fountains pour with sunjoy
adventure leaps
gleeful titterings spring
from younglings' fruity flumes
welcomed summertime delight
11.7.17
8.7.17
Sweet land
The thing about gratitude is that it also reminds us about what we might take for granted.
We've been so blessed to spend a week with family visiting from Saudi Arabia. I haven't seen them since my last trip to the Philippines in 2003, so it was a much welcome reunion.
Full of music, laughter and the occasional work-it-out moments between two strong young miss personalities just a year apart (one going on 6yo and the other on 5yo), our humble home held wafting smells of homemade meals made together. From Mom's signature palabok (noodle dish topped with shrimp gravy, shrimp, smoked fish flakes, pork cracklings, and eggs) to Alex's kaldareta (beef stew) to Criselda's chapchae (Korean glass noodles) and my macNcheese with mushrooms, not to mention merienda treats such as turon (wrapped banana and jackfruit) and royal bibingka (glutinous rice cake), our visit was complete. Staying up past midnight to share in the Cadelina crazy about our families, dreams and just being in each other's presence . . . what a summertime gift!
As a married woman living in the United States, I certainly take for granted my freedom to run errands, have my daughter in tow, take her to various activities on my own, without my husband. But for my cousin, Criselda, her day-to-day reality consists of waking at 4am to prep her three kids (ages 6yo t0 17yo) for school, breakfast for her family of five and packing lunches fo rthem. Her husband, Oliver, whose workday last from 7am-3pm, is on drop-off and fetch duty for the kids from Philippine International School, while Criselda for safety and cultural reasons busily takes care of the home. Criselda and the kids cannot go out in public without Oliver. Saudi weekends are Fridays and Saturdays when they gather with their church families to worship and share in each other's lives. Then it's back to the grind on Sunday once again. And to think Saudi life is a major improvement in terms of economic opportunity than to have remained in the Philippines for a family headed by an engineer and radiology technician.
Still, Criselda and Oliver manage to nurture a family that loves music (impressively self-taught guitar, drums and piano), that loves food (especially burgers freshly grilled), that loves Spirit, and that loves connecting heart-to-heart (as Criselda and Oliver affectionately call each other "Heart").
So grateful to have the opportunity to get to know Elize, Gio, and Matt as well as reconnect with Criselda and Oliver. No matter how exahusted we might have been from the day's adventure, our conversations were full of abiding encouragement, love and kinship. Family can run deep, and the best times are when we gather round.
We've been so blessed to spend a week with family visiting from Saudi Arabia. I haven't seen them since my last trip to the Philippines in 2003, so it was a much welcome reunion.
Full of music, laughter and the occasional work-it-out moments between two strong young miss personalities just a year apart (one going on 6yo and the other on 5yo), our humble home held wafting smells of homemade meals made together. From Mom's signature palabok (noodle dish topped with shrimp gravy, shrimp, smoked fish flakes, pork cracklings, and eggs) to Alex's kaldareta (beef stew) to Criselda's chapchae (Korean glass noodles) and my macNcheese with mushrooms, not to mention merienda treats such as turon (wrapped banana and jackfruit) and royal bibingka (glutinous rice cake), our visit was complete. Staying up past midnight to share in the Cadelina crazy about our families, dreams and just being in each other's presence . . . what a summertime gift!As a married woman living in the United States, I certainly take for granted my freedom to run errands, have my daughter in tow, take her to various activities on my own, without my husband. But for my cousin, Criselda, her day-to-day reality consists of waking at 4am to prep her three kids (ages 6yo t0 17yo) for school, breakfast for her family of five and packing lunches fo rthem. Her husband, Oliver, whose workday last from 7am-3pm, is on drop-off and fetch duty for the kids from Philippine International School, while Criselda for safety and cultural reasons busily takes care of the home. Criselda and the kids cannot go out in public without Oliver. Saudi weekends are Fridays and Saturdays when they gather with their church families to worship and share in each other's lives. Then it's back to the grind on Sunday once again. And to think Saudi life is a major improvement in terms of economic opportunity than to have remained in the Philippines for a family headed by an engineer and radiology technician.
So grateful to have the opportunity to get to know Elize, Gio, and Matt as well as reconnect with Criselda and Oliver. No matter how exahusted we might have been from the day's adventure, our conversations were full of abiding encouragement, love and kinship. Family can run deep, and the best times are when we gather round.
6.6.17
Mindbusy memories
My Dad would've been 78 years old this month. With every special moment whether it's N.'s moving up last day event at preschool, a good day at swim class, or her first day of camp, I so very much wish he were here to know her. Sometimes I wish I could just make a phone call and get his opinion on a small home improvement project.
It's been nine years since he died. I lit a candle in church yesterday to honor my Dad's memory.
Memories flood me. Dad trying to teach (unathletic) me how to play tennis. Dad attending my parent/teacher conferences in high school. How he supported my community fundraisers and projects when I worked with Filipino American youth and would make his friends tag along too. How he came with me on my first home hunt (because I clearly wasn't getting married then and had been renting for nine years). Along with my mom, their first meetup with A. for breakfast at Little Quiapo in Jersey City, and my mom regretfully said that she should have cooked a traditional meal at home.
The thing about good memories is that when our loved ones are dead and gone, we have images in our mind that conjure up meaningful experiences. The feelings reemerge as if we were present at those very specific moments full of love and affection. I am nostalgic. But the nostalgia groove can only last so long as reality nips.
I go on a run. I reconnect with myself and my emotions. I am thankful to have spent my Dad's dying days with him. I am thankful that we were able to know each other as father and daughter in my adulthood before cancer took over, that I was able to appreciate him not only as my Dad, but as a person too.
My mind may be busy as I continue to live without my Dad physically present, and I realize that gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart, not in the mind.
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