Mother’s Day 2016

Pretty hands have grown old through the years

Doing all kinds of chores and caring for me

Those wrinkly eyes still have their glow

Always watching over me.

Now that I have grown

Got a family of my own

Something will forever be the same

Her heart wishing me all the best

Her heart full of love for me

~ Tin Lazaro

Carmen is her name.  From Latin origin, it means “song,” “tune,” or “poem” and is also the root of the English word charm. Truly, she is music. It has always been her first love. And I thank her for bringing music into our lives. From then until now, she has always been so generous to me and my siblings. Whenever she would get home, she has little things for us. More importantly, she always gives us the emotional support we need. She rescues us and lifts us up when we are troubled.. She has always been so selfless putting our happiness and welfare before hers. She is our guide, our light.

Evelyn is her name. She raised me too. She was a great influence in giving us the best education we can ever have. I remember her enrolling us in schools, taking us to music classes (voice and flute) and even taking us to our facial care sessions in high school. She has also influenced me in terms of religious/church affiliation… A woman does not have to bear the child to become a mother. You can raise children and be a mother too. It does not have to be biological. It is all about the love and care through the years.

I have aunties/Tita/Tia (both blood related and not) who I look up to as Moms. They are the women who inspire me, who support me and care for me through the different chapters in my life as a wife and mother.

I also remember my mother-in-law, Araceli,  who gave life to my better half, the reason I have become a mother too.  I remember my sisters and girl friends who are mothers as well.  I think about all the mothers around who have dedicated their lives to raising children. Raising kids is a complex and yet beautiful mission. It goes beyond providing material/physical needs. There is emotional, intellectual, and spiritual responsibilities. It is a mission for life.

No mother is perfect. Not even me. We just keep doing our best to give our children a good life, a solid foundation that will guide them even when we will no longer be around. We keep doing our best in giving them happy memories.

Play with them, read to them, converse with them. We keep praying for them.

This song I played is dedicated to all the Mommies in the world. It is entitled “Sa Ugoy ng Duyan, ” a Filipino lullaby co-written by Lucio San Pedro and Levi Celerio, who were both National Artists of the Philippines.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sa_Ugoy_ng_Duyan

“The lyrics are written in the first person point of view. It is made up of two stanzas, with four lines each.

In the first stanza, the singer wishes that his childhood and his memories of his mother will never fade. He also wants to hear his mother’s song again, which to him is a song of love.

In the second stanza, he describes his sleep as being peaceful, while stars watch and guard him. For him, his life becomes heaven whenever his mother sings him her lullaby. Finally, he reveals the reason for his longing: he is enduring some hardship, and this is why he was longing for his mother’s lullaby.

In the final line (coda), the singer addresses his mother and wishes that he could sleep again in his old cradle.”

Silent Fortress

She had a hard life. They were not well off. They had to find out ways how to survive. Her mother died when she was very young. She barely have memories of her. Although she remembers how she looks like, fair skinned, curly golden hair.There was not much stories about her father or her childhood and teenage life. I just know she had her first child when she was 18 years old. And her father died after.

I just realized now that I do not really know her past. All I know is that she is a great mother. We grew up in an unconventional family set up (which I may write about someday).  But she was there to guide me and my siblings. Whenever we stayed with her, she made sure we communicated very well. We sat down every morning after breakfast and  talked about anything under the sun. Later on, we enjoyed this over coffee. She made sure that our bond was strong even in times we were apart. My siblings and I became very close to each other because of her. We got our pride, our dream, our strength, our prestige from our father. On the other hand, our mother taught us gentleness, heart, happiness, music, silliness.  If I am a loving mother to my children now, it is because of her. It is amazing how she is literally always there at our side (my sister and brother) during times when we are emotionally down. She helps us go through them. If she did not come here to help me, I would have been… She is a life savior. She is our fortress. And yet she is just quiet. She does not long for recognition. She has always been selfless. Children come first before her. She sacrificed a lot. And I salute her for that. If I were to write a story about her life, you would say it is like one of those touching films and it can even win an Oscars! : – )

Happy Mother’s Day Ma! This is my gift to you! You are loved by us and we will share many more years of happiness together. You deserve all the best things in life!