Gifts for the Present and Future

After a couple-week hiatus in Canada to celebrate my grandparents' birthdays, my mom returned home this morning fully rejuvenated and refreshed.

At 3.30 in the morning, my sister woke me up so the whole family can go and pick mom up from the airport. In our pajamas and house slippers, we waited at the entrance - half conscious and half asleep, half aware that we are potentially at the heart of the H1N1 arrival zone. When mom came out, like all our Canadian relatives coming home, she smelled distinctly of Canada - I couldn't explain the scent, I just know that it's the smell of the country.

My siblings prepared a drawing for mom celebrating her arrival, making a semi-self portrait of themselves in ecstatic euphoria over her return. Due to my hypnotism to the Sims 3, which isn't really a good excuse to use, I wasn't able to draw my character - so my kind-hearted siblings took the liberty of drawing me in - as a stick man - better there than not.

We had a McDonald's take-out and headed home, where we got our respective aguinaldo/ pasalubong (presents). Of course, this comes with the complimentary gossip of what's going on with our relatives halfway round the world. The juiciest information that I gathered was that my cousin is now pregnant with her first child and is due on August. I cannot believe that my mom is already as good as a grandmother (grandaunt) and my (maternal) grandparents are now going to be great grandparents. I don't know the details, but I am very happy for her and am looking forward to meeting the new addition to our family soon.

Although the story is one of insurmountable happiness and joy, I feel a grave sense of sadness over the fact that I wasn't able to deliver the same to my amah (paternal grandmother). It is one of my greatest regret that she wasn't able to become a great grandmother before she passed away last November. But on the other hand, it is still too early for me and I trust she understands that I need to build my career to ensure my family's future - even when she isn't around physically, I know in my heart that she'll be there spiritually to enjoy and care and love her tai-sun (great grandchild) when the right time comes.