Friday, May 20, 2011

Farewell... and Thank You


They are leaving tonight, and I am sad.  I am going to miss them terribly.  In fact, I miss them already.  This is the hardest part whenever they come visit--when I have to watch them leave.  When I have to think about how much time I have to wait before I see them again.  When I have to worry about them being far from us.

My parents never left us when we were younger.  They raised us themselves, worked so hard to provide us with everything we need to get to where we are now.  They wanted us to have a good future, and I think by now they are happy with where we are and what we have become.  Sometimes, I feel so sad to have left the country--to have left them.

So long, Ma and Pa--at least for now.  It won't be long until we see each other again.  Next year, for sure.  And I will be counting down--starting right here, right now.  Safe travels!  Thank you!  We love you and we will miss you so much!

Locked In--For Freedom?


Yesterday, while at work, I received a panic call from my mom.  Lucas locked himself in our bedroom (not his bedroom, but our master bedroom). 

My parents are watching Lucas and Nathan this week.  They are leaving and going back home this weekend. While Lucas was locked in, my mom was worried sick and got so paranoid.  What if Lucas goes to the bathroom, plays in the toilet or fills the tub and drowns himself?  I don't blame my mom for thinking this because there had indeed been reports of babies drowning in the toilet, believe it or not.

Charles was on his way home.  His work is closer to home than mine.  While waiting for Charles, my folks and Nathan kept knocking but Lucas wouldn't answer.  They can hear him doing stuff inside.  He wasn't crying.  So mom and dad went out and looked through our bedroom window from the outside. They could see Lucas through a gap in the blinds.  They saw that he was opening our dressers and drawers trying to find anything interesting.  He would take stuff out of the drawers and put them back in.  He was playing with things that we didn't allow him to play with--my watch, accessories, nail-clippers, etc.

Mom and dad started knocking the windows in a desperate attempt to get his attention and have him open the door.  But he simply looked towards them, smiled, waived and said "Hi Mamu!!!", which really pissed my mom off (though I found it really cute!).  It appeared that he was enjoying it.  He was enjoying the freedom of touching and playing with anything he could get his hands on and nobody stopping him. Later, my mom saw him get on the elliptical trainer.  This was dangerous and this got my mom even more worried.

So they knocked harder and started yelling at him. Nathan helped yell, "Cousin, open!!!"  Until later, he started crying and opened the door.  Charles arrived a few minutes after.  Lucas was already out.

How it happened.
It was Lucas' nap time. Mom was trying to put him to sleep in our bedroom because my dad was putting Nathan to sleep in Lucas' room.  We can't have them both in the same room.  Otherwise, they'll never sleep. Lucas asked my mom for his comfy blanket and when my mom went out to get it, Lucas shut the door and locked it.  I wonder if he deliberately did it to lock himself in so he can be by himself.  He is at a very curious stage where he likes playing with our things more than his toys.  He has outgrown his toys--he doesn't like them anymore.  In fact, he now knows that his leap-top is not a real laptop and he prefers to play with our laptop.  I wonder if he got tired of us telling him "Don't touch Mama or Papa's things", which is what we normally say when he starts messing around with our stuff. 

Lucas has a mind of his own now, and he obviously is putting it to use.  I may not like what he did--though I found it rather cute, but part of me is happy to know that he thinks, he explores, he learns, and as long as it doesn't do him any harm, sometimes I should let him have his way.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Remembering Tita Fely


Today, one of my favorite aunts died.  She is Tita Fely, also known to others as Sister Genevieve.  She is my mom's older sister. She was only 68 years old and she had been sick for several years now.

When I think about Tita Fely, I remember the summers of my youth.  My sister and I spent a lot of summers at her place in Bukidnon.  She was a Pharmacist and she had a drugstore--the only drugstore in her part of the town, and it was right in front of the main bus terminal so it was always busy.  Business was good for her.

We had spent the summer with her to help out with her business not only because she provided our supply of Enervon-C, but also because we like her a lot!  She never got married nor had kids and she was so fond of us, her nieces and nephews.  She gave us a lot of nice stuff.  We would travel back and forth to Cagayan de Oro and Bukidnon and when we find ourselves in the big city, she would take us shopping and treat us to Jollibee.

Back at her place, she would feed us with nothing but fresh and organic produce--she had an abundance of them in her area, or so I recall.  A farmer would bring us fresh cow's milk in the morning and because we couldn't drink all of it, Tita would use them to bake cakes, muffins and pies.  We always had cake!  And she was a goddess in the kitchen!  Her cakes were always excellent!  Her empanadas were the best I've had, and she made the juiciest and yummiest roasted chicken using her humungous turbo broiler that looked so cool to us back in the days.

Tita was so fond of jewelry and she had some really precious ones.  Before my high school graduation, she handed me one of her favorite pieces--a gold ring with a dragon on it (because I was born in the year of the dragon).  She told me she is not giving it to me.  She just wanted me to hold it and take care of it for her.  She said I can use it, but if I lose it I'll have to pay for it.  I asked why she wanted me to keep it rather than just keep it herself.  She said some people have shown interest in that ring. If they ask her for the ring, she might have difficulty saying no.  Yes--she was very kind and generous.  Also, she said, if anything happens to her, they'll just take the ring and get away with it. She didn't want that to happen.  She also gave my sister another ring--one that had beautiful and colorful stones on it and one that reflected my sister's personality, and she said the same thing to her.  We both promised her we'll take care of the rings for as long as she needed us to.

Years later, on one of my trips back home, I paid her a visit at a monastery where she lived for years before she died.  She was already sick and bedridden then.  I asked her the question which I already knew the answer to, "I still have your ring.  Would you like to have it back or would you like me to keep holding it for you?"  She cried hard while squeezing my hands and said, "No, keep it!  It's yours."

I knew that she wanted my sister and I to have those rings, but she did it that way not because she was afraid something might happen to her or that some psycho would take it away.  But she did that because she wanted to teach us a good lesson--that we can't easily have possessions unless we earn it.  That we can't just own things the easy way, and most of all we can't take it from other people.  We have to work hard to get what we want.

Tita Fely was a very hardworking, driven individual who built things from the ground up--a successful business that she single-handedly nurtured and strong relationships with people who loved and adored her until her very last breath.  The universe wasn't so kind to her though, such that she got sick at a young age and suffered for almost half her lifetime.  Things were rough for her physically and emotionally, but never spiritually.  She remained strong in faith and love.  And while her physical disabilities deprived her of the worldly goods that she would rather have enjoyed, she chose a life that allowed her to do what she still could--PRAY.  Pray for us and for others.  She joined the religious and devoted herself to a life of prayer.

I miss Tita so much, now more than ever.  I still have her ring with me and it's one of my most treasured possessions.  I would wear it everyday if only my fingers are as skinny as they used to be.  I hope that one day I'll be able to wear it again so I am always reminded of her and the values she taught me.  Nevertheless, she will always be close to my heart.  The summers I spent in Bukidnon and the many good memories with her will remain in me for a long, long time.

Farewell, Tita Fely!  Thank you and farewell.  We celebrate your life more than we mourn your death, and we take comfort in the thought that you are now in a better place, a place with no pain and no suffering.  Rest well.  Rest in peace.  We will not forget.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Godchildren

Meet my new godchildren.  Both of them were baptized this weekend--Sofia on Saturday and Zachary on Sunday.


This is Sofia Xochitl.  She is my friend Josephine's first and only daughter.  Her mom is Filipino and her dad is Mexican and she is oh-so-beautiful!!!  She is named after a Mayan flower--Xochitl (Sowt-chil). 


Before Sofie's baptism, I paid her a visit [for the first time since she was born].  I felt so bad that it took so long for me to see her, but my friend and I could not get to agree on a date that works for both of us.  I was traveling so much and she was busy on the weekends.

She is 5 months old now and growing very beautifully.  She is taller and heavier than most babies her age, despite the fact that she was born premature (only at 34 weeks).


And this is Zachary Liam, my nephew--son of my only brother, Richard and his wife Hannah.  They live in Missouri but they came all the way to California to have Zach baptized here so we can all celebrate with them.  Lucas and I met Zach for the first time a couple of weeks ago, when we traveled to Chicago and met my brother's family there.


We are so thrilled to welcome Zach to the family, and now to the Christian world.  As his godmother, I will be helping his parents take care of him and guide him through the Christian faith.  As his aunt, I will look out for him, just as I look out for Nathan and Lucas.  Zach will be like a son to me, only he won't live with me.  And I love him to pieces already.

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I got interested in photography when I met my husband. He loved photography since the 80's when he owned a Canon AE1 SLR camera. When we got married, we met a great photographer who inspired me even more. I started taking photos when my husband and I got our DSLR camera back in 2005. I never really shared my photos. But lately, I've been introduced to photoblogging and I saw it to be a great way of expression. My photos are amateur but I hope to learn more as I blog and connect with people.

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