A Poem for My Mom

My mother, Lolet  Pineda Siquijor, circa 1953.

Yesterday was my mother's 80th birthday.  Our family  joined my father in  an intimate celebration held last Saturday  in  Lucban, Quezon-- my parents' hometown, popular for  the May Pahiyas Festival.

That Saturday, we attended a   thanksgiving mass  offered at  5 pm at Lucban's  San Luis Obispo Church.   The celebrant was Fr.  EJ  Jarapa, with whom I was able to speak days earlier.  I  gave  him a short  background on my mother-- that her nickname is Lolet,  that she was a  high school teacher for more than 20 years before  working at the head office of the Commission on Elections, that we are a family of seven children-- three of whom are based abroad.

My youngest sister Aurora flew in from New Jersey last Friday evening.  I was glad that four of my siblings and I, together with our families, were able to gather for the occasion.   My parents and   3 of my siblings  are based in Manila, we had to take  a  drive to Lucban,  leisurely done in   about 3 hours.

Dinner reception was held at Patio Rizal Hotel  located near the town square.  I served as program host.  After the  entertainment numbers by  four  grandchildren, I asked all the guests to introduce themselves.   Some pleasant revelations were made by my mother's high school  classmates-- my mom  wrote well, she  excelled in Algebra  and she was into indoor baseball when she was in her teens.  She was part of her school's  all-female baseball team that was  the  champion in Lucban circa 1948.

From the looks  on their faces-- my children were awed to learn about these details from my mother's youth.  They were delighted  to see faded photos of my mother and our family in the video prepared by my nephew Zach.

But to me, the  most memorable  part of that Saturday evening was  after the party when I read-- in the privacy of our hotel room and before my family--  the poem that my father wrote for my mother.   I did not know before the party that my father wrote  one and that  a copy of it was placed by my sister Pinky  in each of the gift pouches given to all the guests.

Below is the full text of this  heartfelt poem by my father, who will turn 81 come December.

                        "To My Darling Wife, Lolet"        

           On your birthday today

                  I cannot start with what to say

                To my mind there are plenty

                But I will make it short and briefly

             Lolet, you are everything to me

              With you around, everything is bright and rosy

          Remember last May,

         it was our Golden Wedding Anniversary

       And for the whole world to see

      That we have overcome trials and adversity

      Having raised seven children is not easy

           But thank you Lord, they are all now professionals

         And living comfortably with their own families

       And if ever reincarnation is really true, I want again to be with you

          And have the same loving and caring children

         To experience the same joy, laughter and ordeal

           that we have gone through.

With  love always, 
Abe

Please join me and our family  in saying a prayer of thanks to the Lord for the blessings received by my parents Abelardo and Lourdes Siquijor.  Thank you.

A Golden Wedding Anniversary on the Day the World was Predicted to End

May 21, 2011 is  memorable to me not because it was the day someone-- unfortunately hyped by media-- predicted that the world would end, but because it was my parents' 50th Wedding Anniversary.

It was touching to see my parents renew their vows during the evening mass at Metro Club Makati that was officiated by my  priest friend-- Fr. Rodel Paulino,  incoming parish priest of the Presentation of the Child Jesus in BF Homes Paranaque.   At the end of the rites, my parents  sweetly kissed before an intimate group of family and relatives.

Fifty years is a long period of time  to have and to hold someone.  Such length  of togetherness is  a testimony to the Lord's goodness and faithfulness. 

The Lord has indeed been good to my parents.  My father, now 80 years old,  would always say that one of his achievements in life is  his having  all his  seven children sent through college.  He would gleam whenever he enumerates the schools where we his children graduated from--here mentioned in alphabetical order-- Assumption College Makati,  Ateneo de Manila, La Salle-Taft,  Mapua Institute of Technology, St. Scholastica's College, University of  the Philippines- Diliman and University of the Philippines-Manila.  He recognizes that it is a  great blessing from the Lord for him and my mother, considering that both of them were  not into business but in  government service-- and this I must say-- honest government service.

To me, my parents are  much more accomplished than that.

My mother, now 79,  suffered a major stoke in July 2009.   Since then,  she has undergone  extensive therapy  and today, she is up and about.  She still goes through speech therapy and needs assistance, specially clearing  the stairs.  Through all these,  my father would almost always be  by her side.

One morning last month,  when I made an unannounced visit to my sister Pinky's place where my parents now reside--  I went straight to my parents' room.  The door was open  and  as I stepped into their room, I saw my father  helping my mom put on a blouse while my mom was seated on an  edge of  their bed.    I greeted them and my father smiled at me  while he  was reaching for a comb to fix the hair of my mom,  whom he assisted  in getting  a bath.

While we were conversing, my father was  gently combing my mom's hair.   My father was not aware that  beyond his words to me,  I was listening to his language of love to my mother.  That language was service and devotion.

Yesterday, as I watched my family and relatives celebrate my parents'  anniversary, I  knew that my parents had lessons to share with us. Those are the kind of  lessons taught not   through mere words but through those quiet moments   of love and affection that I have been privileged to take  glimpses of.

Thank you, Ma and Pa....

My parents on their 50th Wedding Anniversary, 21 May 2011