KATAM Virus

I’ve been sick for weeks… afflicted with the KATAM virus. It’s the virus that afflicts everybody once in a while — or others probably too often for their own good.

KATAM virus — as in the KATAMaran virus. Haha!

It took Rico-J, as in the husband who actually speaks, to bring me out of my malady, and he coerced (haha!) me to list down six random things that make me happy. Here goes:

• Family. My world revolves around my Bitter Half and my darn lovable son Kid Schumacher. It’s always a comfort to come home to my family after a hard day’s work, eat dinner together, share how our day went by, watch our favorite TV shows, eat post-dinner snack (uh, oh… there goes my secret diet!), play rough, and then go to sleepland.

• Work. I’ve been blessed with work that I actually enjoy, pays well, gives me flexi time, and, most importantly, is only a 10-minute tricycle ride from my house. It couldn’t get any better than this.

• Massage. I’ll let you in on a secret. Did you know that I actually couldn’t sleep without getting a full-body massage? Nope, I don’t have a hired masseur — I can’t afford one. My Bitter Half massages me full body every night! The ritual started when I was pregnant. You know how pregnant women make all sorts of kaartehan because they could surely get away with it. Unfortunately for my Bitter Half, it turned into an addiction — and the spoiler couldn’t escape the curse anymore!

•  Long baths. I love taking looooooong baths on weekends. I usually take an hour-long bath… enjoying the water, body wash, suds. This is one of my simple joys — and it doesn’t cost a fortune.

• Nilagang mani. Mani, mani… mani, mani. That’s how the neighborhood vendor peddles his goods. It was actually my paternal grandma, Nanay I called her (R.I.P.), who introduced me to eating them — they’re not actually nuts but legumes, which are boiled in water or steamed. Delicious!

• Cooking. Cooking for my family and friends, and seeing them enjoy and appreciate the food that I have cooked simply feel heavenly!

How about you folks? What are the six things that make you happy?