Growing Up

Dad's been gone for almost two years now. I realized that today when Mom pointed it out during her lunch birthday celebration. I was a total mess two years ago when the doctor gave us the bad news. Dad was going to go whether we liked it or not and he was ready for it. I wasn't.

So many things have changed since that time. I moved to Singapore. Miguel's in university. Another uncle passed away. I didn't know that there would come a time you have to double up and be stronger, not only for yourself, but also for a parent.

I've always been the baby in the family (still am!), but my parents always had to get me out of trouble whenever I called for help. When Dad got sick I realized it was time to fully fend for myself and my own family. I didn't want to burden my Mom with trivial matters in my life since she had her hands full taking care of my Dad.

I'm home now for Christmas and will be focusing on my family only for the next few weeks. It feels like I've been away for such a long time and I was surprised to see our choir babies have grown up so fast. The little boys who we used to scold because they were too fidgety during mass are now all taller than me. The little girls have now become conscious about how they look and have been styling themselves whenever they hear mass. Me and my housemate (who's also my neighbor in Manila) can now look back at the crazy things we used to do when we were growing up.

Growing up ain't that bad... except for the bills that keep coming every month! I can say that I love my age now because I've gotten rid of being angst-y, emo whenever I face "disruptions". Of course there are days when I still get blue and mope-y, but life is such and must be lived with faith and love.

Happy birthday Mom! Things are turning out quite like what you've always wanted it to be. I love you.