If there's one person whom I respect so much and owe everything to, it would definitely be my mommy. I admire her so much that when it's the right time for me to choose a lifetime partner, I would look for someone who resembles her personality.
The overflowing of respect that I have for her started ever since I knew life. Not just because she's my relative and not to mention the proper breeding she did for us, I look up to her maybe because people around her do so.
My mom stood as the second mother to her siblings when grandma died. She is the second eldest among the eleven, but because my tito Alvin, who is the eldest, lives in a distant place while the rest of them lives in Metro Manila, she stood as the eldest and the light of the family among them. Whenever family misunderstandings arise, my titos and titas would first call on my mommy.
I can still recall during my elementary and high school days when my mom was an active officer of Parent-Teacher Association (PTA). She always participates in school events, that's why teachers and other school authorities know me because of her. And for that, I wasn't allowed to do and wouldn't do anything that would ruin her good reputation.
During Christmas party at her office, we would always bring home a bag full of presents given to her by her officemates and other friends in different divisions. I remember one Christmas party when they were told by their boss to describe their monitos and monitas. As commanded, her officemate described my mom for being 'kindhearted that he has nothing more to say about it'.
She was also one of the block leaders in our village. Each time neighborhood problem occurs, they would stop by in our house first and consult on my mom regarding the problem before the real headquarters.
Despite her responsibilities as an attorney, a block leader, a friend and a mother to my aunts and uncles, she still manages to be a full-time single parent to us. She would spend weekends on us assisting us in our home works, talking about the whole week and anything. We eat thrice a day everyday despite the financial problems, we wear decent clothes, we have a wonderful home, my brother and I are sent in a good school and I would give her eleven at a scale of one to ten for that.
That's why I can't blame her for setting high expectations on us especially on me being the eldest and the unica hija. She always wanted us to be on top of the world that though I give my best to at least meet her standards, it just won't satisfy her.
Because of the pressures, my grades were very much affected. Imagine a child always afraid to show her report card and test papers to her parent and that's me.
Then came a time when I've had enough of her reprimanding us of her demands. Since I was never a child who would scold at her shortcomings, I've decided to ask permission to sleep over my aunt's house to at least lessen my resentment against her (of course, I didn't tell her about it) and she agreed. I have told my aunt about our argument, and that was the time when I first knew about all these things when my aunt revealed the truth on me: my dad left us without explanations.
So that was the reason why every time I would ask my mom about my dad, she would just give short details and change topics. That's why I would just sometimes cry thinking about my dad without knowing the cause of his death while believing, based on my instincts, that he's still alive.
It was a year or so when I discovered this revelation and until now, she has no idea that I already knew it. Why should I feel bad about it? In fact, I was more than happy to know that I was on my mom's side. I am very much contented on her and I won't even bother searching for my dad. She may be pressuring me to strive more in my studies because she wanted me to stand on my own in the future. She may be very much scrutinizing my suitors but that's her only way to assure me of the persistence of the man who would never leave me whatever happens. She may be wrong sometimes, but I know she's doing all these things for me to become a better person equipped with knowledge about life and living. She nay not be perfect, but she's truly the best. And I thank the Lord for being blessed of her.
I know time will come that she has to leave me behind. And if that time comes that I would be living on my own, no doubt that I would choose a lifetime partner (not like her husband, but a man) that resembles my mom's personality.
