[Family] The prodigal mom

MANILA, Philippines – It’s unfortunate that my parents broke up when I was 10 years old. Mama went away. We were left in the care of my lolo (grandfather) and lola (grandmother).

You know the feeling of watching your friends who are happily with their parents during graduation or parents’ day?

I grew up with so much hate towards my mother. I just couldn’t fathom why she abandoned us. 

Eight years since she walked out on us, I heard that she was back. I was already in college then, my sophomore year. My cousin told me that she was with them.

So I skipped my afternoon classes and went to my uncle’s place.

There she was. Skinny. Her eyes swollen.

I was speechless. I wanted to shout at her but something stopped me from doing so.

Tears began rolling down her cheeks. 

At that moment, it dawned on me that I didn’t want to see my mother crying. Not this time. Not anymore.

Who among us wants to see their mother cry? 

The next thing I knew, all my anger and hate started to fade away. I realized I missed her so much that all I did was run towards her and hug her tight.

I didn’t want to hear her say sorry. What was most important was that she was back.

At the back of my mind, I thought, “I’ve lost her once. Not again.” 

My mom eventually moved in with my aunt in a nearby town where she started a business.

Every weekend, I would go to her and help her out in the market.

One thing I loved about going home to her was the food. She’s the best cook. She would prepare my favourite escabecheng tuyo whenever I was home. 

We both love eating durian.  She said that, when she was pregnant with me, she would always eat the fruit. So whenever I went to her, I made it a point to buy her one — the native variety.

Those were the best days of my life.

Sadly, after two years, her diabetes had worsened. 

She needed eyeglasses. Her appetite shrunk. 

We brought her to the hospital but were not able to save her.

I lost her for the second time — this time, forever.

My mother was not perfect, but I admired her courage to start over anew. 

I miss her so much that I still dream of her preparing my breakfast or patting my back until I fell sleep.

We may stumble upon a lot of motherly figures in our lives but we only have one mother. 

Happy Mother’s day month, Ma! I love you so much. – Rappler.com

 

(We at RAPPLER Life & Style thank all of our readers who shared with us their Mother’s Day stories. Thank you for the time, effort and trust. As Mother’s Day month ends, we will publish the remaining blogs that were sent our way. We hope that you will continue to support us as Father’s Day month rolls in. Thank you for being part of the RAPPLER community. Keep sending us your Life & Style stories to desk@rappler.com.) 

Click on the links below for more.

• [Family] How I ‘met’ my mother
• [Family] Things I learned from my mom when I was 7
• [Family] Time to relax
• [Family] The look of a fighter