What makes a perfect mom? Maybe
that person should be the best cook, knows how to play doctor when her children
gets sick, has a lot of money to provide for her family, and being cool, of
course, should be on top of the list. That is what a mom should ideally be.
My mom is none of these. She is
not a good cook (mind you, she’s well aware of that). But she always cooks
Adobo, Menudo, and Picadillo for me just because she knows those are my
favorite among her *coughs*”specialties”. She’s bad at playing doctor when my
siblings and I are sick. Sometimes she forgets when we should next take our
meds. But she never leaves our bedside. She even sleeps beside me. She’s not
filthy rich; we just have enough to survive the lifestyle that we have. She’s
bad in budgeting our money but still, at the end of the day, we get to eat the
foods that we want, even more than the number of times a normal person eats in
a day. She is a good provider. And she’s not cool, at all. She never allowed me
to attend any birthday parties from kinder up to my elementary years. The
moment I step out of the house, she would right away send me a text asking what
time I’ll be home. Not only that, she would text me every hour just for me to
give her an update on what I’m doing and where I am. But despite, I am proud to
say, that I have the best and the perfect mom anyone could wish for.
Mother went through a lot raising
my siblings and I. My older brother passed away July 21st, 1995. My
father got depressed and we found out that he had Chronic Megaloblastic Leukemia
after 2 years then he took his last breath December 25th of 2004. We
lost everything; we lost our source of income. She had to work extra hard and
to put an extra effort to feed herself, my younger sister, and I. She had to
exert extra effort to send us both to good schools. She was alone, she had to
do everything all by herself from then on. Plus the fact that mother had to bury
her only son and her husband, I couldn’t imagine how she managed to get passed
the pain. After less than a year, another crisis in the family came. She was
diagnosed to have Stage II Cancer of the Breast. By God’s grace, she went back
to her good physical shape after a number of Chemotherapy and Radiation
Therapy. She goes to USTH for her Chemotherapy and check-ups and to SLMC for
her Radiation Therapy all by herself.
Also, these were the days when I
go home from school at the break of dawn or early morning the next day. I was
also always at the Principal’s Office, Guidance Office, and YPMO talking to
nuns, guidance counselors, and the principal. I was hated by my teachers when I
was in high school and up until now, I don’t really understand why. Yes, maybe
because I was mischievous and all, but I don’t’ really get it. When I stepped
into college, same thing, I was never really the favorite of my professors. I
never studied, or at least I would cram come finals just to have a good final
grade. I would drink with my buddies after classes, sometimes we would cut
classes just to hang out in a coffee shop or in a bar every day, literally
–without putting in mind mother’s sacrifices just to give us the things that we
need, just to pay our tuition, just to have something to give me when I ask for
money, just for us to eat like how normal people does, just for us to have a
safe place to live in, and to suffice for the loss of my father, she had to act
like to persons. I won’t go in detail on how bad of a person I was then but
just to give you an idea, there were some stealing (but just to clarify, I just
did it for fun), some illegal drugs, sometimes there were also suicidal
tendencies, and other stuff. It’s okay to judge me, whatever! But my point is,
my mom stood up for me even when the whole world was against me. She never gave
up on me. When I was at my lowest and most bad disposition, she loved me the
same when I was at my best behavior. There were no judging for her when it
comes to my sister and I.
We don’t have a tight
relationship with each other. We never talk about personal stuff; she just
talks to me when she wants me to do something for her or if she would scold me
or what not. But now that I am 24 and now trying to have a better relationship
with her; equipped with the lessons I learned from everything my family and I
went through, and now with a sense of responsibility, it is now time to give
back. I may not have the guts to say this to her upfront but I love her more
than I love Johnny Depp and Jude Law. Haha, kidding. But really, I love her
even if all the stars fall from the sky. I love her unconditionally. And from
now on, I promise to take care of her the best way that I can. I will protect
her from all the evil wandering around this f*cked up world, hehe. I know I
won’t be able to replace all the losses that she has gone through but I promise
to make it a point that I will give my very best to excel in all the things
that I do and time will come when she no longer has to work and be stressed
with all the sh*t this world has to bring, all she has to do is live an
extravagant life. :)
Happy Mother’s day to the
bravest, strongest, and best Mother Goose God has ever created! I love you
heaps! :)
