"Good Life" What is it to me

My old version of a Good life means having a life with NO worries and NO struggles and suffering. Having a lot of money, a big house, flashy cars, numerous wardrobes and shoes that you can change every hour.

As you go along this article you can find out how my perception in the word "GOOD LIFE" meant to me.

As I wrote this article, I was still a bit perplexed about how I was going to elaborate on this article and how can I deliver it because I was trying to forget this memory. But after I typed the first part of the article, my fingers just freely played in my keyboard and seems like it has mind of its own.

I was a kid who grew away from my brothers and sister and was adopted by my uncle and her wife and has no silver spoon in my mouth when I was born, so I can say I lived a hard life. During my childhood days, I dreamed of becoming rich and imagined having rich parents or I am a lost daughter or granddaughter of a wealthy individual. I love to watch the anime story of Princess Sarah if you are familiar with it. Such imaginations drove me to that point because the life I existed is a calvary to me. At an early age, I already wished to have a good life.

A glimpse of my past can be of help to understand my desire to have a good life. I tried being awake at 3 o'clock early in the morning where everybody is still in bed for preparation to join my aunt is going to work which takes a few kilometres away to the banana chips factory. I helped her in peeling unripe bananas and only be paid 13 pesos a basket in which she can only Finnish 6 baskets a day and with my help plus 5 more which makes 11 baskets for a total of less than $3. This made me ask myself why do I need to do this? I hate it. This is the part of my days I hated most. I'm thinking that I am still a child for Christ sake! I want to sleep longer and enjoy life and enjoy being a child.

I was a child who does not have enough time to play or I am afraid to play. Why? Because I feared to soil my clothes because I will be punished later by my aunt. Yes, I am not as free as other kids who enjoyed their childhood days.

During weekends I had to accompany my aunt to find firewoods since we do not use a gas range or modern cooking equipment and she wanted me to carry it with my head but I was embarrassed because we are in the city and I feel like lots of pairs of eyes were watching and I was starting to feel conscious of myself.

Whenever we were running out of rice, we were like scavengers who collects rejected bananas from a banana plantation who disposed it along the highways. We took it home and boiled it as a substitution for rice.

We accepted loads of laundry and received more and I helped washed it using my tender hands and suffer the stingy feeling of the swelling and wounds due to overexposure to detergent. I tried to wash bottles and garbage hunting for scraps to be sold to junkshops for survival.

Those moments of struggles we're so difficult for a child like me and I felt humiliated when someone from my school finds me in the garbage area like a beggar and might tell it to my schoolmates and I will become a laughing stock.

I always envy those kids during my grade school who comes to school wearing new pairs of shoes, nice bags and clothes plus snacks during break time. Other kids can afford to buy those goodies in the stalls in the canteen. I was contented and the only experience having a new pair of black school shoes during the school closing program and church service and a new rubber shoes (Robertson's) during school opening and if the condition of the shoes seems still in good condition, expect it to wear the next year and have your toes curl to hide it from sticking out.

The library was my haven. Books were my secret friends. It's located beside the canteen and the buzzer was there also so after the librarian pressed it for class resume after break time, that's the indication I go out from my sanctuary to my classroom again.

The moment I felt good was when uncle I called dad comes home after a long time of absence(work purposes). The cupboards and rice dispenser will be filled. I can now experience to taste milk and chocolate again. And I can have a playmate too. He was my best playmate and a great mentor. I learned my first ABC's and 123's from him. I remembered the moment I learned how to spell words and he gave me a board game called Scrabble. I still have it in my possession until now. I realized the reason that I was able to survive the early hardship of my life because of my dad. He was the one who taught me that in order to succeed in life you need a lot of sacrifices and patience. I didn't understand what he meant by that. I only knew he was a good father and a good friend to me. I promised that I would repay him when I grow up and have a job and would give him a good life.

Unfortunately, before that promise of mine wasn't fulfilled, he sent me back to our hometown after a tragedy. In this place, I met my husband. I experience having my own family. It's difficult at first and I experience that famous saying "history repeats itself". I have struggled again and more complicated. We were always short in cash. My firstborn was so sickly that she needs to go to the hospital numerous times. My husband is an industrious man but he lacks eligibility for some specific work. He sometimes joins his uncle doing simple carpentry but it is not his forte. So he joined local loggers in our community. Same scenario every day and no savings and more spending. This time I wished again to have a good life.

However, through fervent prayer life is much better now, though not as good as what I wished during my younger years to become wealthy, I am wealthy in my own way of thinking. My children are my wealth. They are more than valuable treasures to me. If I have to answer a question " What for me is a GOOD LIFE?" I will tell you this, to be with my family is a good life. To watch my children grow is a good life. To have good health is a good life and to stay together with my love ones no matter how many hurricanes try to pull us apart, we stay strong in the bind of our Heavenly Father is a good life. I don't wish for material wealth over my family though it's part of survival, I am grateful if it will be poured upon us and will take it as a bonus.

Now, I wish to live a bit longer to watch my angels grow. I would love to tell them my stories and to my grandchildren when I am old. Hope God grants me my wish.

Here is another entry for @Eirolfeam2 's $1 question in her 21st birthday giveaway event. "What for you is a good life? "

Kindly check this link below and give yourself a shot.

https://read.cash/@Eirolfeam2/celebrate-my-21st-birthday-with-me-16e0f52a

Thanks for Reading💕

>Xzeon<