hinahon at panahon

by Yas Jayson Saturday, August 11, 2012 7 palagay home sweet home what matters most

Kanina, binati ko ang lola ko ng maligayang kaarawan.

"Happy birthday, Amma! Kamusta?"

"Eto awa ng Diyos eh nalagpasan ang baha. Dapat nandito ka, nakita mo sana."

"Pasensya ha. Mejo napalayo ang trabaho ko. Uwi ako ng October."

"Kelan? Anong araw?"

"Di ko po alam, basta October. Papasyal ulit tayo kaya wag kang magkakasakit ha."

"Oo naman. Ako pa. Salamat sa pagbati, anak."

"Teka, ilang taon ka na ba? Bilang mo pa?"

"Singkwenta."

Amma is 82 today and her birthday falls on the feast day of St. Clare. With advancing Alzheimer's disease, she would still vividly remember the boy that was I and perhaps still. That good, obedient and faithful boy she used to bring to kindergarten class. She celebrated her birthday today in the midst of the aftermath of the high floods in our Marikina home. But no disaster can dampen the faith of this little old woman. She would speak lively over the phone, even joking about our sorry condition. For this, I am grateful that I am her favorite grandson.

Amma's life of unwavering love and service to her family bears witness to the true definition of commitment. St. Clare put it this way:

What you hold, may you always hold,
What you do, may you always do and never abandon.
But with swift pace, light step,
unswerving feet,
so that even your steps stir up no dust,
may you go forward
securely, joyfully, and swiftly,
on the path of prudent happiness,
not believing anything
that would dissuade you from this resolution
or that would place a stumbling block for you on the way,
so that you may offer your vows to the Most High
in the pursuit of that perfection
to which the Spirit of the Lord has called you.
- from the letter of St. Clare to Agnes

Happy birthday, Virginia. To me, you will always be fifty or seventy or eighty two, as you like it.