I Love My Ma!

My Ma is approaching eighty years old soon and beautiful as can be in every way. Extremely head strong and determined, sweetly thoughtful and sentimental, sharp and intelligent, she is the most admirable person I know and love dearly. She is my s/hero and I can only hope to be half the woman that she is.

When Dad died, I was a one year old baby and my sister was three years old. It was Ma who raised us as a single parent, nurtured us till we were ready to fly out of the nest, and to this day continues to support us in every way imaginable. Ma went through so many challenging times in her life: a fire that burned down our house to nothing, leaving our family with not much more than literally the clothes on our backs; a raging flood that went through town, totally washed away our home, carried it a distance down the river, and again, left us with not much more than the clothes on our backs. Through all these times, she remained strong and always managed to give me and my sis the best possible life.

The top ten reasons why I love my mom:

1. When I was very young, for as long as I can remember, in spite of a very tight budget, Mom always made Christmas the best celebratory time ever. She stayed up really late many nights before the day, (after working at a full time job and running a few small businesses) sewing new dresses for her girls. She even made little adorable hair ribbons to match. On Christmas eve, we stayed up late at night cooking all sorts of yummy goodies, from Filipino tamales, to yam cakes, cassava pudding, and more, while we waited for midnight mass. On Christmas day, we visited friends and family and collected so many cash gifts that it made me feel so rich.

2. She always made the best dishes to eat, experimenting with new recipes and doing it with joy in her tiny kitchen. She even peeled shrimps and cracked crab legs for me and my sister during meals. She took so much delight in seeing us enjoy her cooking.

3. When my sister and I got in trouble for ditching school, she was called into the principal's office. She lied to the school, saying she gave us permission to skip so we can run errands for her. :-) (P.S. - We were very good students!)

4. For the few years that my sis and I were in college, on weekends when we didn't go home, Ma made sure we were nurtured and fed. She cooked loads of our favorite dishes, packed these into carrying bags, and hopped on public transportation to visit us. At that time, buses were not air conditioned and she had to endure 2-3 hour trips in the heat.

5. She tolerated my radical political activism that I got involved with in high school, allowing me express my beliefs that were important to me. I knew she was very nervous when I mouthed off to a political goon armed with an armalite, but she was proud of me.

6. When I was in an BIG oratorical contest in high school, I didn't want her to attend because it was going to make me nervous. (Yes, I was not very nice at all) She didn't give me a hard time about it though I swear I saw her sneak in at the back of the auditorium to watch me.

7. She took us to the movies even when she hated movies and always slept in them.

8. When I was going through my marital breakdown and just had my baby, she took six months off from work to be with me and help me get settled. She allowed me to be weak when I was tired and weary of being so strong in the midst of my life's drama.

9. When I was going through some very emotional problems recently, she'd tell me over the phone, "You are strong, you can handle this." It was about the only thing that made me hang on and overcome.

10. She loves to share her recipes with me. I truly enjoy the many long phone chats when she and I share over the phone discussing what to make for dinner or special occasions.

And there are so many more reasons why I love Ma. But in a nutshell, I love Ma because she is the epitome of a caring, thoughtful, and giving woman. In addition, she also possesses the strength of spirit, mind, and determination that set a great example for the next generation of women in our family.

There are no words adequate enough to describe just how much I admire, respect, and love my Ma.