40 years and counting…

sa nanay kong nagliliwaliw sa amerika ngayon at sa tatay kong hindi na makaalis ng bahay dahil kinain na ng mapait na alzheimer’s ang utak…

happy 40th wedding anniversary!

mantakin mo nga namang 40 years na kayo ano? when i was a kid, i always said to myself that when i grow up, i want a marriage just like yours, mom & dad.

a dad that is so quiet, and so giving, and so cool.

and a mom that is so good at handling money (hahaha, tama ba ito ma? eh galit ka nga sa pera eh), the best cook in the world and had the nastiest belt that i’d always tasted (oo na, bad girl ako nung bata, actually hanggang ngayon ata).

dream ko yung set-up nyo. na lahat ng sweldo ni dad ikaw ang nagha-handle mom. andami na ng mga negosyong pinasok nyong mag-asawa. ang pinakanatatandaan ko na nasimulan nyo (dahil siguro dito na ako may malay) eh yung piggery/poulty natin. tapos nag-canteen pa kayo sa isang textile factory. tapos nag-garments. tapos nag-ice plant. ano pa ba ang sumunod dun? hehe, wala na pala. mga sideline sideline na lang.

sino nga ba ang disciplinarian sa inyong dalawa? basta ang alala ko, andaming belt at palo ng tsinelas ang inabot ko from you mom. kay dad, iilan lang. pero grabe, latay talaga. pasensya na kayo kung talaga namang brattinella ang bunso nyo.

but i truly owe everything i am to you. how you brought me up. how you instilled the values and principles you thought i should have. i remember, when i was working as a temp at unilab, one of the senior operators there called me aside and told me that he really liked me (not in a romantic way of course). he kept asking if i had a boyfriend cause he said he wanted to find me one. kse daw i was so grounded. and sobrang galing makisama. hindi raw ako namimili. nakikisama ako sa mga managers, sa mga operators tulad nila at sa mga temp din tulad ko. at ang nasabi ko sa kanya, that was how you raised me.

you both were so giving and so lenient. i hated it when you sent me to pisay then. kse i thought, hinihiwalay nyo ako sa mga friends ko (nung elementary). you kept saying that it was the best school for me. that i wouldn’t have a hard time in college if i graduated from there. i wouldn’t have thought na masaya pala dun. i learned to stand up for what i believed in pagdating ko dun. at natutunan ko na hindi lahat ng bawal ay masama. at hindi lahat ng tama ay maganda. nagkaron ata ako ng sungay dun. probably cause i wasn’t living with you. plus i really got to interact with people from different parts of the country.

i thank you for letting me explore even at an early age. i never had a hard time getting permission for going out. to cabanatuan, when i was a hs freshie. to anywhere actually. kaya siguro ngayon, parang napakalaking adjustment saken na kelangan kong humingi lagi ng permiso sa asawa ko if i wanted to go out. sa inyo kse, walang curfew curfew. as long as you both know where i was going, who i’m going out with, and how i will get home were enough for you.

alala ko pa, nung kolehiyo pa lang ako, natuto nang mag-inom. inimbitahan ko ang mga kaibigan ko sa bahay natin. at ang kapal pa ng mukha ko kse tumawag ako sa yo ma, at sinabing ipagluto mo kami ng pwede naming pulutan. at pagdating namin, aba andami mong inihanda. where in the world could you find a mom as cool as you? na sobrang benya galore ka naman sa mga friends ko. na sa sobrang benya, i kept on wishing that you would go to bed already. baket kamo? eh kse di ako maka-yosi. hahaha.

thank you dad, kse lagi mong sinusundo yung labada ko nung college tuwing friday ng umaga. para pag uuwi ako eh wala na akong bitbit. isipin mong kalimitan ng mga friday ng umagang yun eh wala pa akong tulog galing sa gimik ng thursday night? straight from a gimik, eh kelangan ko nang umuwi ng dorm para ilabas ang big bag ko ng labada.

parang hindi ko kayo nakikitang nag-aaway. mom has a very strong personality at laging tahimik ka lang dad. pero ano ka, pag humirit ka naman, tahimik din ang misis mo di ba? ganyan ata kami ng asawa ko. palagay ko sobrang strong din ng personalidad ko kumpara sa kanya. pero nakahanap ata ako ng katapat ko. sintigas ng bato rin ata ang ulo nya tulad ko. haha.

i used to love it pag inaasar naming magkakapatid si mom. kse feeling ko, hindi nya natumbasan ang sense of humor mo dad.

and i thank you dad for always reminding us that family comes first. alala mo when i was in hs and i had no ride for my prom (o grad ball ba yun?)? you told kuya keats to drive me to i forgot na where we had it. somewhere in qc rin ata. and kuya refused kse may lakad na sya with his brods. anong sinabi mo? unahin mo ang pamilya. may nagawa ba ang kuya ko? shempre, ano pa eh di ihatid ako.

dream ko ata talaga how you guys were to me and my brothers. yung mapagbigay. masayahin. sobrang parang kaibigan lang. pero alam ang linya kung kelan mom & dad naman dapat ang trato namin. even if you haven’t given us the best that money could buy (kse hindi naman marami ang pera natin), you’ve given us the best that you could.

nakakailan na ba kami ni antuken ko? almost 7 months pa lang.compared to your 40 years, susko, andami pa naming bigas na kakainin. and i’m sure you’ll be there to guide me too.

nawa’y umabot kayo sa golden anniversary nyo (kami rin ni antuken ko, hehe)!!!