... remembering Mama...
I remember when I was little, I would watch "Land Before Time" with my siblings. It's a story about Littlefoot, who is orphaned when his mother is killed by a Sharptooth. Littlefoot is searching for the "Great Valley" where there is food and no Sharptooth. On his journey, he became friends with four dinosaurs: Cera,Ducky, Petri and Spike (my favourite - he's the youngest of all).
These 5 dinosaur friends survived adversity - being attacked and almost eaten by Sharptooth, earthquakes, volcanic eruption, being divided by opinions, etc. What kept them from focusing on their goal to find the 'Great Valley' is Littlefoot's mother, who (before passing away) told him how to get there and that she will be with him. When all hope is gone and Littlefoot is losing faith of ever finding the 'Great Valley', he saw a cloud that looks and sound like his mother. He followed the cloud which leads him to the Great Valley, where the rest of the dinosaurs are including Littlefoot's grandparents. And all dinosaurs were reunited with their family. "And they all grew up together in the valley. generation upon generation, each passing on to the next, the tale of their ancestor's journey to the valley long ago".
We would all bawl over this animated film and my youngest brother Tan-tan (he's probably 4 or 5 then) would cry and Mama would go to him and hug him. Mama would cry watching this one too. I miss her... I miss Tan-tan too... I miss Ate Lala... I miss Kuya Kokoy... I miss Ate Aleth... I miss Krey-krey... I miss Two-two... I miss Dad too. I miss our brother Gab too...
When Mama died, I felt numb. I worked, hardly ate, couldn't really sleep. For a while, I became neither happy nor sad. Just like what the song 'If we hold on together' said, I was truly out there in the dark. But it was around this time that I knew even more that we can be together forever with my Mama. "When we are out there in the dark, we'll dream about the sun. In the dark we'll feel the light, warm our hearts, everyone."
To my Mama... please watch over us, especially our dearest bunso Tan-tan as he continue his journey without your physical presence. Watch over Ate Lala as she starts her life anew...Kuya Kokoy as he bear his burden with great faith and compassion... Ate Aleth as she strives to make her house a home... Kuya Krey as he endeavor to help our family and establish his own... Two-two as she struggles to regain her faith in the gospel, in love and in life... Daddy as he struggles to be strong without you by his side... and to me... as I struggle to come to terms with the choices I made in my life.
We love you Mama...we know we can find you everywhere..."in the morning light, in the evening star, you're always there".
One of the many reasons that i stayed the course is because of Mama. She left us with good examples such as humility, faithfulness, long suffering and more virtues that we can emulate for us to be able to triumphantly endure to the end like she did. She taught me not to hate the sinner but the sin. She showed me that when life gives me a lemon, i can make a lemonade.
ReplyDeleteI know she is always here with us.