GUSHING ABOUT MY MOM

Happy Mother's Day to the Valedictorian of the School of Life!
I wouldn't be who I am now if not for her. She brings a touch of heaven and everything divine to our lives



Maria Paz Catherine Samson Mijares-Chua

As a child, I thought my mom was the most perfect being in the whole wide universe. She could make all my pains and hurts go away with just a hug or a kiss, she always knew what it was I wanted and needed without me having to ask,every question I had, she had an answer to, when she smiled the sun shined and when she held my hand I knew nothing can hurt me. She was superwoman plus she was friends with Santa Claus, the Toothfairy, the Three Kings, even the Easter Bunny and St. Valentine!

Mommy was just magic and the epitome of fun! She invented games for us and played the classic ones with us (piko, chinese garter, patintero, marco polo, little sunny water, doctor quackquack, pepsi-seven up/what time is it mr fox, mother hen, monkeymonkey, sardines, hide and seek, shakeshake shampoo, blindman's bluff, langit lupa, etc). She'd tell me stories about my food and made them in different shapes like animals, cartoon characters and hearts and stars. She made learning a joy, she taught us how to see different objects in clouds, she taught me my abcs, nursery rhymes, prayers and fairy tales even reviewing my school lessons were playtime. She let us play with her clothes and her make up and thought we were gorgeous even when we deliberately try to make each other look like clowns or witches. When I got my white dog, Weegee, from Santa, mom would dye her different colors so when I came home from school my pet was pink or blue or green or orange or yellow or all the colors of the rainbow. She allowed us to scare our neighbors with this horrible mask during one of the blackouts until they started throwing stones at our house. We had a Santa Cruzan procession in October when it only happens in May. We had production numbers at home that spoofed ballet recitals and commercials. She made sure my clothes always matched and that I was the best dressed during school programs (she always made my costumes). During black outs, we'd gather around with my cousins and play with shadows...my mom would be playing the piano and I would snuggle up to her because I was scared of the dark (I still am) and she would say in a scary voice... "I'm not your mommy". She'd give me ice candy when I cut my lip everytime I tripped (for some reason I always fell face first). She gave us chalk to write on the floor. When she saw a rainbow, she made us stop what we were doing so we could fully marvel at its beauty. During road trips, she'd tell us to hold our breath and make a wish when passing a bridge and to count how many waterfalls we could see along the way. She let us have water fights around the house and let us play in the rain in our underwear. She even didn't faint when my sister and I were so inspired by this Tom and Jerry ice skating episode that we put baby powder all over the sala (wooden planks!) and wore socks to skate (although she did make us clean it up ourselves). She let us climb on trees to eat aratilis, duhat and santol. She even lets us climb two walls close to each other like spiders. She taught us how to make homemade bubbles from papaya stalks and gumamela. We had theme parties to celebrate every occasion possible. She let us jump on their bed (two little elephants jumping on the bed...). She let us use the dining table as a pingpong table with the net being rows of cassette tapes then she had a carpenter make us a real table. She had the same carpenter cement a permanent piko/ hopscotch area for the girls.She showed us how to catch flies( we stopped when she caught a bangaw with baby maggots eww), ghost crabs (chase them until they reach the water and bury themselves in the sand then you can pick them up), dragonflies (and put paper on their wings so they can't fly far and make them bite paper, they really burn it), salagubang (put thread so they'll fly around spinning), brightly colored seawater fish, non-stinging jellyfish, fireflies (always set them free)...and how to kill earthworms and leeches with salt. She'd let me lay down under the christmas tree (which was made of pine branches) to enjoy the scent and to stare at the colored lights while squinting until they looked like fairies playing. She'd put a blanket on our garden so we can star gaze and make wishes. She never scolded us in public, she just threatened to lock me up in a room and play Air Supply songs (I hate Air Supply). She'd bring home sets from productions so we could play house in a playhouse big enough for the kids. The same playhouse that we turned into an airplane which became so stinky because a rat died on it. She let us sip nectar from santan flowers. Boredom was not part of our vocabulary. She taught us how to enjoy every moment and to love simple joys and to look at the world with infinite wonder.

Mom is my first experience of true and unconditional love. Because she loves me so fiercely and intensely, I learned to love myself too. She made us feel that no matter what we did wrong she still loves us. It's not us she hates or punishes, it's the bad things we do. She showed us that every person deserves to be loved just because. We deserve to be loved just because. We were always made to feel special and beautiful as long as we did good things. She taught us that no one has the right to make you feel unworthy of love. And that if you love yourself you will be more capable of loving others and that you will never feel incomplete or lonely. That if people treat you wrong or don't love you back, it doesn't mean you're unworthy of love or that there is something wrong with you. How many people are taught that at such an early age? Self love. If I could only leave my children with just one thing, that would be it. Because with self love, everything else follows.

Then as I started to grow up, she taught us more things and showed us how to do it. The value of honesty. The importance of looking past appearances, backgrounds and races. How kindness and generousity are something that should be second nature. How open communication and listening and respect are essential to any loving relationship (be it with siblings, parents, relatives, friends, lovers). How to lower your pride and apologize for something when you know you did someone wrong. How to forgive and understand people who hurt you and misunderstand you because sometimes they don't know any better or even if they do it deliberately. That one's worth isn't measured by grades, but how much passion a person puts into living life (be it in sports, making friends, extra-co, outreach, church, etc) and living it in a good Christian way. How to find strength from within and from God. That who we are isn't based on who we hang out with, the clothes we wear, the material things we were given or the places we hang out in or our schools, village, clubs but by our character, our inner resolve and how we are in quiet moments when we are alone. That understanding is different from agreeing. That people you love have the power to hurt you most and you have the power to hurt the people you love. That growth is a bloody process but it's always always worth it. We should always try to bear fruit where we are planted. How to charm your way to a bargain or better service. The importance of never relying on a man. Why following your dreams is the best thing you could do for yourself and for those who love you. That hating people is a waste of time and energy. To trust your gut feel and women's intuition because it's always right. To spend time reflecting and writing it down. To cry because it'll make you feel better. Retail shopping can work wonders but it can never compete to the emotional high you get from helping people. That trusting God doesn't mean you won't act on anything in your life. That there are somethings you don't have to experience to know what it's like. That I love yous are meant to be said everyday to those you really love. That rudeness is just as bad or even worse than bad hygiene, picking your nose in public, drooling and elbows on the table. That everyone is creative, you just have to find your medium. Dreams are free so you might as well dream big. To let people you care about know that you think about them often. To be there when it counts. Never give up hope. Never blame anyone because we always have choice. That you can spend your whole lifetime paying for a silly silly mistake but you can be at a standstill not living life if you don't make decisions or mistakes. Independence is something every girl should strive for and must be attained before marriage. You can't change people. Respect for the elderly. That you can't help the way you feel but you can always choose how to act. That girls don't chase boys solely because you don't want to waste time on someone who doesn't like you. Never take people for granted because you might wake up one day and they'll be gone. Live life with no regrets.

After all these lessons, she began to change... from supermom to bestest friend. She showed us her imperfections, her mistakes, her regrets, her fears, her sorrows, her joys, her real self. We've seen her at her most shining moments and at her most fragile times. She let us in on her innermost secrets and desires. And wow what a woman she is.

She lost her father when she was 11 and she was his baby girl. She was then sent to boarding school and her mother left for the States. She married at 19, gave birth at 19, 21 and 24. When I came, she had to give up her career in advertising and tv production because she wanted her children to be raised well, in a very loving home with the perfect supermom. She's gone through heartaches, sickness, sleepless nights, headaches and insanity just to be there for us. She is the heart of our family, she binds us together. She keeps busy as a writer and she recently graduated. And now we're beginning our adventure in Sydney.

I know I will never come across any other woman as amazing as she is and many people will agree with me. She has so many adopted children from my friends and her friends can attest to her greatness. I can only hope to be half the woman that she is. I still have to find my halo and wings. My mom is wonderful, beautiful and real. She is love personified.

Happy Mother's Day Mommy! I can never thank you or say I love you enough! I miss you!!! See you soon *hug*