May 10, 2015

Four women of my life: my Mother-In-Law, my Aya, my Nanay, and my Mamang

Mother's Day is a very special day for me, not only because I am a mother myself, but also because this is a great opportunity for me to thank my mothers/grandmothers and treat them extra special today. All mothers who took care of their children deserves a good Mother's Day, not necessarily by getting them expensive gifts but by making them special in any possible way you can.

I knew a lot of Moms but there are four most influential mothers in my life. I've learned so much from them and I am the mother than I am now partly because of them. This Mother's Day won't be complete without recognizing the mothers of my life. And they are....



"Mother-In-Law"

We may not be blood-related, but she accepted and loved me as her own. She remembers everyone's preference and tries her best to accommodate them all. She's very thoughtful. She always make sure we feel special, especially on our birthdays. She helps whenever she can. She supports us. She is very loving and kind.

I could say that I'm lucky for having her as my husband's mother because not all mother-in-laws are as good as mine (thus, Monster-In-Law was created). Though, she hasn't been a part of my life for very long time yet, but with how good of a person my husband is, I knew that she is great mother!

"Aya"

She is my father's mother. Aya doesn't translate to anything in the Philippines but for me and my brothers, that means grandmother. Aya was one of a kind! We only see her a few times a year but each visit was worth it. They're very poor financially but she is very rich with love and kindness for everyone. She is the whole town's grandmother. She doesn't have a lot of money but she managed to buy us things we wanted out of what she has in her house to make our stay more pleasant. She is full of joy! And despite her old age, she is very strong and full of energy. She loves to dance and sing Visayan song that each time I hear them, all I could think of is how she sang them from her heart. Before she died, she has been bed-ridden for a couple of weeks and lost her memory, but she remembered her songs.

She is our one and only Aya but she is a grandmother to all!

"Nanay"

She is my mother's mother. Nanay is another term for mother in the Philippines. Though she is our grandma, we grew up calling her Nanay, same way my mother and her siblings addressed her. She has a very strong personality which helped me toughen up when I was a kid. Everyone's scared of her because of her tone of voice and I ain't one of them. Though we have a lot of misunderstand (probably due to us having similar personality), but I can feel her love and care for me the whole time. She is not the traditional grandma who spoils their grandkids and showers them with gifts, not because she doesn't want to, but because she couldn't afford it. She was widowed at a very young age and never remarried again which taught me a lesson of faithfulness to your spouse. She lived with us most of her life and saw us grow and have our own family. She loved her great grandchildren much more than how she loved her grandchildren, and even her own children. She has a huge love behind her tough personality and we love her for that.

Though she is no longer with us, she will forever remain in our hearts and will be forever remembered as our tough Nanay!


"Mamang"

She is the woman who's blessed with a very special daughter (me), as how she says it. I've known her before I met other human being.She may not admit it, but we all know that I was her favorite. She spoiled me (with the help of Papang). She can be controlling at times, but I know it was her way of protecting me, straightening me up, and making sure that I stay in the right path. Everything that she did was for my own good. She sacrificed for me. She never left my side. She was my best friend, yet my best enemy. There were times that I despised her, and I regret every single time that I did. She'd forgiven me over and over again, no matter how many times I wronged her. She was selfless for me, my brothers, and her grandchildren. She gave us her all - her love, kindness, tears, and faith. She never failed to understand us, even though it hurt sometimes, but it was her way showing that an argument is not worth anything. She was proud of our accomplishment, though our failures saddens her, it wasn't enough reason for her to change the way she loved us.

Like any other Mothers, she isn't perfect but she sure loves me, my brothers, and her grandchildren the best way she knows how.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL THE MOMS OUT THERE!

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