Tuesday, March 30, 2004
//angels in our home
NOW here's one thing about me. I come from a family that's been broken apart, having been estranged from my father for several years now. I have sinced with my sister, two brothers, and my mom in a house we cannot call our own. We are a family that has never enjoyed the finer things life has to offer. To us, happiness was being together on a Friday night as Bal David sinks a buzzer-beating game winner for Ginebra. To us, a weekend getaway was driving to Calamba for a dip in this one public resort we always come back to, the one where my parents took me daily for my therapy after my close call with polio. The only time I spent time alone with any of my siblings was when I'd play a game of one-on-one basketball with any of my brothers, or taking the bus home from Manila with my sister.
Our family has gone through so many pains, heartaches, challenges, and from those tumultous times, so many things have changed. If there was one thing I have always been thankful for, it was the fact that none of us ever went astray. We all have stable jobs now, and we take turns taking the family out to dinner at Dampa.
But the most important blessings we have received so far came in installments. The first one in 1999, right after I graduated from college. His name is Mark Jared. Almost my namesake, he was the most special to me. Stuck at home trying to concentrate on my board review, I had to balance between my books and babysitting him. My older brother, and my sister-in-law are nurses, and they couldn't afford to employ a yaya at that time. By the time Red was starting to walk, I was an expert at changing diapers, preparing the right formulation for his milk, and making him fall asleep on my chest as I lie down reading my reviewers.
Kaye came next. I can still remember the first time I met her. Peacefully sleeping in her crib, my mom picked her up and showed her to me as I practically crashed through the doorway one Saturday in February 2002. My mom, curiously, presented her to me while making a "tada!" sound as if she was a pigeon she pulled out of a hat. From that day on, Kaye was the most frequent visitor of my bedroom.
Seven months later, Bea and Green came three days apart. Bea has my grandfather's eyes and had features of a baby version of my younger brother, while Green is a clone of my older brother. Bea was so hard to please, which makes it such an overwhelming experience to be able to cradle her in my arms without her protesting. Green is mysterious, quiet, and almost stoic. Making him smile can just take your breath away.
Last December, Lance was born, and completed the current cast that made up our family. One can't help but see an athlete in him, having features that reminds you of your classic quarterback in those teenie-bopper american movies.
The size of our family practically doubled over the past 5 years. Having been blessed with 5 little angels, there is so much love, so much happiness in our family that we just might have to move out soon, because that house we couldn't call our own, is just too small to contain all the joy.
Now I might not be the luckiest person in the world when it comes to romantic love. But have I learned that the purest form of love is best experienced at home, watching my 5 little angels play, and having them sleep beside me at the end of the day. And it is during those moments, feeling the gentle, peaceful breathing of a child sleeping under my protective embrace, that I feel that I am capable of experiencing love, in its truest, unconditional state. It's like being touched by an angel.
Our family has gone through so many pains, heartaches, challenges, and from those tumultous times, so many things have changed. If there was one thing I have always been thankful for, it was the fact that none of us ever went astray. We all have stable jobs now, and we take turns taking the family out to dinner at Dampa.
But the most important blessings we have received so far came in installments. The first one in 1999, right after I graduated from college. His name is Mark Jared. Almost my namesake, he was the most special to me. Stuck at home trying to concentrate on my board review, I had to balance between my books and babysitting him. My older brother, and my sister-in-law are nurses, and they couldn't afford to employ a yaya at that time. By the time Red was starting to walk, I was an expert at changing diapers, preparing the right formulation for his milk, and making him fall asleep on my chest as I lie down reading my reviewers.
Kaye came next. I can still remember the first time I met her. Peacefully sleeping in her crib, my mom picked her up and showed her to me as I practically crashed through the doorway one Saturday in February 2002. My mom, curiously, presented her to me while making a "tada!" sound as if she was a pigeon she pulled out of a hat. From that day on, Kaye was the most frequent visitor of my bedroom.
Seven months later, Bea and Green came three days apart. Bea has my grandfather's eyes and had features of a baby version of my younger brother, while Green is a clone of my older brother. Bea was so hard to please, which makes it such an overwhelming experience to be able to cradle her in my arms without her protesting. Green is mysterious, quiet, and almost stoic. Making him smile can just take your breath away.
Last December, Lance was born, and completed the current cast that made up our family. One can't help but see an athlete in him, having features that reminds you of your classic quarterback in those teenie-bopper american movies.
The size of our family practically doubled over the past 5 years. Having been blessed with 5 little angels, there is so much love, so much happiness in our family that we just might have to move out soon, because that house we couldn't call our own, is just too small to contain all the joy.
Now I might not be the luckiest person in the world when it comes to romantic love. But have I learned that the purest form of love is best experienced at home, watching my 5 little angels play, and having them sleep beside me at the end of the day. And it is during those moments, feeling the gentle, peaceful breathing of a child sleeping under my protective embrace, that I feel that I am capable of experiencing love, in its truest, unconditional state. It's like being touched by an angel.
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