Today is the special day of one of the most important people in my life, my mom. We will both be working today so I guess I cannot see here when I go to Greenwoods later. Anyway, it's better to write my message here since I did not grow up being very vocal about my feelings towards my mother.
I will not divulge how old my mother is today. My sister always teases her for lying about her age. I just thank God for giving her more time to spend with us and her grandsons. All her life, she has been working hard to make ends meet.
There were never moments in my growing up years when she did not remind us how poor they were in Bicol. She supported herself through high school doing odd jobs from being a housemaid to a bingo attendant. My lola was so proud of her because she was a balibiktoryaan (valedictorian). Even when she earned a full scholarship in college, she still had to work so she can send her younger siblings, nieces, and nephews to school. She was the first in the family to earn a degree. She supported my other cousins (even those from my father's side of the family) who wanted to go to college. Even up to now, I still have a cousin living with them whom she's sending to college. She's very generous considering now that she's not earning as much as her previous job. I believe that it was her who was responsible to making our relatives' lives better. I have cousins now who are doing well in their respective careers here and abroad.
I would like to say that I wish for her to just enjoy life and not work at all. She started working again in the first week of September. After she retired from ADB in 2006, she tried to start a canteen business. Her love for being in the academe still prevailed. With God's blessing, she finally found a job that merges her love for teaching and cooking. She's now heads a culinary school in Quezon City.
Happy Birthday, Mama! May you live longer and happier! I will truly love and respect you all the days of my life.
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