Love

by Beverly Bruce

Love … a small word for such a complex emotion. There is no simple explanation for it, because love is made up of many things. It cannot be measured, because it is a feeling…

All the money in the word cannot buy love; it has to be earned. It does not happen by wishing; it must come about naturally. Love is not an instantaneous emotion, but something that grows slowly between two people, maturing with time; there is no stronger bond between two people.

To love someone means being comfortable and at ease with them sharing confidence knowing that they will be understood and held in trust. It means respective each other’s dignity and never being demanding, but rather being willing to give, and accepting that which is given, graciously and with love.

To love someone means having a genuine concern for them, being able to sense that something is wrong without being told. Understanding the other person’s problem, moods, and “hang-ups,” and accepting all of them, even if you don’t quite understand. It is excusing their faults, because you know that their good points far outweigh the bad.

Love is always being there for each other with a shoulder to cry on, to give support when confidence levels are low, to give helpful advice when it is asked for, to know when to be silent and listen, or to give cheerful words of encouragement.

Love is sharing the food and the bad, the hopes and the dreams the amusing times and the serious times. It is doing things together, yet leaving room for each to grow as an individual.

How do we know these things about love? We know, because this is the kind of love you have given to me and the kind of love that I feel for you.

I am blessed with your love, and I will never take it for granted. I will strive to become an even better person and to always be deserving of your love, because I truly love you as I have never loved before.

Malaria

Malaria – a mosquito-borne disease is a serious public health problem in the Philippines. Particularly in Central Luzon which is a Malaria Endemic Region. Children and pregnant women are especially vulnerable, not to mention agricultural workers and families that are hit the hardest during the cropping season.

Facts and Figures

Worldwide, Malaria kills at least 1 million people each year, or about 3, 000 a day.
Nearly 500 million people suffer from acute malaria each year.
Malaria is serious public health problem in over half of the world’s countries, including the Philippines.
Population movement, deteriorating sanitation, climatic changes, drugs resistance, failure of health systems and, in some cases, poorly planned development activities, contribute to the spread of malaria.
Every second – the time it takes you to say the word malaria, ten children will contact the disease and begin fighting for their lives. Malaria kills a child every 30 seconds, often in combination with other diseases.
Up to 700, 000 children, many under five years of age, will die needlessly from malaria this year and with acute disease, a child may die within 24 hours.
Children can suffer an average of six malaria bouts each year and in endemic areas, as much as 60 percent of school children’s learning may be impaired.
Pregnant women are especially vulnerable to the disease; in endemic areas, women are 4 times more likely to suffer malaria attacks – causing still births or low-weight babies, during pregnancy than at any other time.
Nearly 60 percent of miscarriages among women living in endemic areas are due to malaria.
The cheapest and safest malaria drug – Chloroquine, is rapidly losing its effectiveness.
In some parts of the world, malaria has become resistant to the four leading antimalarial drugs.
Malaria hurts poor people the most; in some countries, malaria patients pay 9 times their average daily ware for care.
Workers suffering from malaria can be incapacitated for 5 – 20 days.
Malaria hits hardest during the rainy season when planting and harvesting takes place and it reduces the income of agricultural laborers.
Studies show that malaria-afflicted families are able to harvest only 40 percent of their crops, compared with wealthy families.
Moreover, a malaria-stricken family spends an average of over one quarter of its income on malaria treatment, as well as paying preventions costs and suffering loss income.
The cost of malaria control and treatment drains many developing countries economies, and malaria-endemic countries are some of the worlds most impoverished.

The key to Effective Malaria Control

Community awareness – Families should have the information they need to understand the risks of malaria and take appropriate and timely action.

Surveillance and response – Malaria outbreaks are identified with the help of a good surveillance system and health authorities are able to respond effectively on the basis of reliable information.

Home as the first hospital – A simple packet of effective drugs available to parents can save children who have malaria.

Tailored treatments to those in need – Carefully following the spreads of drug resistance, prescriptions can be changed to ensure that patients are treated with the most appropriate and effective drugs.

Widely available health services – Rapid diagnostics facilities and effective case management can save the lives of people who have severe malaria.

Preventive Measure not Corrective!

Treated Netting – People at risk of malaria are able to use insecticide-treated mosquito nets.

Control of Mosquitoes – Mosquito numbers are reduced by the right mix of control methods for the local situation.

Safer Pregnancy – Women are able to take anti-malarial drugs and improve the safety of their pregnancy.

A Collection of Thoughts

Sometimes

Sometimes, it’s just the fun of sharing happy times and laughter.

Sometimes, it’s the trust and openness between warmth, the understanding and us.

Sometimes, it just knows that you’re there…

These are the things that make you special to me.

I love all that you are to me

I love being yours.

I love all the joys that you bring, from our most intimate moments alone to the pride I feel in you when we’re not out somewhere together.

I love all that we share.

I love the laughter, the understanding, and the fact that so much about us – our minds, our bodies, our hearts, our feelings – should touch so closely and perfectly together.

Most of all, I love you and the gentle man you are to me, the sensitive and loving man you save just for me when we’re alone together.

To have you there

I can’t begin to tell you how much it means just to have you around…to be with, to talk with, and to make new memories with….

Always caring, always interested, always everything a man could be.

I can’t begin to tell you just how important you are to me!

Thank you for being you

Thank you for being so generous with your own very special gifts of thoughtfulness and caring, loving and laughter, serenity and joyfulness.

Thank you for being so generous with the very special gift of yourself!

You are my man… you are my blessing

Your name is the fist thing I mention everytime I count my blessings, for that’s what you are to me. A blessing that fills my days with happiness, my dreams with you, and my heart with love…

You are mine, and surely there can never be a dearer blessing than the man who shares my today, my yesterday, my tomorrow, and all my love.

I’m so thankful for you!