Happy Mothers Day to the most [everything].

"Sanay di magmaliw ang dati kong araw

Nang munti pang bata sa piling ni Nanay..."

 

 

She graced my presence with her yellow ribbons in the air

Yellow, like the sun shining brightly as she

Glides the comb and runs her fingers through my hair, as we sit on the doorstep of our home.

Her scent embraces every curve of my innocence

And her voice,

Her voice captivates every skip of my beating heart

Because yellow...

As in her bright yellow Giordanno shirt with a blue collar was one of my first few memories of her.

"Ma," I say

"Can you braid my hair in lil twisties today please?"

She'd chuckle a bit and in response she'd say, "Of course, Anak,"

With a smile that hid every heartache,

Every heart break

And every pain that she ever experienced.

I didn't know it then,

But that moment...

With the warm April breeze of the Philippine "spring",

A glass bottle of Coca Cola perspiring on the corner,

And the tender and loving caress of my mother's working hands,

I was made into a cadence.

A never ending song of blissful gratefulness

That to this day

Brings me tears because I was never aware of the sacrifice she had to go thru to even share that one lil bit of memory that forever holds a place in me.

She doesn't know it, like I didn't know it then,

But she, as my mother,

Has brought me so much joy and pride

Because just like the yellow ribbons she used to put on my hair,

She is the yellow ribbon of my existence.

The symbol of my happiness.

The solace of my love.

She is the best present I have and will ever receive.

Yellow like our skin tone,

She makes up who I am with everything she has shown.

Her strength is refelected in the structure of my face

The framework of my body,

And the intensity of my emotions.

Sometimes I wish I was a kid again,

Just so I can be as close to her, if not more, again.

Every embrace and every touch,

Love, she brings so much.

But now that I've grown older

I've come to realize her worth

She is the most valuable gift to this Earth.

She continues to walk my world with wisdom

As she sacrifices so I can keep my freedom

Because she's the closest to heaven I've ever encountered.

The most powerful woman I've known,

Filipina,

She will forever be in my heart.

Laging nandito, kahit kailan, kailanman, totoo at talaga.

Mahal na mahal kita.