‘THANK YOU FOR BEING YOU’
Dear Nanay,
I don’t think I’ve ever told you this, but I really admire how much you know what you want and fearlessly go after it. At the start of your marriage, you joined Tatay for a supposedly short trip which ended up lasting for a decade and a half, sealing your love-bond for the next 50 years.
You commit wholeheartedly to work—from selling encyclopedias, to managing the sales of computer support systems, to now, after retirement, writing about people you admire. I most admire the way you just always speak from your heart. And I am proud to take after both you and Tatay who wear your hearts on your sleeves, albeit we express emotions in different ways.
A core memory I have of how you suggest rather than impose was when you told me when I was a child how much you love okra, especially in sinigang. Without imposing, you made me love okra, which, I later found out, many people hate.
Nanay, you balance me out in a way that frustrates, but at the same time humbles me, which expands my understanding of angles of life that I do not see. For example, your constant posting on social media about experiences that I would otherwise want to keep private would often embarrass me. However, seeing “memories” of these posts after several years makes me appreciate how some events are indeed beautiful to remember. These occasions that my memory tucked away in inaccessible parts of my brain would resurface and make me see answers to puzzles about why things turn out the way they do.
So go ahead, keep posting about our days and keep tagging me. Though I know I would still keep rolling my eyes at these posts, I also know now that they will keep our family experiences alive even when our physical brain would no longer be able to hold on to memories, and even when our voices will no longer be around to tell stories to posterity.
So thank you, Nanay. Thank you for being you. For being all that you are, exactly as you are.
I love you,
Wei