Ana’s 24th
‘Choose to be the better person, Mom.’, she told me over the weekend. We have one of those lovely conversations every so often, in bed, whiling away the afternoon. I live in my bedroom nowaways. Nothing seem to soothe me more than the smell of my sweat on the bedsheets, a whiff of cigarette smoke in my hair, the scent of my daughter’s breath while sleeping soundly beside me, the feel of my son’s long legs which barely fit in the bedframe. It is worse now after I got sick, my bed became my refuge for recovery. I was again talking to Ana about people at work, and about people in my life, in general. I was telling her about how others in my life seem to be ‘winning’ at everything even if most of them do not have a bone of good faith in their bodies. In so many words, I told her it was unfair; that those who are indiscriminate, indecent and thrive on the miseries of others are those who live good lives. While the rest of us, who are most conscious of the ‘right-and-wrong’ as we value our faith in God who gifted us with a conscience, seem to be forever burdened.
I was complicating life once again. And Ana had a very simple answer to all my angst. ‘Choose to be the better person.’
She is about to be twenty-four years old in a few days, half my age. Yet she said those words as if our ages were reverse. Many of my friends tell me we raised our kids well, that we are fortunate, Bong and I, with kids like Ana and Aidan. The kind of people they grew up to be, their kindness, compassion, understanding of the world, not a few tell us, we are the ‘luckiest’ parents.
Yes, we are. But I believe this had nothing to do with ‘luck’. It is everything to do with God, and His ‘recognition’ of our good faith, our deep sense of awareness of what is right from wrong as He taught us, even if we succumb to our weaknesses and vulnerabilities. I think that out there in the heavens, God sees how we all muster the courage to overcome, our quiet sufferings in so many years while building this family. I see Aidan as my rainbow after the rains, and Ana as my pot of gold. Aidan paints the colors in our moments together, Ana throws specks of gold on them.
Happy BIrthday my dearest Ana.
I was complicating life once again. And Ana had a very simple answer to all my angst. ‘Choose to be the better person.’
She is about to be twenty-four years old in a few days, half my age. Yet she said those words as if our ages were reverse. Many of my friends tell me we raised our kids well, that we are fortunate, Bong and I, with kids like Ana and Aidan. The kind of people they grew up to be, their kindness, compassion, understanding of the world, not a few tell us, we are the ‘luckiest’ parents.
Yes, we are. But I believe this had nothing to do with ‘luck’. It is everything to do with God, and His ‘recognition’ of our good faith, our deep sense of awareness of what is right from wrong as He taught us, even if we succumb to our weaknesses and vulnerabilities. I think that out there in the heavens, God sees how we all muster the courage to overcome, our quiet sufferings in so many years while building this family. I see Aidan as my rainbow after the rains, and Ana as my pot of gold. Aidan paints the colors in our moments together, Ana throws specks of gold on them.
Happy BIrthday my dearest Ana.
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