Travelling Mom Leaving Mt. Matutum

I'm feeling really lethargic at the moment. Real sleepy too. Gone on travel again yesterday for work. We left Davao at 11 in the morning and arrived here again last night at 11 in the evening. I was again in Tupi for the project I'm wrapping up there... And we finished quite late so add that to 4 hours travel back home, it's no wonder we got back to the city late as well. And I had to fetch baby and B from the in-laws. That's where they stayed while I was on travel.

We arrived home at around midnight then there's cleaning up the pump and the bottles to do. My...err...breasts... were so swollen on the ride back home that I was not able to sleep while we were travelling. I did manage to express some milk while on the road though (I'm getting good at it hehehe) But it wasn't enough to relieve me of the sworeness. Both weighed so heavily that at one point I had a hard time breathing... Haaay.

Breastfeeding. Well, it really takes commitment to continue breastfeeding after returning to work. But I'm truly deadset about it. I would find myself often rushing back home no matter where on earth I came from, just so I could continue breastfeeding baby. It's not always easy though. But, I want nothing but the best for my son. I guess that's how mothers really are. Been reading up on the subject ever since I conceived and every literature there is only tell me one thing -- there is nothing like Mom's milk. The benefits are enormous and the inconvenience one has to bear is nothing compared to it. So I'm sticking with it as long as I can :)

But back to work... Below is a picture I've taken during the travel I've mentioned above.

Leaving Mt. Matutum. I was about to board our vehicle when this particular view caught my attention and took my breath away.

I'm currently wrapping up a project I have with the upland farmers in Mt. Matutum. Actually, it's already the second phase I'm wrapping up so for like two years, I have been frequenting the slopes of this great mountain. During the first year, there were times when I had to spend days and nights in her midst.

Even before my involvement with the project, I have already been to Matutum for the 7th Mindanao Forum, a mountaineering activity. The activity had us practically trampling all over the foot and midst of Mt. Matutum but did not have the chance to scale her peak. I had thought that with the project, I'd finally have my chance. But then again, while I was there, she was close for a while due to some "insurgency" concerns and then later on I had gotten married and then gotten pregnant. Now, the possibility seems a bit remote. Maybe when baby is a bit older already...

The project had been quite a headache to me for a number of reasons and now that it is about to end I'm like heaving a sigh of relief. What I'm feeling now I could compare to what I usually feel when I'm on a climb, particularly when I'm on the last stretch - that bit when the peak is already close at hand and yet seems so far away because you're down to your last ounce of energy. In truth, I could not wait to end the project. It had caused me several problems. But a part of me is sad about leaving the area and the people there. Well, at least "some" people he-he-he.

Just as I treat every experience, my involvement with the project had been a goldmine of learning for me. And yet I also know that I would always look at the experience as something that had not been entirely pleasant. But it did taught me a great deal about what we do in our work and how we "affect" the people who are supposed to be the "beneficiaries" (the politically correct term should be "partners) of our project. Hmm... make that how these people "affect" us who are implementing projects in their community.

Ahh... I could go on and on about this subject -- the relationship between project partners and implementers but as of the moment, I'm still feeling so raw about the whole thing that I want to rest my mind for a while before I write about it.

Life is beautiful. With it comes beautiful experiences. They might not be often pleasant but these experiences are beautiful just the same. If only for the beautiful people you came to meet in the process...

For now, I'm leaving Mt. Matutum but I'm pretty sure I'll find myself in her midst again one day. Perhaps with my little one in tow...