I was far from being a perfect daughter.  I’ve tried my parents’ patience to the max and may have hurt them countless times.  So when I finally had the chance to make it up with my mom during her visit to NZ, I did everything I can to make her feel my love and gratitude for making me who I am now.

A breezy walk on windy Welly’s shores!

Ina, anak at apo – enjoying al fresco breaky at Scorching Bay

At our home in Broadmeadows, Wellington

At Kirkcaldie & Stains’ Shiseido counter, after an R&R

I miss my Nanay!

I’d like to give my mother a little tribute.  “Nanay” as we fondly call her, is a survivor of the Big C.  She was diagnosed with thyroid cancer while she was in her early-40s and had undergone physical and emotional pain in the process.  She underwent cobalt treatments and radioactive therapy that required her to live in isolation for several weeks.  She may have been in terrible pain that caused her sudden hormone surges and sometimes irrational ways.  In retrospect, I wish I was mature enough to realize the value of giving her unconditional support during those trying times, but I was then too young to understand.  In all her struggles, I have to commend her exceptional faith in God and remarkable courage in her plight to survive.  Undeniably, this spiritual strength guided her path towards full recovery.  A true testimony of miracle at work!

My siblings and I had been raised in a family of modest means, but my parent’s greatest legacy to their children is a deeply-rooted faith in God.   As a little child, all I can recall was our family prayer time.  We knelt while praying the Angelus and the Rosary at 6pm every single night, and we went to hear Sunday Mass every week without fail.  I have no doubt that this upbringing somehow inspired my brother, Fr. Ronald, in his divine calling for priesthood – he was ordained in December 1992.

As a teenager, no other word can describe her but strict – extremely strict!  I remember my parents waiting outside the school gates after my Junior-Senior Prom!  My father was a “man-of-few-words”, very meek and gentle – quite the opposite of my mom.  She would not allow parties and outings with friends apart from official school activities.  This is where my Tatay, our liaison officer, would come to the rescue and secure our “license to party”.   With curfew hours firmly implemented – no one can come home after 9pm (what?!) or you’ll be grounded for days.  At times, my Nanay can be quite harsh and every now and then unreasonable.  Each one of my siblings had at one point in time experienced relationship crisis with her, and I was no exception.  Do we really have to learn our lessons the hard way?   Do mothers really know what’s best for her children?  For a long time, I couldn’t reconcile that idea, not until I was a parent myself, white-water rafting with my two teenagers!  But that’s another story.

Nothing compares to a mother’s hug

Nanay has mellowed-down as she aged.  I’ve seen her gradually transform into a nurturing, supportive and inspiring mother.  With my father’s demise in October 1997, her happiness revolves around her 5 children and 11 grandchildren.  She lives with a loyal helper in our old house, while the family of my youngest sister, Elvi, lives next door at our family compound in Makati, Philippines.  She has visited my sister, Gie, twice in Canada, visited me once in NZ, and frequently flown to Singapore to visit my brother, Noel.  She’s quite a jetsetter!  She will celebrate her 75th birthday in January next year.