On being 40 ...

They say that love is overrated .. Perhaps, yes. Just think that you cannot mold gold into something very pretty and exquisite if you do not heat it to melt it.

I am excited to go home on the 19th. It is my parent's 40th wedding anniversary on the 20th of this month and I heard that they want to renew their vows.

According to my dad, their marriage was not one made from heaven. Everyone in the clan knows that my mom is really tough, they say she's a real pain in the ass, stubborn and a bully. Through my Lola's story I learned that my mom's playmates will go home with their noses bleeding or their clothes torn after a fight. Stories that I do not actually believe because she is one soft person to me, very compassionate, caring and thoughtful. She gets us all four of her kids ready for school in a couple of hours (with the aid of my dad of course, he handles the cooking while my mom does all the school work and the clothes). Plus she has to work to send all of us to school.

My Lola told me that when my dad was asking for my mom's hand in marriage, Lola told my dad that Constance (my mom) is one tough nut to crack, oftentimes pushy and very stubborn. My Lola asked him if he can handle that. My dad still said yes...

For my dad, it is with my mom that he felt that it is time to stop running around. He loves my mom and he decided that he will spend the rest of his life with this woman... To make the story short, my dad experienced all what Lola told him about my mom. After giving birth, my mom will do nothing. All household chores are relegated to my dad for 4 months. He washes all the clothes (including diapers that has baby poop on it), cooks and cleans the house while my mom takes care of the baby. My mom said she did not hear any complains from my dad. Well, maybe it was his decision to take care of all the things that needs to be done inside the house. Nobody told him to .... he just did. They almost broke up but decided to get back together. My dad said he cannot leave my mom because he cannot imagine himself growing old without her... My dad got hospitalized and was diagnosed with acute lymphoma. My mom never left his side.

Until now I still see them tickling each other (at the kitchen) or their eyes will meet and they'll both smile. They still eat together nya dugay mahuman ang dinner or lunch kay nagtabi pa silang duha, giggling while talking.... My dad is 67 and mom is 64.

I have three siblings and we grew up complete. The girls and the youngest guy have mom's temperament. My kuya has my dad's soft character.... If I need to say something to my Nanay and Tatay, that would be Thank You...... because I am whole.