Moments

There are moments that stand out in our lives. These are the moments when out of the ordinariness of the day we are filled with grace and gratitude.

Last Wednesday night I found myself alone in the house where I live in Makati. Feeling homesick, I braved the traffic and went home to Cabuyao. My 66-year-old Nanay was of course surprised and delighted to see me home in the middle of the week, in the middle of the night.

“Kaawaan ka ng Diyos (God bless you),” she told me when I kissed her hand. “Napaaga yata ang uwi mo? Hindi pa naman Sabado ngayon. Kumusta ka? (Why did you come home so suddenly? It’s not yet Saturday. How are you)?” she successively asked me as she led me to the kitchen of our humble abode.

 She was so excited to see me she almost dropped a plastic container she took out from the freezer. In that container was frozen sinigang na bangus sa bayabas, which, at first glance, looked more like a slab of rock than food. But Nanay surely knew how to melt down everything with love. And I knew what was slowly simmering in the pot would taste divine.

“Heto, humigop ka muna ng mainit na sabaw (Here, have your soup),” she said as she turned off the stove. She started to scoop some soup into a puswelo (bowl). The sweetness of the aroma of the guava in the soup lingered in the kitchen. The hot soup was perfect for the nippy weather in Laguna that night. I just stayed in one corner of the table as Nanay lovingly served me. She kept me company as I savored my supper. It already felt like Christmas the way my mother showered me with her warmth.

“Teka muna, bakit ka nga ba napasugod umuwi gayong gabing-gabi na? (Why did you decide to go home to think it’s already late),” my mother asked me again. I did not answer her queries because I also did not know why I went home. I was just alone in Makati but that was not the first time it happened. Besides, Nanay’s cardinal rule to me, being the only member of our family who works in Manila, is never go home in the middle of the night. She believes that it is safer to travel during daytime. 

Sensing that there was nothing significant to my “surprised arrival” at home that night, she let me continue to enjoy my meal. Then to the terrace of our home we proceeded after my late night dinner. The neighborhood was so quiet we could hear the rustling of the leaves of our narra tree in front of the house. It was cold but that moment between me and my mother was enough to warm us. I planted my self in a wooden chair fronting Nanay who settled in her rocking chair. Nanay bought that rocking chair for my father when he got sick in 2006. She inherited it when Tatay passed away January this year. 

“Noong buhay pa ang Tatay mo, lagi syang excited tuwing magpa-Pasko (When your father was still alive, he was always excited when it was Christmastime),” Nanay recalled, her voice was not trembling except that it registered poignancy. “Kung sa bagay, lagi naman syang excited sa buhay. Ke meron tayo o wala noong mga maliliit pa kayo, lagi syang excited. Pero pinaka-excited sya kapag Pasko at tuwing anibersaryo namin (Well, your father was always excited about life. Whether or not we had money when you and your brothers were still small, he was always excited about life. But he was most excited about Christmas and our wedding anniversary).”

I stood up and got my mother’s hands. In my own silent way I comforted her.

“Mas nararamdaman ko marahil ang lungkot kasi nga’y magpa-Pasko (I feel the loneliness all the more because it’s Christmastime,” Nanay told me.

I just nodded.

“Magiging masaya rin ba ang Pasko natin (Can we still experience a merry Christmas this year)?” she asked me.

I nodded again.

“Paano (How)?”

“Dapat ho para rin tayong si Tatay. Ke meron, ke wala, lagi syang excited sa buhay. Lalo na kapag Pasko (We should be like Tatay. We should always be excited about life. Especially when it’s Christmas),” I said.

“May punto ka, (You have a point),” she said. “Pwes, tuloy ang Pasko (Therefore, we will celebrate Christmas). Merry Christmas and good night,” my mother said with a smile. She proceeded to her room. I went back to the kitchen to wash the dishes.

Before I called it a night, I checked Nanay in the room. She was still wearing that smile as she snored away. I decided to sleep beside her and wrapped her in my embrace. It was by far the most restful sleep I ever had in my life.

Now I knew why, last Wednesday, I decided to go home in the middle of the week, in the middle of the night.

It was because of her.

(For your new beginnings, please e-mail me at bumbaki@yahoo.com or my.new.beginnings@gmail.com. You may want to follow me on Twitter @bum_tenorio. Have a blessed Sunday!)