Oh how beautiful is the colour variation of bougainvillea! Every time I see their bracts—white, red, pink orange and yellow, I tend to think of the family I belong to. And when I think of them Lord, I also think of love--because I learn a lot about loving through them.
Am I not blessed to have a mother who trudge one subdivision after another to get me different bract colours of bougainvillea for my genetics class? And could you imagine her catching grasshoppers with me, too and searching for turtle and dead shark?
As for my father, God… did he think I was still 15 years old that he still went with me to get a medical certificate? Why? I was already a postgraduate student then!
Haha! For my father and mother, my siblings and I will always be like their little children in need of help and support.
Lord, it gladdens my heart to belong to parents like them. I thank you forever for them.
And I thank you also for my brothers and my sisters--for Art, Cynthia and Merle whom I go out with to attend concerts and plays and sing praises and share your love to others over plains, valleys and mountains; and also do some crude baking and roasting.
I thank you also for Rommel who runs an errand for me whenever I want to eat Ebisen and for being able to compute my income tax return.
Just the same God, I thank you for Nimrod, my intelligent brother and comrade who talk to me about rockets, booby traps, submarines and the Sinos. Haha! Did he think I want to go to war?
Am I not so blessed? I don’t only have five siblings but more…!! WoW! Amazing indeed to belong to a large family! My siblings are not just my brothers and sisters but also my friends!
Thank you for Mina, Abner, Delmar Jr, too-- Mina who shared with me the little smiles and tremendous pains about life; Abner who skillfully drew for me Magellan, Marcelo H. del Pilar and Gregorio del Pilar; and Delmar, Jr., my bed-ridden brother who taught all of us to be loving and caring. But I tell you Lord…I get so hurt every time I think of them. The thought of their tragic deaths always bring tremendous pain in my heart that I cry, cry and cry….How I wish they were still around!
But then what can I do? But just grow strong and brave to accept things as they are… Life is made of tears, but also comfort and joy...
Lord, I thank you also for Daisy with whom I had shared jackets and jeans, Big Mac and coke and of course basketball games to fight over with when her Motorola team wins over my Crispa. I wish she did not have to fly to Australia because I miss her so, particularly her frowning and crying face whenever my Crispa team win over Motorola.
And I thank you just the same for my Ate. I quarrel with her too! Am I bad? But she was so spoiled!!!! Spoiled by our grandma! How my ears hurt everytime she speaks coarse language! Even then through her worst also shines a little kindness that touches my heart. So I love her just the same, God. You know I do, God.
My family isn’t really that fantastic as you are fully aware, Father. Sometimes we laugh a lot. We sing, cry and pray together. But when we discuss issues in our round table…My! We shout, fight and cry! We do not sound like a family at all! I am sorry to say.
I thank You God because your grace is sufficient, however. After awhile we all can forgive each other and forget about all the fights. Then once more, we are a family again who talk a lot, laugh, sing, eat and pray.
Glory be to You, Lord who binds us together in love and perfect unity.
(From L.R. Blanco’s My Life’s Journal, 1984)
