I have been depressed over the last couple of weeks. 

For one, there was the disappointment of losing our 2nd baby via miscarriage. When people talk about miscarriages or nahulog ang bata, they make it sound so clean and clinical, as if it was like a walk in the park.

Miscarriage was NOT a walk in the park.

There was a time when I lost so much blood, I collapsed and felt I was going to die.

Losing a baby is like losing a part of you. It’s small and tiny and looks like an alien, but you still feel sad for what might have been.

To top it off, work has been very stressful and challenging as well.

A handful of irate people decided to file a complaint despite being the ones who went AWOL, stole some items, and caused us business disruption. They falsely claimed that they were being maltreated by their supervisor and were then forced to destroy business operations to get my attention.

What bothered me was how they blatantly lied and was able to twist the truth to show that it was them who were the victims.

In the era of #fakenews, this was icing on the cake.

What do you do when people make false claims against you? While you had the truth in your side, enough people making false claims still destroy your reputation.

I was able to settle with them this week on my birthday. They apologized for trying to hurt me and my business, and we all hugged it out in the end.

Still, their false claims put a toll on me. And their behavior and activity were part of the reason I was so stressed and miscarried.

Business has also been slowing down.

Despite entering the Ber season, sales has been harshly low. I blame the macroeconomy to anyone who would listen, but it’s a sign of challenging times ahead.

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I am reminded however that I am still very much blessed.

I have a husband and daughter who loves me, and they are happy and healthy.

The business is weaker but it’s still chugging along, and I am glad to have the people on my team right now.

My brother and his wife had a new baby last September, and at least it’s normal and healthy.

My mother is happy just to have two granddaughters to add to her glowing list of achievements.

In times like these, count our blessings. Remember that everything happens for a reason and there’s still a lot of things to celebrate about. So:

Happy birthday to me!