May is a funny month for me. I remember in my childhood the many times when, after I was introduced myself, the next remark would be: “Your birthday must be in May.” I would say, “No, my birthday is in February and my name is spelled with an ‘e.’” That would lead to another question about why my name was pronounced as “May.”
Even though my birth month is not May, the month has always been a special one for me. In particular, the date of May 8. When I was a kid, this date was the fixed date of Mother’s Day. This was the birthday of my beloved yaya, Manang Eyang, who was like a mother to me. Then, a few days later, we also celebrate my dad’s birthday.
These past few months have been filled with a lot of anxiety, so I fully utilize my weekends to charge up. Each Saturday afternoon, I would consciously allot time to look back on good memories to refuel me. I started by going back to a good book I have read. It helps that I used to either Post-It the pages or put a fold on the pages I liked, so now I just go back to them. I would also re-watch the best K-dramas I liked. So far, I have gone back rewatching Doctors, Dinner Mate, Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-Joo and Suspicious Partner.
When this year’s Mother’s Day fell on May 8, I felt like going back to my greatest memories with my Manang Eyang.
Manang Eyang and I were like partners in crime. When I was in nursery, I would get teased a lot by boys. She would tell me, “Kapag niloko ka, buntalin mo!” So I remember following her and actually challenging the biggest boy in our class in arm wrestling, which I then won. When she picked me up one day from school, I told her I wanted Chippy. She said our money was only enough to go home. So, she challenged me that if we bought that Chippy, was I game to walk all the way home? So we did. We walked from St. Jude to Legarda and I think we finally took only one jeepney ride from Espana to Agno St.
I remember the first time I ever got a star in Chiang Kai Shek when I was 4. She bought me this pink colored milk-based treat with red sago outside school and told me she would try to give me a treat every time I bring home an award. Every day, I came home from school, it would be the most fun afternoon. Since she was also our family’s labandera, I would wash clothes with her. That’s why I know that if you hand wash, you need to rinse the clothes thrice. She would also let me water the plants with her. She would climb the macopa and santol trees, then we would eat them with salt and vinegar. She taught me to eat tuyo with crushed tomatoes and shrimp paste with my hands, the Ilocano way. She also loved letting me sit on her shoulders even though she was only barely 5 feet. I think I did this till I was 8.
I remember Manang the most as my protector. When I was being chased by our family dog, I can still vividly remember her like a female Hercules, simply lifting me from my behind as if I was sitting on her two palms. She relayed to me that she was not even supposed be my nanny. She said she fought with my original nanny, who brought me out on a windy day after I had just come from a fever. So, my mom told her to just be my nanny instead.
I was so attached to her that I remember at times going to her room at night to sleep with her on her wooden-planked bed with no mattress. My saddest moments as a child were when Manang had to go home to San Quintin, Pangasinan. I would sit at the third highest step from the inside, which had a window view to the gate, crying as I watch Manang leave. Whenever she came back, her pasalubong would always be Indian mango, which I love eating up to today.
When she got sick in 2009, she went home to her province for a check-up. It turned out her cancer had already spread throughout her body. I was extremely grateful that the day before she passed away, I was able to say to her, “I love you, Manang.” I heard her also say, “I love you, too.” I am so proud that my son’s second name bears her name, Victoria.
May is also the birth month of my dad. I have shared many columns about my unique journey with my dad. I am so proud that in his golden years, he continuously sets an example of how to turn one’s purpose into action. We are all excited about the foundation he is formally setting up which focuses on B.R.I.G.H.T., or Boosting Right Infrastructure for Good and Happy Teaching.
These good thoughts give me a stronger motivation to focus on the good things amid this pandemic. I believe drawing inspiration from both Manang Eyang’s and my dad’s efforts on education, really makes me feel lucky to be able to do something more tangible through every column and every teaching act I do.
Let’s have a happy May, everyone.