Mom @ 56: Blissful and Grateful

10 November 2024

I have a lot of reasons to leave and go back to working abroad, but I also have a lot of reasons to stay. After seven years of living away from home, including my years working abroad and staying in Manila, I missed many moments, such as Christmas, New Year, family gatherings, quiet evenings, family struggles, and birthdays. In those events, they'd continued without me. Now that I am home, I want to catch up on the days I missed; I want to celebrate the celebrations I missed with them; I want to spend these available days to make my stay memorable with my family.

After seven long years, I finally celebrated my mom's birthday, not through phone calls and video chats, but in person. The feeling and experience of being in real life with my mom and surrounded by family is genuine and cannot be replaced by virtual communication.

On her birthday celebration, I felt both blissful and grateful. I felt blissful for the opportunity of being with her again after long years of working away from home and grateful for the blessing of life she received. Her health status is not at its best, so I always pray to God to give her better health and a longer life so we can still create more memorable memories together. That's also one reason that keeps me from leaving my family again. I want to be at home on Christmas as well.

The birthday celebration was simple but perfect because we were gathered once again, and this kind of event strengthened our family bond. Honestly, I forgot about this day due to my eagerness to meet the deadline for my new client. I was reminded of this when I opened my messenger and read my brother's birthday message to my mom in our family group chat. How irresponsible I was. Sunday should have been a perfect day to visit the nearby beach to celebrate her birthday outdoors. Such a shame to my mom. I just greeted her when I got out of bed, hiding the truth about my forgetfulness.

I thought I would spend my money on this day, but to my surprise, my sister-in-law visited us home with a cake and some food. That was her and my bro's birthday surprise for my mom. So, she saved me instead of going to the market to buy something to cook. She cooked a few dishes exclusively for our family. There was little preparation because, as I mentioned above, I forgot about her birthday, and my mom isn't a typical one who prepares for it. She would rather save money than spend it for herself. That's what she always says.

My niece looks like me when I was younger, hehe

My little Breiana arrived late because she was with her father side every weekends and on our side every weekdays since her parents are separated. She immediately sang happy birthday to her grandma as she saw the remaining cake.

We shared a few dishes over genuine conversations. The gift of life my mom received and simple moments together matter most. Things like family gatherings, shared meals, and the comfort of being with people dear to me can't get back once they pass, so I always treasure every simple celebration we have at home with my family.

No matter what life takes us, we always find the comfort of our home where our hearts truly belong.

Thanks for your time.

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