Guess Who?

Today is my scheduled date with someone very special to me. I shall repost a blog I've written about her before. Guess who:

Let me tell you something about her. She is 5'4" tall with a medium built frame. She is quite slender for her age. She dresses sophisticatedly and at the same time very much up to date. She is somehow mestiza looking with her fair skin complexion and occasional rosy cheeks.

At home, she usually cleans and organizes her piles of clothes, her different collections, furniture or anything she stumbles upon. You may call her OC (Obsessive Compulsive), but unlike the other self-diagnosed OC individuals, she rarely does call herself such. She merely has a reason to clean anything and everything. She is also very particular not only with cleanliness but also with health and vitality of life. She has to bring different water bottles every time she steps out of the house - one to fit in her shoulder bag, one for the ice chest to serve as extra and one usually for me or a guest.

Once I thought all organized people are people of logic (boring :P) with little room for creativity. This lady is definitely organized, but differently organized. When packing lunch boxes for example, she has different cases that could purposefully fit a particular item. She has one good for the spoons and forks, another for the extra sauces and even one for bananas! She’s very creative indeed. When I was younger, I considered her to be the best artist in the world. She could draw several cartoon characters (i.e. Mickey Mouse, Archie and Hello Kitty) perfectly. She also paints – on canvas, on paper, on walls which I usually showcase to friends and relatives. I am proud of her.

Many times I would give her pieces of my art. I would give her greeting cards on special occasions. She would sometimes offer suggestions as to how I could’ve improved it (she’s creative and all that), but at the end of it all, she’d appreciate it especially the cheesy (in my opinion) message it contains. She also appreciates and eats with enthusiasm whatever I experiment in the kitchen. Whenever I ask if it’s bland or salty, she’d say “No, it’s fine. It’s good.” She’s definitely a supportive woman.

There are instances when I have some crazy ideas that she tones down. One time, I suggested we should buy a land in Davao so we could grow mangoes, papayas, pomelos and all the yummy tropical fruits because the soil there is a lot healthier. She looked at me as if I were kidding. “Well, you could just support me.” I told her in a hurtful tone. Then she asked, “How could you handle several trees when you’re afraid of a single little worm?” Funny. She then suggested I try planting in our backyard first. And so I did.

I am thankful that God made her a gracious lady. Despite my crabbiness at times, she stays calm and gentle. One time when we were walking along Ongpin street to visit a Chinese doctor (whose medicine I extremely despise), I got into an awful mood and talked to her rashly. She didn’t complain nor record and replay my faults, instead she treated me with kindness and understanding.

Each of us has one person playing her role in our lives. I’m just fortunate she is in mine. Who is she? She is my mother.