'Tay, first honor po ako!

The news was enough for me to jump for joy and somersault in exultation. My heart was leaping as my nine-year-old niece Paopao broke to me the news over the phone that her cousin Gabby, who just turned six, is graduating first honor in her kindergarten class in a public school in Laguna. This piece of good news spread like wildfire. Every member of our family was so into it that Globe and Smart â€â€Â because we live far away from each other â€â€Â was part of our early celebration.

Gabby, with her two-year-old sister Alex, enjoys special attention from everybody, their cousins included. Everyone checks on them because their father â€â€Â my younger brother Odick â€â€Â is an OFW in Doha, Qatar working as a cook in a Filipino restaurant. Sure my sister-in-law Arlene can take care of Gabby and Alex but in the absence of my brother in their home, we take it as a responsibility to lovingly watch over them. This system perfectly works for all of us.

Since Gabby will be the, ehem, star of her graduating class, she needs to deliver her valedictory address. Almost everybody in my family was contributing an idea or two how the speech would go. But Gabby declared that I would be the one to write her speech. "Kasi kayo naman po talaga ang writer sa family," she reasoned out.

For hours I was contemplating on what to write. I knew what to say but I found it hard to put myself in Gabby’s shoes. I am a 35-year-old guy who, that moment in time, had to think like a six-year-old girl. So, to help me solve this happy problem I called Gabby on her mother’s mobile.

"What do you want me to write in your speech, Gab?" I asked our little girl.

"It’s up to you, Papa Büm," she quickly replied.

"No, Gab, it’s up to you, too. You have to help me write it. In that way you are also the author of your own speech," I carefully explained to her.

There was a lull for a few seconds. I could feel that Gabby was already exercising her brain to come up with something. I readied myself to take down notes.

"Please say something about Tatay in the speech," she told me.

"What about your Tatay?"

"Na sana nandito po sya. Pero okay lang kahit wala po siya sa graduation ko. Si Nanay na po ang magsasabit ng medal sa akin. Naiintindihan naman po namin yon (I wish he was here. But it’s okay if he couldn’t attend my graduation. Nanay will be the one to pin my medal. We all understand the situation)," she said.

There was a lull again, this time on my end.

"What else?" I asked.

She started to giggle. "Sana ipagluto n’ya ulit kami ni Alex. Yung menudo, pakbet, adobo, sitaw."

"Kumakain ka ba talaga ng gulay (Do you really eat vegetables)?"

"Opo. Tatay taught me to eat vegetables."

"When you see an airplane now, Gab, what do you do? Do you still wave at the plane, thinking that your father is riding the plane, looking at you from above?

She giggled again. "Papa Büm naman, six na po ako. When I was four years old I did that. Nung six na ako (When I became six) I stopped waving at all the planes I see."

"Why did you stop?"

"Because he’s not really there in the plane. He’s working in a restaurant in Qatar. So I don’t wave anymore."

I laughed. "Smart girl," I told her. But I dug deeper. "Ano pang gusto mong sabihin sa Tatay mo (What else do you want to tell your father)?"

"Tay, first honor po ako. Miss na miss ka na po namin. Isang taon na lang mamasyal na ulit tayo. Si Alex makulit na. (‘Tay, I’m the first honor in my class. We miss you so much. One more year and we will be together again. Alex is very active already)," Gabby started to say, as if she was really talking to her father.

"Do you expect a gift from your father?"

"Nagpadala na po sya ng pera, panghanda ko po daw (He already sent money, to be used for my celebration)."

"Bakit ka ba naging first honor (Why did you become the first honor)?" I wanted to take back my question but I already blurted it out. I was half-expecting that Gabby would say: "because I am very good in Math and Science and I behaved well in school." But her precocious reply to my query floored me. "Para po sa Tatay ko. Mahirap daw po ang trabaho n’ya sa Qatar pero kaya n’ya. Para po daw may pambili kami ng pagkain at pambaon sa school. Promise ko po kay Tatay mag-aaral akong mabuti. Yun na first honor po ako (I became first honor for my Tatay. He said his job in Qatar is hard but he can do it. He is doing it so that we have money to buy food and we have allowance when we go to school. That’s why I became first honor).

We ended the conversation that lasted for about 30 minutes. It was when we hung up that I realized I did not write a single word in my notebook. I was not taking down notes at all. I just wrote everything Gabby told me in my heart. And that would be her speech when she goes up on stage to deliver her valedictory address on her graduation day.

(For your new beginnings, please e-mail me at bumbaki@yahoo.com or my.new.beginnings@gmail.com.

Have a blessed Sunday!)