Caroleen’s Treasures

Today is my mom’s death anniversary. She went home to the Lord two years ago. I woke up early thinking about all that had happened on the day she died. My sisters and Daddy was there in our hometown and are having are little get-together with the relatives and some friends. They had “lechon” (roasted pig) and I am sure they had a great time together. I still feel sad not able to go home but Ella made our day and some unexpected visitors who came made us forget for a while what we are missing there in our hometown.

I thought Ella will forget about Teddy’s birthday but I was wrong. She woke up early and started to get everything done for Teddy’s birthday. She was telling me again that we should prepare for Teddy’s 5th birthday. Tatang came here early to wait for the other the members of the church who will attend the funeral in Davao. Tatang brought one 2 liter tupperware of “langka salad” (jackfruit salad) and we cooked two pots full of rice for everyone. While we are preparing for lunch, another batch of unexpected visitors came. A van full of people and it made me so scared. I worry about the food..that it might not be enough for us all. And the plates and silverwares as well as the glasses are outnumbered by the visitors. We let the visitors ate first then we and the members were the second batch on the table. What a day! I never experienced this before…to have many visitors and was unprepared. If only we had an early notice, we might have slaughtered the chicken of the neighbors wandering in the yard

In the afternoon when all of them left for Davao, I and Ella took a nap. Then it rained so hard again! I was praying that internet will not he disconnected. Donald went to the market to get food and he complained about not getting a ride from there to here so he walked home. I was feeling so hungry so we had an early dinner. Ella was still speaking about the birthday and was happy that Daddy prepared fried chicken tonight for Teddy’s birthday. She even prayed about it, thanking God for the wonderful birthday of her favorite toy.

As I write this post I was reminiscing how my dear mom loved us and Ella so much. To me she is the best mother and if I had to choose, I will choose her over and over again. I will share to you the story of my mom which I wrote for my other blog a few days ago……

My mom was born on July 13, 1947, 5th among 11 children of Timoteo and Memia Moya. I don’t know much about the life of my mom when she was growing up…all I knew was she was the only child who pursued her college. She begged to finish it and almost cried when her father told her she can’t. Women before should stay at home when they get married so there’s no reason for my mom to go to college. Since her other older sisters didn’t either. But through her persistence, she got her degree in Elementary Education at the University of Southern Mindanao. A state University in our hometown in the province Cotabato. She got an item to one of the schools in town and after 9 years of teaching, she met my father who was a soldier by then, and they married on May 6, 1979 when she was 29 and my father was 24. A year after they were blessed with a baby girl, Crislyn and two years after I was born. We went to school where my mom taught and I was so proud then that my mom was a teacher. When I was 8, she gave birth to my youngest sister, Cherelyn.

I grew up seeing my mom working so hard at home and at school. She was so dedicated to her family and to her profession. She would patiently stay up late at night to make lesson plans and woke before the rooster do to prepare for school. She was loved by all her colleagues…always smiling, always calm, patient, soft-spoken and kind. When a student couldn’t pay miscellaneous fees, she would pay for it without second thoughts. She would bring bag of gently used clothes to her student who don’t have decent clothes to wear and she made sure that all her students have snacks and if she sees one or two who have none, she will buy them food at the canteen. She was receiving check just enough and more often short for our needs but she amazingly knew how to deal with all these financial problems.

On October 2006 we received a message that she was in the hospital for stomach pain. My family are living 3 hour-bus ride from her and this made me feel like going home to see her and be with her. She seldom gets sick, thus making me more anxious to go home. The doctor said there is nothing to worry about. He said my mom has developed a blockage on her gallbladder that needs to be removed by surgery. My mom don’t want to miss a day at school so she asked if this could wait until after the school year (that will be in March or April). The doctor assured her that this could wait until that time. Not just one doctor but 3 different doctors assured her of this as they see nothing serious on her ultrasound result.

 In November when my mom was hospitalized for the third time, my husband and I talked about it and we decided to go home…for good…we left the city and our things. For the short time we have been there, I saw how she lost appetite…she lost weight and yet she seemed alright. She still goes to school early in the morning. And even she could eat lunch on the canteen which she normally does, she will come home just to see my daughter Ella. They will bond together and snuggle infront of the tv. After an hour she will leave for her afternoon class again and Ella will patiently wait for her. In the afternoon when my mom gets home, they will continue their bonding moment as if the world will end soon. They spent a lot of times together and my mom seemed to get strength from Ella’s presence.

I can see she was in pain, but she was silent about it. many times she lay on the floor watching tv and she’d ask me or Donald to massage her head and neck. It was February when her color become yellowish again and she complains on not able to turn her neck around. Yet on these days she still goes to school not wanting to miss a single day to teach her kids. Her coteachers noticed she sleeps a lot too during lunch break…’cos this time she doesn’t go home for lunch anymore…she wanted to sleep and she can’t do it at home since she can’t resist Ella’s charm. Days passed and she was still the same mom, so patient and loving and never complaining. She was taking medicine prescribed by her physician for the pain. I was telling her to undergo CT scan but we have no money for this procedure. Since we have no insurance and the PhilHealth doesn’t cover for this, my mom chose to wait for April for her surgery. I have tried to ask for help, I talked to people to loan me $125 for CT scan and I will work odd jobs for them so I can pay…but all turned me down. Donald went to the Mayor’s office to ask for medical assistance but received only referrals. Hospitals won’t do CT scan for free but gives a big discount to poor families…so this will cost only $125 which is half the regular fee. But $125 is hard to find..my mom receives her check with almost negative amount…she has loans being paid and have to buy prescriptions. In those days I can see the suffering and all we can do is take care of our food…we live with my mom and younger sister that time and I make personalized gift items, flour candies and rice muffins to sell. This made us eat and i was able to help out with my younger sisters allowance.

In April she was having fever and the neck pain severed. I asked her to go with me the following day for a check up and she nodded silently….in pain. I massaged her. I was happy that at last she agreed to go see a doctor. She always refuses the past days because I know she worries about money. Early the following day, I went to my aunt and ask for a $50 loan but with no luck. I went home in tears not knowing where to turn to. I was very grateful when my grandfather offered $60 so I told my mom to get dressed. We have waited for almost 2 hours for the specialist, this time we went to the nearby city to seek another opinion. The doctor checked on my mom and was calm to tell us he have found a lump on my mom’s tummy and this needs to be taken care of as soon as possible. He asked me where we are planning to bring my mom, I said in Manila (the capital city of the Philippines). My grandfather is a WWII veteran and he and his children are entitled for a big discount at Philippine Veterans Hospital. The doctor said we should bring her there the same day or the following day. I was alarmed. I prodded on why it has to be that urgent, he said this is because when my mom will get fever, it is hard for her to travel.

On the way home, we are both silent….I was thinking of how will my mom get to fly to Manila in this very short notice. We only have less than 24 hours to secure money. With my grandfather’s help, she was able to get tickets. The day my mom left was the last day I have spoken to her. Donald and Ella went with the van to the airport while I was chose not to go…It would be hard for me to see her go and I don’t want to see me cry as I know this will upset her too. My grandfather who is at that time seeking medical treatment too in Manila was her companion along with another aunt of mine. My dad was on his farm in Pagadian hundreds of miles away from our hometown, my older sister Crislyn was in Davao while me and my younger sister were at home. During those days I always carry this pain of lossing my mom. I am afraid! I am not ready for it neither do my family. But from the day my mom left, I knew then that we will loose her. I just don’t know when, but I know it will come.

Everyday we talk to her on the phone, I got to tell her not to worry about us especially her little Ella. She was even more ecited than frightened to have the surgery done. But just when she arrived in the hopsital, she had fever. This hindered her surgery. Days passed by and there is no improvement..it only got worst. I called my aunt and asked her to tell me with all honesty how my mom was doing….She broke inot tears and we cried for a while never knew what to say. She confided that my mom could not be operated because she needs blood transusion which certainly cannot be possible because of high fever. So this hit me! My mom needs us! She needs her family to be there beside her. I was told by another aunt to go and be with mom…half part of me wanted to but the other refuses….I am thinking of my sisters. I know my mom loves me too but I was thinking all the time that firstborn and the youngest are the ones closer to mother’s heart. And I don’t want my sisters to regret having not seeing my mom for the last days of her life….I wanted to go but I wanted to protect my sisters from tremendous guilt of not taking care and holding my mom. So I worked on everyhting for them to fly, I called my older sister to book two tickets and asked her to secure additional money as I am short of money…I am still waiting for a loan from the money lender in my mom’s school. Both my sister’s are not ready in loosing our mom, I told them that we should expect for the worst thing to happen. That we will prepare for whatever God has planned.

The hardest part of it was convincing myself that mom will get well, that she will be healed and walk home. Everyday God has made I was talking to Him of giving us strength to accept His will. I am praying that if my mom has really a cancer, then let it be but my plea is for courage and strength. I ws happy when I hear a word that my mom has improved when my sisters arrived in the hospital. The following day, my dad too flew from Pagadian to be with her. She was finally wheeled to the operating room after blood transfusion. The surgery took only less than an hour and I was surprised. We waited for two weeks for the biopsy result and it was the longest weeks of my life. After two weeks, the waiting is finally over. I received a call from my dad telling me in his saddest voice…that my mom has cancer of the gallbladder in fourth stage. Doctors already given up but we are still hoping for a cure….Donald saw about alternative medicine on tv and we called them in the hospital. My older sister and aunt went to the clinic to consult about my mom’s condition. They bought all the prescription and let mom take it. 

Everyday we called mom, we cheered her and tell stories about Ella then she and Ella will talk over the phone for minutes about Ella’s birthday which is coming up in a few weeks. Ella excitedly announces that “Mamang Eling” will buy her cake on her birthday. I was blessed that I have loaned money from the lender to send to Manila. When I called one afternoon, my mom’s voice was deep…it is like a voice coming from a hole….I was worried sick. I asked her why she lost her voice, and she reasoned out “it’s because of the medicine I am taking…it needs to be mixed in cold water…” The last conversation we had was all about my daughter Ella…about her birthday. Oh how my mom cares about her grandaughter’s birthday! She worries about it and I assures her that I will take care of everything….that Ella will have a party and that she will be home by then to celebrate with us.

On the day of their flight home, I was very excited as much as Ella and Donald. I have prepared my mom’s bed in the living room since I was told that she needs to be taken cared of when she gets home. I sewed a nice flowered curtain of her favorite color and bought a juicer to prepare her food. I also bought 2 nice pillows and sewed sheets and pillow cases. There are also 2 dozen of glasses for her visitors…I know she will have lots of visitors to come. I was so excited to see my mom again…Donald went with the ambulance to the aiprort, a 1 and a half drive from home. I almost jumped from my seat when I heard the ambulance coming. It’s 3:00pm when mom arrived home. I stood outside the house, waiting for the rear door to open. Ella screamed excitedly “Mamang Eling!!!!!!” as she ran to meet her. When the door was opened, I almost fainted. My mom lay on the stretcher with her eyes and mouth wide open…gasping for air. In an instant I called to the Lord to please take my mom NOW. She was dying. She could not recognize people. In the dawn of their flight she had seizure.

They lifted her to the bed I made….I was trembling yet I have to be strong for Ella. I told Ella it was her Mamang Eling but she refused…she said it’s not her Mamang Eling. My mom grew her hair long and gray hairs appeared on the forehead. She was so thin and frail. I tried to hold her but I can’t. I honestly could not bear seeing her dying. At 8pm I finally gained courage…my dad said I will go and talk to her….I sat beside her and stroked her hair. I began to whisper in her ear the words I have not said….the words that I have only written in letters and cards….the words that I am meaning to say for so long yet too ashamed to utter….I whispered over and over again the words I love you….and tears rolled from her eyes. I held her hands and kissed her. I don’t know how long I sat there whispering in her ears all the words I long to say….as I was saying those words, her tears kept rolling….twice she tried to move her hands as if she’s trying to say something. Ella and Donald came to stroke her and kiss her. Ella put on some powder on her hands and said I love you’s. As the night gets deeper, I talked to her more. I said not to worry about Ella, that I and Donald will take good care of her and try to give her all her needs. As I stroke her hand I promised her one more thing, that my younger sister can get her college diploma no matter what it takes. It was the last words I spoke…..another tear rolled down her cheeks and took her last breath. My mom died with a promise that I made. I leaned to kiss her one last time and whispered “Goodbye Mamang….rest and see you in heaven…”

My dearest Mamang Eling went home to the Lord on May 23, 2006 at 11:00pm. This is the moment I have proven how much God loves us. He did not let my mom suffer long, and He gave me a chance to hold my mother one last time. My mom could have died on the way home, but she endured….God gave her strength to be able to go home alive. My mom could have given up all the way home….but she sacrificed. She endured. Because she wants to protect me from tremendous guilt of not having to say the words I long to say and of not having to bid farewell. I may not have been there with her in Manila through her ordeal….but I was beside her, holding her until her last breath. This is such a great comfort to me.

She was buried  a day before Ella’s birthday….surely she was home to celebrate with us. She was home with the Lord.

I had a plan to go to Davao to get my eon card and packages for Ella in the city post but I had a bad feeling on leaving today so the trip to the city was postponed until tomorrow. I am bringing Ella along as Donald has Bible Study in the afternoon and her titas wants to see their niece. As we cannot go home for my mom’s death anniversary, might as well bring Ella along to see them. I really have to get my eon card because a friend of mine will help me sell in ebay. I need this for the ebay thing and I need to withdraw my first earnings from blogging too to pay for my computer.

I forgot to tell you that Ella spent almost half day in neighbor’s house yesterday while I was gone. The father of his friend Charlie celebrated his birthday yesterday and this little gate crasher of ours went there without our knowledge. They rented a videoke machine (a machine where you drop coins or token for the song to play) and the kids took turns on the microphone. The loud music goes on until the wee hour in the morning and I was praying that there will be power interruption (but not in our house!). I woke up early only to hear the loud music again :-(  Ella was saying she didn’t had the chance to sing yesterday. She is good in singing the song Narda and when she sees videoke machines she will grab the mike and request for her song Yesterday she just sat there, I asked why she didn’t sang and she said she don’t have five pesos to pay for one song. Poor Ella She was almost punished when she escaped again after asking her Daddy is she could play outside under the shed. Donald allowed her but she must not go anywhere…she went there and played with the wood blocks from the neighbor’s furniture shop. We are doing our own chores and we kept on checking her through the window. She was playing alone and seemed so occupied with it….moments later she was not there and nowhere to be found. We knew then where she went. Donald followed her in the neighbor’s house again and when he was about to give her punishment when she started blabbering…”Mommy the birthday of Charlie’s Daddy is not yet over…how come it was not? And oh…Daddy I saw the pigs in the pigpen and they all look the same! The baby pigs are pink and the mommy is pink too…but they don’t have a daddy in there…” What else could we do but turn away from her and giggle. She really has a new way to get out of trouble.

Another week has gone by…tomorrow will be Sunday again and Ella was so excited. She dug on her mini drawer to look for tomorrow’s outfit and when she was done she wiped her shoes and announced she will going to wear those and nothing else. Kids these days really knows what they want.

It was such a lazy Saturday. I felt so tired and sleepy the whole day. After a short nap, I cleaned the bathrooms while Donald prepared the chapel for the worship. Then I asked Donald to photocopy a picture from the story book. I will be teaching a lesson about Jonah. When Donald tried to copy on our 3 in 1 printer, it won’t copy! Since it’s getting dark, I started tracing the picture since the photocopying shops are closed. It took me so long to finish 12 pictures! I made Donald trace some for me and Ella helped too. We traced Jonah and the whale….but Ella’s drawing is more like a tadpole than a whale

Since we arrived here in the province Ella have seen things she never did see in the city. Like the bugs that keeps coming at night when the light was off; we have to attempt catching it a few times before dropping it on the chamber pot and the lizards that checks in our ceiling to wait for dinner. There was one night when a dragonfly was caught by two lizards…Ella was shouting and jumping in frenzy telling me to save the poor dragonfly. So I grabbed a hand towel and threw it up to the ceiling…the dragonfly fell and I scooped it to check. She has torn wing so I put it on the window so she could fly if she can (Ella told me it was a girl!).

Still disappointed to what she have seen, Ella was asking me that same night why the lizard don’t fell from the ceiling. I said it was how God made them…..hoping she won’t ask for a scientific explanation which I have yet to find in the internet in case she’d ask again.

Tonight, as Donald was off to dreamland, Ella was still trying to get my attention by asking questions out of nowhere….telling me stories about what she did at the neighbor’s house…this and that…I tried to look interested and keep switching my eyes from her and my pc. I told her to go to sleep since it’s almost 10pm, and she said: “Mommy, please lay beside me just for 2 days only…..” She might want to say 2 minutes? LOL So I crawled to bed and as I was stroking her hair, she screamed and jumped in fear. A lizard feel from the ceiling right to where she was! I tried to calm her down and she said : “Oh Mommy, the lizard has no more glue on his feet and hands….that’s why he fell…..” Now that answered her own question… LOL

I am having back and neck pains from yesterdays weeding in the back yard. After checking mails at 7am, I hide under the covers again feeling so cold and dead tired. Ella played in my pc the new game she discovered…I don’t know what it is called. All she says she have to drown the bad boys….that’s it. I just laid down almost all day getting up from time to time to check on opps but no luck

In the pm, Tatang and Inang dropped by in their way home to give Ella’s package from the States. A book for her birthday. I opened it already, a Dora book but will keep it until Ella’s birthday. After an hour, Tatang and Inang came back bringing quail eggs and chicken. I was thinking about these this afternoon and I was surprised how God knew I am dying to eat quail eggs and chicken So Donald fried the chicken and boiled the eggs. After dinner I worked in my pc while Donald and Ella had a review lesson on Phonics and spelling. Ella was very cooperative at first but made some excuses after a few minutes. Teddy was going to pee…or Teddy is hungry…so the class was dismissed ealry by the not-so-patient teacher and decided to make champorado instead. We crave for it for sooo long too and I have finally found a pure cocoa powder this afternoon. So our tummy will be really full and smiling

I stayed up the whole night and when I felt my eyes are shutting all by themselves I crawled to bed at 5:30am. Ella stayed.in.the.house.the.whole.day!!! That was a really great news! She kept her word Her colds is getting better and she just played in the house, napped in the afternoon and read her books before dinner. Maybe she was just so afraid of throwing up that’s why she didn’t insist on playing outside. She has been so afraid of throwing up since she was a baby. To her, it was like going to die! LOL So I have a great idea on how to keep her in.

Donald had a bible study with a family nearby. Same like yesterday, he studied the bible with a family too. Ella was making me crazy the whole afternoon about going to church. She keeps on telling me she want to go to church…..and I kept telling her that we will gather on Sundays to worship. She refused to listen, she just wanted to go to church right there and rthen and hear her Daddy deliver a message and sing her favorite church hymns “Send the Light” and “Beautiful”. And oh she was so sweet to tell me “I want to go to church because our class is very nice…you are our teacher…and the story is very good!!! Can Pooh be our story on Sunday?”

Oh and she has some reasons too why she wanted to go church…” Because I want to be with Daddy in the church…and because the church is just beside our house…and we won’t be late anymore like in Davao…and I will not be tired and fell asleep in the taxi….”

Well I agree! We won’t be late anymore!

I was still enjoying my internet up to this moment! No more long walks to the market to check mails on the internet cafe. It was just a relief from the stiff neck and the foul smell of the cafe. Some ar smoking inside and the others are just so selfish turning high the volume while they play….I suppose it should be airconditioned and that each has to have a headset. My neck hurts too. On the first cafe I went I was looking up for the monitor while the other cafe, I was stooping down. Then there’s this keypad that is soooo hard to press…as if it wasn’t been used for decades. The worst thing is it has no letter F! But anyway, I am still grateful that there’s internet cafe here in town.

Today, we woke up early. I checked mails first then went around the little rooms to organize stuffs while Donald went outside uprooting weeds again and Ella played with her new friends. I don’t know why I only accomplished to sort two crates of odd toys of Ella. These were from our old little house so she’s very much happy to see those again after two months of staying with my sister Crislyn’s parents-in-law. I put the toys that cold be played with other kids while the toys which were given to Ella as a gift or that of value has to be saved. So I let the kids play with the other toys. I am not being selfish, but last Saturday Ella cried because her bike’s seat was broken. The boy much taller and bigger than her kept on riding it, the next thing I heard was it broke. So I was just being careful of Ella’s toys since we can’t afford to buy for now.

So the kids went playing on the shed beside the house where we gather on Sunday School. Donald was on the side near them while I was in the front yard planting ornamental plants we have brought from Davao. As expected, a little boy broke a toy and Ella was just calmly saying to Donald that her toy was broken. When I went near to see if I can do something about it, she ran to the house crying. She was saying “My toy is dead! My toy is dead!!!” Instead of symphatizing with her, I broke into laughter. Her toy was really dead….Poor girl. I told her that it was just a toy and that’s why Mommy kept her special toys inside the house.

Oh by the way, the best thing living in the province is your neighbor knocks at your door with a bowl of “binignit” (it’s like a porridge with sticky rice, banana, sweet potatoes, sago - looks like tapioca, coconut milk and sugar). This is the place I like!

Yesterday, Ella played with two boys (I guess they are around eight or nine). When I woke up this morning, they are already on the adjacent lot waiting for Ella. I went outside to bring out the laundry that hasn’t dried and saw the two boys and two girls! So now it was multiplied and it scared. I told her this is not our house and she shouldn’t call the kids over to play. But Ella didn’t call them, they just appeared from nowhere. Maybe from the house at the back. The girls were also the same age as the boys I guess. What else could you expect for a girl who hasn’t played with REAL kids? She dashed outside upon hearing the commotion and was excited to see the girls. They played almost all day having just a few minute break for lunch. When Donald went to the mall to check my sister’s account (cause she couldn’t get off her online job) I sent Ella along to have two rides of merry-go-round and see some real kids. (And to send the girls home too) I felt guilty because when I try to explain my point, we ended up having this short battle of wits:

Me: Pauwiin mo na sila baka hinahanap na sila ng Tatay nila. Dito ka na sa loob maglaro (Send them home now, their father might be looking for them. Come play inside.)               

Ella: Mommy, gusto ko ng kalaro. (Mommy, I want somebody to play with.)                       

Me: Laruin mo si Carrot. (You play with Carrot)                                                                   

Ella: Gusto ko ‘yong nagsasalita….’Yong totoo. hindi naman nagsasalita si Carrot. Bakit kasi hindi pa ninyo ako bigyan ng kapatid…(I like one who talks…Carrot doesn’t talk. Why don’t you give me a baby sister…..)

That ends our debate. I lost. A.G.A.I.N.

Here’s a photo of Ella nd Carrot (Excuse the picture quality…I only used my cellphone here)

Anyway, there are things that I should be celebrating today. One is, my blog is approved by Link Worth. Yipee!!!  and I am working on my essay to submit for Academia Research. Hopefully, if my essay get approved I can earn $$$ for writing essays! And most of all, it’s my Daddy’s 54th birtdhay!  Well, he’s not with us in Davao. We rarely spent time togther since he’s in our small farm in Pagadian but we will see him on Mamang’s 2nd death anniversary in May. Daddy just loves living in the farm which makes him closer to nature. He loves fishing very much and I usually go with him when I was a kid. He taught me from hunting for worms in the backyard which I will put in my hook as a bait, to finding the good spot in the river to throw my string. We will leave the house early in the morning and have to walk a few miles to reach the river. My sister Crislyn never went with us since she just loves staying at home and my younger sister was just a baby then. My fish pole, which Daddy carefully made, has three hooks which catches three fishes in just one sitting. After a day of fishing, we will walk home when the sun sets with our catch of carps, tilapia and electric ells. Oh I missed grilled fish fresh from the river.

Daddy was then in the Armed Forces of the Philippines and he raised us in military way. We were not allowed to talk infront of the food nor we are not allowed to talk about other people’s lives. To him gossip is what average people does. “Mano” and the use of “po” and “opo” are a few things we couldn’t forget. Daddy is hardworking and very disciplined person. I didn’t hear him say unpleasant things to other people even how mean they are. But inspite of how good he is, Daddy is not a good businessman. He has tried different businesses and all failed. To him, when people couldn’t remit the day’s earnings he still gives them stocks for the next day. He always say “How can the pay their debt when they have nothing to sell today?” And this goes on and on until they couldn’t pay anymore the debt they owed him. When we ask him why he won’t go after them and demand for their payments, he would just answer “They will pay if they want.” Worst thing is, some of them even denied that they owe him money and he will just shrug and say “Bahala na ang Diyos sa kanila.” This we call Daddy’s CHARITY work.

I was meaning to write the other day about Pinoy Idol Audition at Cebu aired last Saturday but got preoccupied with other things. First and foremost, FULL BLOODED KAPAMILYA PO AKO But if one is watching GMA I also do….I am not paid naman to watch ABS-CBN but I just loved ABS-CBN so much. Kapamilya since birth. So much of that justification!

What struck me on the show is the blind girl who came from Bacolod. Although she didn’t get the yellow ticket to Manila, for me she is one great singer. She sings and looks like my best-friend Stephanie who also is blind. Here’s our latest photo. 

 Steph and I met 14 years ago. We were classmates in high-school. She still have her gift of sight and we spent so many hours having fun together. Chatting, eating, strolling…….We have totally different personalities but we clicked! She is a good listener while I am good talker. She can sing while I can’t I can draw and paint while she can’t She into boys while I don’t But we also have one thing in common. We both dance

After graduation in highschool, we parted ways. We occassionaly see each other during sem breaks and holidays. Each time we catch up for lost times. I was very happy when she was there on my wedding day (with my two other closest friends). She was one of my bride’s maids wearing her lavander gown and her sweet smile….

When I was seven months pregnant with Ella, we went to Cagayan de Oro and I got to see her there. Too bad that we just had a short talk but it’s worth it. At least I got to show her the wedding pictures. A year after, she and her boyfriend Jan planned to get marry but two months before their wedding they met a car accident which left her totally blind. 

Inspite of her condition, she tries her best to take care of her 3-year-old daughter (Oh, didn’t I tell you that they got married still?), cleans their room and do the laundry. When we are still living in Kabacan, she will send me a text message (Yes! She can send me messages through text) and I will be coming over for an afternoon walk, for a trip to the grocery store, to go find “ukay-ukay” ( which is our fave past time ) or just some girl talk.

Oh by the way, we had a fair weather today. I did the laundry and sat infront of my pc the whole day. Donald sent Ella to get something at the store and she came back with marshmallows too. In the afternoon, she played with her doll house for an hour, when she is done she puts it back on the crate and went to play outside.