Mom of a Kind

She would have been 61 today.  If things went as planned, we would have been at the beach in Boracay, celebrating her birthday with the family.  She had been asking for a family reunion, and we were working on the details of having one in December, when my brother would be home for his vacation.  She had been excitedly saving for a trip to Europe in April next year.  Yup, had she a choice, mommy would still have fought and negotiated for a few more years to live her dreams and make sure her family is secure in the Lord.

Well, sixty years, eleven months, and thirteen days were all she was granted.  Oh but them 60 yrs, 11 mos, and 13 days were lived to the fullest to the very last second of her life!  Mommy was a very conscientious daughter to her parents, a true (word not mine, but her brother's) sister to her siblings, a faithful and devoted wife to our dad, a protective and loving mother to us, her children, and a doting grandmother to Roo, her bugoy grandson.

My mom became my best friend, my confidante sometime in my college days. I remember making it a point to go home as often as I could on weekends so I can spend time with my parents.  I guess in a way, that was to make up for all the lost time in high school, when just like any other teenager, I didn't want to hang out, or be seen with my folks.  When I came to Thailand to work after I graduated, my mom painstakingly wrote me long handwritten letters, updating me of news from home and encouraging me in my endeavors. I in turn snail-mailed her pages and pages of my adventures and experiences in the Land of Smiles. In between letters, I called home and the telephone company gained thousands of baht from my homesickness and long talks with my mother.

Mommy was always there for us, our refuge and stronghold in times of trouble.  She was not the affectionate, expressive of mother but we never doubted her strong love for us.  When she became a lola (grandmother) however, a major transformation in my mom unfolded before my eyes.  Her apo (grandson) showered her with hugs and kisses, and in time, my mom loosened up and became comfortable returning the hugs and kisses.  When Roo started talking and said "I love you lola" to her, she answered him with her own sweet "I love you too" without any of the old awkwardness and uneasiness.  She adored her little bugoy and according to my brother who lived with them, talked nonstop about Roo's doings and antics, to them and to anybody who will listen.  She was proud of her apo and I'm thankful that in her last few years, she tasted the sweetness and knew the joys of being a lola.