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"What Didn''t Break Me, and What Almost Did" by Nancy D. Galang, MA

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It’s 2026, mga Nan-sis.   How was your 2025?  I didn’t end 2025 with a big bang. No countdown highlights, no dramatic “I made it” moment. Just a regular day, making sure my family had specially prepared meals for dinner, posting our family gathering on social media, and wishing everyone a simple “Happy New Year.” On the surface it looked ordinary, but it felt so much heavier than it should have. Maybe because I was closing a year without my mom around. I never knew how much her absence would change the way everything felt, even the ordinary moments. Christmas and the Quiet That Followed For as long as I can remember, Christmas and New Year celebrations meant Mom’s baked macaroni. It meant looking forward to the gifts she carefully picked out for me and the kids. It meant photo ops around her and watching her drink one bottle of beer before she dozed off. And now there’s this quiet space where she used to be - a real feeling of emptiness. The last few years with Mom, as she gre...
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My Katinko (Liniment) Era: Getting Older, But Wiser

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 By Nancy David Galang, MA "We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw They say that that the average life expectancy of Filipino women is 73.6. This is based on the latest data published in 2020 by World Health Organization (WHO). In case you are curious, for Filipino men, it is 67.4.  Yes, mas maaga silang namamatay kaysa sa atin, kaya mga Misis na Nan-sis (Nanay sisters), go get them as many Life Insurances as you can! (let us please grow old AND wiser!)                                        This being a fact of life, I am now 17 years into this average life expectancy and now undeniably living my Katinko Era.  Yes, JUST another 17 years.  I turn 56 today (I know, I know, hindi po halata, haha). If 56 years just flew so fast, then I suppose, isang iglap na lang ang 17 years. And so after a few months of pu...
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What I Would Leave Behind in 2024

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By Nancy D. Galang, MA "Your present circumstances don't determine where you can go. They merely determine where you start." — Nido Qubein Here's saying good riddance to 2024!!! It's New Year mga Nan-sis! A time to reflect on the year that was, and a time to be hopeful for the coming year. How was yours?   Sa totoo lang, parang itong nakalipas na taon (2024) ang isa sa worst year that I have had in my life. This is not to discount my many little blessings, but you know how it is when the year ends and you kind of reflect whether this year was good to you? Well, I guess my honest to goodness answer is that 2024 has not been good, in my case.  I think that with all the life trials I have been through, I can call myself a very resilient person. I can downplay big, problematic, and bad things that happen to me. As much as I can, I still try my best to look the other way and focus on my blessings, not on what I lack, not on the misfortunes that come my way. But I canno...
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