A Boy

At our condo lobby last Easter Sunday, I overheard a mom, a young boy and a lolo talking about the death of an uncle due to lung cancer. The boy kept asking questions about what led to such and his lolo mentioned that smoking was the culprit. I can’t help but smile upon hearing the boy, at his young age, saying “When I am grown up, I won’t smoke”.

Upon entering the elevator, the boy also popped this question to his mom, “Will daddy die?”. His dad apparently is a smoker. The mom, a bit embarrassed with the boy’s question, told him that daddy will not die if their family persuades him to stop smoking. The boy further inquired why his dad smokes, his mom plainly answered “It is a habit that is hard to break”.

Looking back, I am happy that my dad decided to quit smoking when I was 5 years old. According to him, some relatives and friends, it really is hard to break such habit. Nonetheless, with determination and willpower my dad was able overcome it.

Incidentally, one of my roommate’s dad passed away during the Easter break due to anneurism. She sent us this email, which I feel is worth putting on this blog.

I would just like to impart lessons learned in this "journey":

1. Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So love the people who treat you right, forget about the ones who don't, and believe that everything happened for a reason.

2. Know a good thing when you see it and don’t let it slip away. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said it would be easy, they just said it would be worth it.

3. STOP SMOKING - promise all illnesses are linked to smoking (heart,liver,lungs, etc). yun mga doctors ng dad ko lagi factor yan smoking kasi may dad was not sick. apparently, smoking thickens the blood and makes our blood vessels thinner. kahit na 2nd hand smoke lang.