10 Things I Got From My Momma! ♚

I

 am sure there are a loooot of reasons why we think our moms are the best. I might bore you with my thousand and one reasons so I’ll give you 10. The basics. Mommy has been providing me with the things that I need and want since I was in her womb. The things on this list, however, are the gifts I got from her that I am using and can use for the rest of my life. Some I may have inherited and some I have learned by growing up with a powerful woman at my side.

1. LOVE

If I am full of love for the people around me right now, then it is all because of her. She is not too generous with uttering the words “I love you” but through her actions, we feel we are loved.  She showed us love by taking care of us. How she heals our physical and emotional burns and wounds. And the “Til death do us part” love story she and Daddy had. <3>

2. Celebration

Birthdays, fiestas, holidays, graduations, achievements, etc. She always makes sure we feel special. It may not be the grandest parties but it was always memorable with her home-cooked meals. It made me realize that there is always a reason to celebrate. Small or big, we have to celebrate life.

3. Food.
From cooking to eating, she is a great influence. Because of her, I learned to love okra, durian and some of those weird food others may not eat. Now that I am away from her, I text/call her for ingredients and procedures of some recipes. She is such an expert that I feel she can cook anything –shrimps, crabs, pork, beef, fish, and pasta. My aunt told me my mom’s gisadong talong resembles that of Golden Cowrie’s. Oh ha? She even knows how to make ice cream. How cool is that? (By cool I’m referring to my mom, not the ice cream. Hahaha!) But really, for us to enjoy eating, she perfectly and patiently opens the thorny durian, removes all the eyes of the pineapple, peels layers of the baongon (pomelo), finds the best fruits for some fruit shake, etc. If I may borrow a phrase I have read somewhere, she is a “painstaking craftswoman”. Salute!!!

4.  Fashion

Before there were OOTDs (outfit of the day), she was already donning tank tops, trousers, peplums and floral dresses.  She also has those short shift dresses that Ate and I had the privilege of invading  in her closet after 20+ years. There are two things that I always hear from her when it comes to dressing up. First, “Dress for the occasion!” Expect her whining after she’s seen someone underdressed for a formal event with her famous “naunsa ba…” line. Hahaha! Second, “Dress to Kill!” Nope, not dress to impress, she wants to go for the kill! One time, I was called for an interview and I told her about it. I expected to hear “are you ready?, good luck, prepare for it...” but the first thing she said was “dapat dressed to kill ka hah”. The good luck came towards the end of the conversation. Hahahaha! I have a fashion critic for a mom.

5. Independence

Based on their childhood stories, my mom was the defendant of her siblings. Even their eldest sister would call on her to “resbak” the bullies. They even thought she was a tomboy because she would arrive at their house with bruises after having fights with the bullies. Hahaha! She was independent growing up and she passed it on to us. As early as Grade School she would allow us to travel municipalities away from home to join school competitions. During college, my classmates would receive constant calls from their parents. Checking them and restricting them of some activities but my mom never did. She said she trusts me enough to do the right thing, and the trust was so empowering that indeed I took extra careful steps with my actions. Thanks mom!

6. Strength

When my Dad passed away last 1998, the mom and dad role was given to her. I’m sure it took her a lot of patience, endurance and more. Clearly, it showed she has strength in all aspects (i.e physical, mental, emotional, etc). I can never be of par with the strength that she has but I give all the credit to her of what inner strength I may have today. With these, she has also instilled in me the words “choose your battles.” It’s not always the number of battles you’ve won, its how you fought.

7. Laugh!

Proof. Mommy making her siblings laugh.

If there is one thing that is constant in the family, that would be laughter. Our parents were blessed with a great sense of humor that some of us inherited it. No bias, so I won’t tell you how much humor I may have inherited. Chos! Even during difficult times, we manage to inject humor to the situation. My mom, she has her ways. I had this incident where I left my wallet so I was short of cash, I was panicking. I texted her with some 3 linked messages and she replied with a short “Relax, don’t panic. Coming…” I don’t know if she meant it that way but it made me laugh. And when she finally arrived, while laughing she told me “maygani naa mi, kung wala, nakapanghugas gyud kas plato”. She maybe corny with her jokes sometimes but it makes the feeling lighter and that is what is important for me.

8. Value Memories

Photo Albums. When we hear that, we would initially think Facebook albums. To my mom, those were the pictures she kept of us since we were born. If she didn’t keep them, we would not have anything to revisit for our #throwbackthursdays posts. Hahaha! Kidding aside, I learned from her that during natural calamities; always grab the photo albums first or for this age and time - the media cards, USBs and the hard drives that contain our photos. You can have the material things back. The moments, you can not recapture. She taught us to keep in heart our childhood memories. Bruises, uneven bangs...all those embarrassing moments that made us cry before, but is making us laugh now.

9.  Make Lasting Friendships

My mom is the friendliest. No exaggeration. When you walk with her to a certain destination, give some time allowance because she would make time to greet her friends and acquaintances she'll meet along the way. We call her stopovers “istasyon”, as in like the station of the cross where you stop by station to station and linger for awhile. She is a great friend that is for sure. Now that she has retired from teaching, she spends most of her time reuniting with her grade school friends who are also retirees. They still even travel together with overnight trips. Beat that! Doesn’t it inspire you to reconnect with your friends so you can have these lifetime friendships as well? I would want that!!! So friends, watch out! When we grow old, I will hunt you so we can bake some granny cookies together! Hahaha!

10. Travel

She loves travelling. I thought this love for travel only started after Dad passed away. As diversion, she would spend her summer breaks away from home. I was wrong. It started way back when she was still a little girl. According to her stories, everytime she hears her aunt planning on a Cebu overnight trip, she would then get some clothes and secretly put it inside her aunt’s baggage. On the day of the travel itself, she would dress up and wait by the door so her aunt can’t say no. Hahaha! Smart move mommy! She does it all the time and it never fails. Her getaways came back starting 1998. Visits to pop local destinations such as Baguio and Tagaytay. We even had a family trip with my aunts and cousins to as far as the tip of the Philippine map at our Lola’s hometown in Kalinga Mountain Province. Oooohh the solar power, full-body-tattoed old women, people-eating-chili-like-it-is-candy, etc. After that, she took bigger steps with her walking shoes to neighboring countries in Asia. A week before her scheduled trips, she would already have her bags packed. And she has this little notebook that she carries with her everywhere. I asked her about it and she said that she lists there all the places that she has visited from all her travels so that when the time comes that she won’t be able to travel anymore, she would just sit by the rocking chair and revisit the places by reading her little notebook. Aaaaaah, good thinking! Inevitably, her travel adventures rubbed in on us, on me. From small getaways to planned trips, she is the inspiration.

For all these gifts and influences, I can never be thankful enough. You shaped me into the person that I am now. Thank you mommy! Now, if you find something good in me, I have to tell you "I got it from my momma..."☺  

But even without these things, I still owe her a lot. The long 9 months, the excruciating pain of giving birth, the sleepless nights and the headaches I have caused her. I love you mother! Happy Mother’s Day all day every day, all year long!!! Let’s travel the world! ✈

♥♥♥