My Mother
Mother is so sick that she barely speaks nor eats. She is having a rough time in fighting the cancer that engulfed her body. It is quite hard for us, her children to accept that she is in her last days of her life.My mother is a quite extra-ordinary lady who is a widow for more than 30 years now. She takes care of us and make sure that we have sufficient foods on the table and have a decent education. We are not rich and in fact we are trying hard to make ends meet. But with her guts and determination to ensure that we make the days as they come, we survive.
I have so many experiences with my mother good and bad. All of these had thought me so many things in dealing with my life. I definitely believe right now that she had made me strong and courageous enough to face any adversity in my life.
We live most of our lives in Quiapo, a tough neighborhood where addiction and criminality are abundant. Despite of these despicable surroundings, we didn’t succumb to the influence of drugs and easy money making things. I tried my very best to study hard, harder than I could while working part-time in a grocery store. At the end, I and my sister had completed our studies. Sister is now an assistant manager in one biggest bank in the Philippines while I am still an OFW earning enough for my own family who is now in Canada.
My mother is not a perfect person and she has her own demons to deal with. She is so generous to a fault that her friend will take advantage of her generosity. But, it seems she is happy with that. I guess she found happiness in giving. Like any other mother-son relationship, we had some few disagreements. I normally call her two times a week just to chat with her. One time, I told her that you should be happy for your life because you live the best out of it. Her sacrifices to ensure that we finish schooling had paid of not because we, her children, are giving her money on a regular basis, but to the fact that we recognized her sacrifices and pains. And during our school days, I went to school even I don’t have single centavo in my pocket, I trek to school, and I borrowed money to buy books / papers. There were a lot of bumpy roads before I finally graduated in college. I did it because I know she will be disappointed if I would not. I demonstrated my love to her into action. Recognizing her sacrifices and fulfilling what she wants me to be are my best gift to her.
I don’t know how long she can still endure the pain. It’s terrible and disturbs me too. Whatever happens, Ma, I love you for the moment I open my eyes.
posted by Asthong Kutchong @ 2:14 AM
