What I Did on My Mom's Birthday

Yesterday would have been my Mom's 88th birthday. We would have had a feast a home with her favourite food. Of course, there would be cake and her favourite drink, Coca Cola. Original variant, non of those nonsense Zero she'd say. 

I wanted to have a feast. Originally planned to have an online party with my siblings, but I wasn't feeling well. We ended up just celebrating on our own minus the cake and drink since my doctor hasn't lifted my sweet food ban yet.

Photo by Kuya June

For a few weeks before I got sick, I got help from a decluttering coach. They helped me sort the stuff in my childhood home. I brought home a few boxes and had a box of Mom's sewing stuff just a few feet away from my sewing table. I brought it home in late October, but I couldn't sort it because Mom's stuff is sacred. She told me when I was growing up that it's a no-no to go through things that are not yours. 

I looked at the box every single day it's been sitting a few feet away from me. I told myself when I was in the hospital I need to get going with it because there's a gazillion more boxes I need to go through. 

And that's what I finally did yesterday. I went through the first box. It contained mostly office supplies and Mom's collection of scissors. I told the team I wanted to know how many scissors Mom owned. So they collated it for me.

Twenty six pairs of scissors. Plus six if you include my art scissors set. I think there's more in her sewing boxes since I didn't see those I bought for her for cutting fabric. I counted to prove that I collect scissors because Mom told me that you can never have enough pairs of scissors, haha. 

She also had a gazillion rulers, but I didn't count that anymore. I also have a lot of rulers already, so I'll donate some since I only really use a few for my crafts. 

Mom would be happy I finally got around to sorting the first box. It took me the whole day because I cleaned each item. At the rate I'm going it'll take me two years to finish all the boxes, haha.

Happy birthday in heaven Mom. Miss you.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Mom's Unfinished Quilts and Her Favorite Patterns

Found a bunch of unfinished quilts in Mom's bedroom last week. Some already had wadding on it, but I guess she was still looking for backing fabric to use. Some looked like the beginnings of a huge blanket. She was the one who taught me to keep my hands busy. A testament to that is one of the blankets she made from scrap fabric. She didn't put any wadding in it, so we're using it for part of our sala set for now. 

Mom loved to follow patterns from a book. She'd make templates using a thick folder. That's how she taught me the basics of quilting. Her favorite pattern was the fan block quilt. I've never tried making it. The curve makes it tedious to make. Mom loved it though and would even make it with lace. 

If Mom wasn't making fan block quilts, she's be making circle blocks. It's even harder. I remember she tried to teach me how to make it and it was really challenging. Another pattern she also likes making is the basket block. I remember she got this pattern from the one quilt book we used to own. 

I think Mom's favorite block are half-squares. She's made a number of quilt blankets out of her half-square projects. She likes it because she just uses scrap fabric. Whenever we went to spotlight she only liked buying fat quarters and refused to buy fabric by the yard. I think she was fascinated with combining colors and she was good at it. 

I just took photos for now of the unfinished quilts since I'm sure there are more at home. Mom had the habit of using baskets for her different projects. She'd leave it around the house and work on it wherever she decides to hang out. If she wasn't gardening, she was probably quilting and sometimes that made it hard to contact her. Don't ever call her when she's in the zone, LOL. 

#BeKind #StaySafe 

I Didn't Know Mom Kept a Lot of My Childhood Things

We've been working on decluttering Mom's home the past few weeks. The team breezed through the common areas of the house, but things slowed down when they got to Mom's room. I was told that Mom really had a lot of knick-knacks. 

I went over to inspect the sorted boxes and was surprised to see a lot of things from my childhood. She kept all my piggy banks, my Hello Kitty mirror and comb set, my first sewing kit, my Millionaire's Game play money etc. I had thought they were long gone already. She had been nagging me to get my piggy banks since I got home. I didn't because my house was a huge mess. I made space for it already, so I got some of it. I know the rest she kept in a cabinet we haven't opened yet. 

Told my siblings I found our inheritance, LOL. 

What also surprised me was seeing the table by her bedside with my first communion photos. It wasn't there the last time I visited her at home, so she must have put it there recently. She must have been praying hard for me since I was getting sick a lot before she passed away. 

I've also started going through the papers she left behind. A lot are Dad's stuff. My Mom was really good at organizing things especially paperwork. All I need to do for now is change the envelopes they're stored in. Most of the papers are properly labelled and I'll find time to scan them. The photos though will be a huge monster to tackle since Mom loved to frame photos. Will hopefully be able to save them. And that's a different scanning project, let's see if my old HP printer will hold up, haha. 

I think Mom hung on to my things because I lost a lot during typhoon Ondoy. It broke my heart because most of the things I lost were items I bought with my hard earned money. My heart was heavy on the way to my childhood home. I didn't really want to see my Mom's things sorted in boxes, especially the ones in her room. My sadness though turned to joy when I saw how Mom painstakingly preserved my things. She'd been wanting to give some to me the past few years. I didn't want to since my house was (is!) still messy. She probably wanted to show how much she loved me by keeping my stuff. 

Oh, and it was a very hot day when we went. It surprisingly started to rain when we parked in front of the house. I guess, Mom wanted us to stick around for awhile. The rain made the house a bit cooler :)

#BeKind #StaySafe 

Au Revoir, Mom

Dear Mom, 

I haven't been to your wake and will also miss your interment today. I promptly got sick after I made arrangements to bring you to your resting place. I immediately took a nap after eating late lunch when we got home. Rested the next day and then I got sick. I guess you wanted to keep me safe since people in our circle left and right started to get sick too.

I would also not survive seeing you off and I never want to think about you being gone. I know, I know crying would not do me any good. It would make matters worse. So I will stay home, drink my meds and rest as you wish. I will come visit you and Dad soon. 

I know you're watching over us Ma, but please no more pranks ha like burning down your altar*. I already reminded your helper not to skip watering your plants. I also prayed for rain which came the day after. It was short and sweet, but enough to drench the plants. Honestly have no idea how to keep your garden beautiful Ma. 

Love you forever Ma. I know I'm your favorite because you knew you trained me well to take care of everything. 

Your favorite child,

Aileen

*Yes, Mom's altar burned the day after she passed away. Surprisingly only one Sto. Nino was partially scorched because the candle fell over it. All her Mama Mary figures were okay. Luckily the fire was addressed immediately and no one was hurt.

 

Mom for 27 Years

It wasn't easy for us. I was a single mom for over a decade. I was lucky though because I had Mom and Dad who were always there for us. And now Miggy is 27 years old. It's been a long arduous journey for us. It was just the two of us, then Jay joined our little family, tumultuous years when I moved to Singapore and eventually we decided to all live in Singapore. The hardest part was when Miggy decided to go back home after his studies. Being empty nesters was the worst thing ever. 

Good thing I took a break and was able to be with Miggy. What we didn't know was we'd be apart for almost two years because of the pandemic. And that's probably what broke me. Miggy has always been and will always be my powerhouse. He is the miracle that keeps me going. 

I guess other moms can easily understand what I mean. We carry our child for 9 months and would protect them with our life. What I realized when we became empty nesters, I cannot live without Miggy. Being apart for two years was more than enough time for him to be free (haha). I cried when I finally got to hug him after quarantine. 

My Mom played a huge part when Miggy was growing up. He was always with her when I was at work. She was the doting lola and there were times he'd prefer to be her because I was the disciplinarian. I must say he is the favorite apo because he's the one who she sees all the time (everyone else is abroad). 

Through the years my Mommy skills have grown and developed. We're now on a different path since he's already an adult. He takes care of me now more than I take care of him. One thing will never change though, our bond and love for each other. 

Love you forever Miggy. Thank you for making me a mom. 

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

Mom is 86!

"It's surprising I reached this age," Mom said after I greeted her a happy birthday. She peered at the candle on her birthday cake and told me she can't believe she outlived her siblings. She was a sickly child and had a heart condition. Our neighbors always tell me that they admire my Mom for being strong for her age. They still see her watering her plants every morning. 

One of the reasons I decided to come home is because of my Mom. All of us were abroad and it was the easiest for me to move back home. And today we got to celebrate her 86th birthday at our new home. We ate lunch together with my Kuya and his family via VC. It's really different when you're physically together. We were only able to send her flowers and food for almost two years. Now I can just go see her anytime, get hugs and bottomless kwento. 

Mom at 16.

My Mom is the strongest person I know in the whole wide universe. What powers her is her faith and garden. She always does something in her garden everyday. She waters it, prunes plants or gives instructions to a gardener to do heavy lift trimming. She never wants to part from it. Her garden loves her back because it's built on love. I've been trying out her daily workout of watering plants. I get so wiped out after, I normally have to rest after haha. Mom's lungs are probably stronger than mine. 

Whenever I feel down I think of my Mom and how she manages to pull through anything. I can't imagine how she was able to take care of all her siblings and Dad when they got sick. She also took care of me after my heart surgery (she was 78 at that time). All those years when she was sickly as a child and living through the war must have made her really resilient. 

So one of my goals is just to keep Mom happy. Sister Lirio told me to be good at taking care of her. I am drawing power from that and it's helping me improve everyday as well. Maybe in a week or two watering our pocket garden wouldn't be a heavy workout for me anymore, haha. 

As my Mom always tells me, "Life is just like that, it's a cycle. People would just come and go. Just live through it. " 

I love you Mom! I thank God everyday because you're my Mom. Happy birthday! 

#Home36 #NewG210 #Xmas18 #StayHome #BeKind   

10 Reasons Why I Bought a Chromebook

The last time I bought myself a laptop was in 2013. I had a rocky relationship with that laptop because it started deteriorating just before it turned one. The keyboard became unusable and had to be changed. Good thing it was still under warranty, but it was never the same after that. I still used it until early last year even though some keys were not working anymore. 

Oh yes, I'm a cheapskate when it comes to purchasing devices. It takes me years to decide to buy something new. Instead of buying I would use Sweetie or Miggy's discards until the laptop dies on me. I'm not fussy when it comes to devices as long as it works smoothly. I realized I probably spent more usage time on Miggy's old Toshiba Chromebook (2015) than on my 2013 laptop. Why? Because the Chromebook never gave me any headaches. I turn it on and boom I can do my tasks seamlessly. 

It was like Christmas when I received my first Chromebook. It was just there sitting on my desk. I started using it immediately. It was the first Pixel Chromebook. It was heavy but a beauty. I've had it for more than 5 years now and it still works! I fell in love with it and used my Mac less and less and one day just completely stopped using it. I realized I could do everything on the Chromebook anyway. 

The Chromebook has been perfect for me. Here are the reasons why I super love Chromebooks:

1. No maintenance needed. It updates by itself and just tells you to restart when needed (which is rare!).

2. It doesn't make me wait to use it. I turn it on and tada I could immediately do my stuff on it. 

3. You can do anything using a Chromebook. I write, edit videos, do social media etc. on it. There are a gazillion apps you can use from the Chrome Web Store and Play Store (Android). 

4. Amazing battery life. You can just go on and on. 

5. It's lightweight. I'm not allowed to carry heavy stuff so the weight has been perfect for me. 

6. It just keeps running! I have the gen 1 Samsung Chromebook which I got in 2014. It still works! Actually all my Chromebooks still works. 

7. You can work seamlessly on any device. 

8. In my experience, any Chromebook brand is good. I've used the Pixel (gen 1 and 2), HP, Samsung, Toshiba, Acer, and Asus. It all worked for me. 

9. I never needed servicing for any of my Chromebooks. They all still work! 

10.  I feel secure when I use a Chromebook. Do you know Google pays money if you're able to hack it's browser? (News here).

So after 8 years and using Sweetie and Miggy's old devices I finally decided to gift myself with a new laptop. I got a new Lenovo Thinkpad Chromebook C13 Yoga. Reasons on why I got this device are here. It's supposed to be the Chromebook for grown-ups. It's a bit pricey, but I decided to invest on this Chromebook because I expect it would beat the number of years of service my 2013 laptop gave me (7 "good" years). I hope to have many years of happy time on this Chromebook. 

Oh, here's my unboxing video!

Day 18 Minimalism challenge, Go out without your phone. Oh this is something I can't do. I need to have a phone with me all the time in case of an emergency. Maybe I should remember to use my medical bracelet whenever I go out!

CB///*Yr2/129 #StuckAtHomeDay/Yr2/152 #NewG317 #Home75 #StayHome #BeKind