept. 20th (my B-day) leaving my island devastated. This touched my heart in an unexpected way, seeing how all of the Puerto Ricans: family, friends, acquaintances, were suffering and not be able to do anything. This hurricane also touched my professional life, one of my books was going to be published in English but since my publishing company does not have power nor internet yet, that couldn't happen. By the beginning of December, I had my identity stolen and my banks' accounts cleaned (no money). Yayy, great for me! This experience was one of a kind and a hard one to deal with. Lastly, I had to spend Christmas day alone this year. Cheerful, right?

But, as people say, from every situation we learn something...

What I learned from the year 2017?
I learned that is hard sometimes being a parent but still is the most rewarding role I have as a person. I also learned that I have the most amazing friends, who supported me through all of my son's entire situation without judging anything, stood by my side every time I felt I was falling, and lend me a shoulder where I could cry on. This year also taught me that the good ones are way more. I saw it in some people of the justice system as well as in the people that got together and help in different ways the people of my beautiful island, Puerto Rico, after the hurricane. Words can’t express the gratitude I have for those that helped and the ones whio continue doing it. This year, I also learned that even though I had to spend the Christmas day by myself and didn't receive any present; it's not so bad. I got to see a lot of Christmas movies (which I love) and stayed in my pajamas and ate the whole day. The experience of starting the two part-time jobs this year taught me a side of me I didn't know I had, of being a teacher, and I love it. This year also brought me more writing. I've been posting a quote every day, writing more on this blog and on some children's' short stories as well as in an adult book I'm working.  Furthermore, this year taught me that one can meet amazing people in unimaginable places or situations. Finally, this year has been the year of enjoying more my life as it is, trying to live the moment and to always see the positive things, even though I'm dealing with rough times.

I've been through a lot of different and unexpected experiences throughout this year, but I'm grateful for each and every one of them.

Next year (2018)...I will continue my journey. I will keep trying as long as I open my eyes every morning...nothing will stop me.

What did you learn from 2017? Share it wit me!!

Salud to a blessed new year!!
Take care, Tere




                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
 

Sharing a little more of my abusive relationship experience

A friend of mine asked me the other day why I didn’t write more about the experience I had with an abusive relationship. He thinks that letting other women know about it will benefit them because it might help those experiencing or have experienced the same thing.
That made me think why I really don’t do it. But, most of all, (and I don’t know why) made me think about that year after I left the abusive relationship.
For me, being part of an abusive relationship was hard but was even harder trying to live after that type of relationship was over.
Why you might think.
Well, living in an abusive relationship everyday kind of makes the abuse part of your life. That’s all you know, you get used to it. I lived like that, but when it was over and I thought of what I went through and the time I have spent on it, a bunch of new feelings came out.



I was full with guilt, shame, disbelief of why I stayed, and, most of all, I carried for a long time, in myself, a lot of the insults that I’ve been told.
Guilt and shame... I felt guilty because I stayed in that relationship for so long. Why I did it was a question that I made myself every day. I felt ashamed of myself, again, for being in that relationship for so long and also because what kind of woman I was to let that happen to me. Guilt and shame hunted me every day; every time I saw my parents, my sons, my friends, and every time someone told me that they couldn’t believe my relationship was over because we were the perfect couple.

The insults, the verbal and emotional insults I received, well, those stayed with me for a long time. For months and months, I could hear him saying those insults to me as it was the actual day that he did it. That I was fat, dumb, that I would never achieve anything in my life, that I wasn’t sexual competent, that no other man could possibly love me were part of the insults. These were accompanied by yelling, screaming, aggressive behavior, checking constantly were I was, and a constantly, absurd jealousy.

I lived with all those feelings for a long year and a half and I’ll be lying to you if I tell you that sporadically when I’m doing or experiencing something specifically (like an award I received as an author, a date, a compliment I received, or at work) I don't hear those voices again, because I do.

I am a stronger woman now and those voices can’t hurt me anymore. They don’t hurt simply because I know now that I have never should feel guilt or shame. It was him who was wrong, not me. There is nothing wrong with me. They don’t hurt, also, because there are a lot of great women who, like me, have suffered what I have suffered and who are suffering every day. They, as well as me, aren’t weak women or a lesser type of women. They are just caught up in an abusive relationship. Most of all, this type of relationship does not define them or me at all. We are way more than a woman in an abusive relationship or one that has experienced one.
All these women, as well as myself, are great, smart, caring, funny, lovable, creative, incredible human beings capable of loving and respecting a man. But, most of all, we are amazing women that deserve love, respect, care, and happiness next to a man willing to give us that and more.
Take care, Tere

Introspection of my 48 years of living

My birthday is this week. I'm turning 48 years old, yes, only two more and I'm 50.

Scared? Nah! I'm just starting to live.


But being near 50 has made me introspected about my life.

The following is what I concluded about what I have learned and gained in my 48 years of living:

• Difficult times will come but they don't last a lifetime 
• Stay positive, even when what you are going through is hard as hell. 
• Don't regret your mistakes because from all of them you have learned something 
• Know that with every sunrise comes a brand new day. 
• Treat yourself as a priority. 
• Don't be the spare of anyone, be their priority. They are the ones who lose if they don't treat you as one. 
• Show love, gratitude 
• Life is not easy. It's like a roller coaster, but it's the kind that you don't want to stop riding. 
• Show the ones that you love that you care, not only with words but especially with actions. 
• Love your children with all your heart but know that, eventually, they will have to live their life by themselves and that you shouldn't try to live their lives through yours. They need to fail, they need to cry, and they need to have troubles in order to grow, to learn, and to be better persons.
• Be patient, it's a great virtue. 
• Learn as much you can. It doesn't matter if you do it by going to schools, colleges, or by yourself as long as you do it. 
• Share your life with your loved ones and tell and demonstrate your love for them always. 
• Don't spend too much time worrying, that time will never come back. 
• Wear a smile every day. 
• Honesty takes you a long way. 
• Know that life is fragile; try to live it as better as you can. 
• Embrace your passion. Passion is what's going to make your life roll. 
• Don't mind what others think about you, it's your life, not theirs. 
• Be humble 
• Cherish your friends. They are the family that you choose. I sure have good ones and I love and am grateful for them every day. 
• Talk and visit your parents often, they need you as much as you needed them. 
• Believe that you are beautiful in every stage of your life. 
• Work and be proud of what you do but don't forget to work for a living and not living for work. 
• Go out, have fun 
• Be caring and warm to others 
• Protect the environment. This magnificent place called Earth is the only home we have.
• Listen to music and dance anytime and in any place, you feel like it. 
• Know that you will fall and have failures but also that you will raise up again and what have you learned from it will make you stronger. 
• Don't let anyone mistreat you, offend you with words or emotionally, no one that does this to you deserve your love and respect 
• Fall in love again even if you have been hurt before. 
• Laugh every day, do it hard and loud. 
• Know that the love for you is the greatest kind of love. Love yourself with all your strengths but especially with all your weaknesses. You can't love anyone if you don't love yourself first. Embrace yourself! 
• Be grateful for a sunny or a rainy day, for the singing of the birds, because someone opened a door for you, for the bad and the good days, for a day at the beach, for a tasty piece of cake, because things are not going as you expected, for reading a good book or writing a great story, for a tight hug, for tears of sadness, for times with friends and family, time with your love, for the laughter of your kids, for a sensual kiss, because someone holds your hand...
• Be grateful every day because you are alive! 

Happy birthday to me!

Take care, Tere