Honoring my Mom's Resiliency #TibayNiNanay
This is me kissing my Mom Tessie... Thank you Mama for everything! I love you so much!
“A mother’s love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dates all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path.” ―Agatha Christie
"Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength." - Christopher Reeves
I guess there's no amount of words and gestures one can describe best the queen of our home, our mother. For my mom, it wasn't that easy for her raising all four of us with me, being the eldest. Back in the haydays, we belong to the so-called "middle class," family. We studied in a very prestigious Catholic School. Our father was a good provider, he let my mom finish her college degree when I was about 10 years old. After which, she tried working for an insurance company but that did not last that long, for my dad suggested on her staying at home instead and be a full-time housewife.
My dad had thought of having a small business at home, so as to keep my mom busy (I guess), and not be bored, we had a buy and sell of used and brand new refrigerators, you know during that time, it was a big hit and people come to visit our house filled with those refs, and I saw that my mom and dad, they had worked real hard as a team. And oh, by the way, my father has a stable job too, that time. Why am I telling you all these? You will know eventually..
Almost every weekend of every month, my family and sometimes with some of our relatives and friends, we go to Calamba, Laguna, specifically in Pansol. We grew up having religiously visiting the resorts there and one of our fave was the La Vista, they were the first ones to build this very long "Bukal" or hotspring. My mom told us that the reason why dad wants us to enjoy swimming and doing out of town trips was, he wanted us to experience everything what he was deprived of when he was a kid.
Come August of 1986, our beloved father had left us. He had joined God, our Creator. It was not a smooth goodbye... it was so sudden that until now, I can still recall the very scene when my mom had confirmed to all of us that our daddy was already gone. He left us when it was exactly twelve days to go before my 15th birthday. That was such a very memorable yet saddening birthday I had in my entire living. If I only knew, I could've wished for an extension of his life with us, so that we could all be happy and complete... but that's life, as they say. When it's time, it's time...
After everything that had happened, what's left with us was we still all have each other. It was that critical moment when there was nothing you could do but to rely and depend on each other, show love and give comfort. Make each other feel that there's still hope and that there will always be a rainbow after every storm. But someone has to stand up and be brave.. and that was actually our loving mother.
“A mother’s love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dates all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path.” ―Agatha Christie
"Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength." - Christopher Reeves
I guess there's no amount of words and gestures one can describe best the queen of our home, our mother. For my mom, it wasn't that easy for her raising all four of us with me, being the eldest. Back in the haydays, we belong to the so-called "middle class," family. We studied in a very prestigious Catholic School. Our father was a good provider, he let my mom finish her college degree when I was about 10 years old. After which, she tried working for an insurance company but that did not last that long, for my dad suggested on her staying at home instead and be a full-time housewife.
My dad had thought of having a small business at home, so as to keep my mom busy (I guess), and not be bored, we had a buy and sell of used and brand new refrigerators, you know during that time, it was a big hit and people come to visit our house filled with those refs, and I saw that my mom and dad, they had worked real hard as a team. And oh, by the way, my father has a stable job too, that time. Why am I telling you all these? You will know eventually..
Almost every weekend of every month, my family and sometimes with some of our relatives and friends, we go to Calamba, Laguna, specifically in Pansol. We grew up having religiously visiting the resorts there and one of our fave was the La Vista, they were the first ones to build this very long "Bukal" or hotspring. My mom told us that the reason why dad wants us to enjoy swimming and doing out of town trips was, he wanted us to experience everything what he was deprived of when he was a kid.
La Vista Pansol, Calamba, Laguna (CTO: privatereswimmingpool.com)
This is the present (innovated and rennovated) view of La Vista. Before, they only have private rooms with private pool which I used to dive in, I was so brave then, it was about 10 ft., you choose two options, slide in or dive in from a diving board, about 15 ft above the pool level and I chose two haha :) then there was the very long stretch of pool (Bukal)
with a very very hot water since they say the water comes directly from the Sierra Madre mountain. Ohh memories, they always keep us alive!
Come August of 1986, our beloved father had left us. He had joined God, our Creator. It was not a smooth goodbye... it was so sudden that until now, I can still recall the very scene when my mom had confirmed to all of us that our daddy was already gone. He left us when it was exactly twelve days to go before my 15th birthday. That was such a very memorable yet saddening birthday I had in my entire living. If I only knew, I could've wished for an extension of his life with us, so that we could all be happy and complete... but that's life, as they say. When it's time, it's time...
After everything that had happened, what's left with us was we still all have each other. It was that critical moment when there was nothing you could do but to rely and depend on each other, show love and give comfort. Make each other feel that there's still hope and that there will always be a rainbow after every storm. But someone has to stand up and be brave.. and that was actually our loving mother.
My mom, our Ms. Universe and our Superwoman ( photo taken present time)
My father had left us his insurance policy and fortunately, we have a relative who did all the paperworks and helped us get through with it. From there, my mom started to figure out things and she invested in a P.O. business, in Uniwide Supermarket but that one didn't go well, she was tricked by one of her clients, whom she trusted and went away with a huge amount of unpaid P.O.'s . Can you imagine the burden that my mom has to endure and carry that time, the three of us were still going to a private school our youngest sibling was only two years old then when our dad passed away.
She had engaged herself into a lot opportunities just to make both ends meet. She also got into direct sellings, Avon, Amway, Barclay, Sara Lee... name it! She had it all! While she was struggling, being the eldest among my three siblings, I also wanted to do my part. I did a home-made "Yema" and sold it to my classmates during college but in a secretive manner since I am pretty aware that the school doesn't encourage that kind of activity. There were even those low times that all we had in our pockets was exactly for our jeepney fare. We had to go and hurry back home to eat our lunch, our regular meal all through out the day and almost everyday-- the famous GG or Galunggong, because that kinda fit our budget. :)
( I am feeling so melancholic while writing this right now) pardon me... I am not used to speaking and telling our dark past but today, I feel it's the right time so anyone who got the chance to read this, I dunno... I hope they will be inspired and appreciate everything what they have and the people around you most especially our mother.
CTO: businessdiary.com.ph
This "Daing na Galunggong" played an a very important part in our dining table before and it used to really fill us up as in regularly. Thanks to former President Corazon Aquino (RIP) because during her reign, she made sure that the price of the Galunggong fish was that affordable most especially for the masses and the majority of the Filipino families.
Have you ever been in pawnshops before? Well, I did. Many many times. My unforgettable incident in this place was, when mom had decided to let go of her most fave diamond ring which our dad had given to her as a gift. I can still remember how hard it was for her when she decided to had it pawned for us to be able to pay our tuition fees. My mom's courage was unexplainable I don't know where did she get it actually.
In her pursuit of finding a real good opportunity to earn and give us a living, she had also engaged herself into being a real estate agent. She come home late at night feeling real exhausted but still manages to keep up with us. Although we could really see and feel how exhausted she was, when she's at home and with us, everything seemed so good and we could really feel how she cares for us. She had also a sideline which was an agent of a house alarm system and I tell yah, she actually did well on selling huh?! I guess, my mom was well-trained by my dad, when we had the buy and sell business.
To make my long story short, my mom's resilience, perseverance, courage, dependability and being optimistic plus prayers, were all been paid off. I graduated from college with a degree in BS Physical Therapy, my two sisters were Nursing graduates, my brother is currently working and is residing in United States. We all have our respective families now.
We were happily spending our Christmas season in Baguio City. This was taken December, 2012. Mom was wearing the red (her fave color) bonnet.
Today, mom is happily living with my siblings and grandchildren in U.S. Only me, my son and my youngest sister and her family were the ones left here in the Philippines.
Although we terribly miss her everyday, we are at peace that she is in very good hands, my siblings are taking care of her and love her very much. See how fate's been playin' with us? As they always say, we all have our ups and downs, it's up to us to make the decisions and undertakings we think what's best for everyone. And I am so proud and very honored to say, that my mom has made her best decision and great job in raising all of us, down to her grandchildren. She may not have a partner in life (by choice), she says we are just enough for her. We are her lovelife. :) *wink wink
It's really a no joke for us parents, raising our kids. What they have become, depends on what kind of parent you are. If they fail, we fail double time. Their success is our triumph too. Motherhood is a lifetime commitment with no salary compensations at all, no vacation leave and we should also be mindful of our health because, if we get sick, they are at lost, do you agree? :) So can you imagine the importance of our moms in our lives? I would like to share with you this video created by Orocan Ph, about a mother #TibayNiNanay . This has inspired me a lot, that's why I am here writing a part of my life story for you amazing peeps. I hope after watching this, you get to also express gratitude and honor your moms too!
*From the moment we first opened our eyes, to our first steps, to our first words, and the million other milestones that came after, they were there. At every high and every low of our lives, they have supported us, protected us, and loved us with no question. This Mother’s Day, Orocan celebrates the strength and dependability of all our Nanays, Inas, Moms, and Mamas. Nothing really compares with the TibayNiNanay.
Head on over to https://www.facebook.com/OrocanPH/ to know more about the durability of Orocan.
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