It has been such a long time since I've written about my mother's stories. It is now August 30, 2013 and I have just spent the whole afternoon with my mom. The time has been so special and extremely enjoyable. Since my mother lives in New Jersey and I live in New York, these occasions do not come as often as I would like. My dear mother has made us a fabulous lunch of sauteed bittermelon which is a favorite of mine but is bitter so not too many people like it. In addition, there are bowls of fish soup, rice, cucumber salad and some noodles. Everything was delicious. After lunch, we get down to business.
Now it's time to continue with my mother's stories. In my last blog, I talked about how my grandparents and their children lived during the war (World War II, in case you were wondering). People are relieved that being able to get back to a normal life was within arm's length at last. At this point, my mother is now 15 years old. During the war, she was taught how to care for her younger brothers and sisters, how to cook and how to do a whole bunch of chores. Now that peace has come, she and my grandparents had to think about continuing her education. She qualified to go straight to her sophomore year of high school, skipping the freshman year. My mother beams with so much pride when she provides me with this "little" detail. This past May, my mom turned 85 and, at this age, when a person gives information similar to this last one, I can never see it as "bragging". In fact, it is quite adorable, even funny, when she tells me about it. I would probably think the same way if it were someone else as long as they were this age. With the war behind them, the family goes about the business of being a family. My grandparents are busy being in the teaching business, the kids go to school, household chores are done and so on and so forth. All this is happening in Buenavista, Agusan del Norte, which is in the southern part of the Philippines. It is the equivalent of the suburbs. The big city in the Philippines is Manila, which is in the northern part of the country. My grandparents had a lot of faith in my mother who was the oldest child so they made the necessary sacrifices so she could go to a very good university in Manila. Apparently, the woman was super-smart and graduated college with honors (just like she did in high school). She went back to her hometown in the south and taught there. She said that during the period she taught there, their school won many awards. I realize my mother is 85 years old but I can assure you her memory is completely intact. So I am convinced that these details are true. You will not believe how she tells these stories complete with minutiae. It is so fascinating.
At this time, my mother is now a young teacher and is enjoying the life of a single,working woman. Apparently, every child from their generation felt completely indebted to their parents for the sacrifices they made to give them a good education. Once they graduated, they felt it was their duty to help with the education of their younger siblings. My mother was, certainly, no exception. She was happy to give her entire paycheck to my grandfather. She told me that despite my grandfather's objections, she made arrangements with the school to have her paycheck given to her father. It is around this time that the story of how my own parents meet starts. It is so so so interesting and shows the great differences in our generations. So please stay tuned for the next blog.....
Now it's time to continue with my mother's stories. In my last blog, I talked about how my grandparents and their children lived during the war (World War II, in case you were wondering). People are relieved that being able to get back to a normal life was within arm's length at last. At this point, my mother is now 15 years old. During the war, she was taught how to care for her younger brothers and sisters, how to cook and how to do a whole bunch of chores. Now that peace has come, she and my grandparents had to think about continuing her education. She qualified to go straight to her sophomore year of high school, skipping the freshman year. My mother beams with so much pride when she provides me with this "little" detail. This past May, my mom turned 85 and, at this age, when a person gives information similar to this last one, I can never see it as "bragging". In fact, it is quite adorable, even funny, when she tells me about it. I would probably think the same way if it were someone else as long as they were this age. With the war behind them, the family goes about the business of being a family. My grandparents are busy being in the teaching business, the kids go to school, household chores are done and so on and so forth. All this is happening in Buenavista, Agusan del Norte, which is in the southern part of the Philippines. It is the equivalent of the suburbs. The big city in the Philippines is Manila, which is in the northern part of the country. My grandparents had a lot of faith in my mother who was the oldest child so they made the necessary sacrifices so she could go to a very good university in Manila. Apparently, the woman was super-smart and graduated college with honors (just like she did in high school). She went back to her hometown in the south and taught there. She said that during the period she taught there, their school won many awards. I realize my mother is 85 years old but I can assure you her memory is completely intact. So I am convinced that these details are true. You will not believe how she tells these stories complete with minutiae. It is so fascinating.
At this time, my mother is now a young teacher and is enjoying the life of a single,working woman. Apparently, every child from their generation felt completely indebted to their parents for the sacrifices they made to give them a good education. Once they graduated, they felt it was their duty to help with the education of their younger siblings. My mother was, certainly, no exception. She was happy to give her entire paycheck to my grandfather. She told me that despite my grandfather's objections, she made arrangements with the school to have her paycheck given to her father. It is around this time that the story of how my own parents meet starts. It is so so so interesting and shows the great differences in our generations. So please stay tuned for the next blog.....
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