Lemon and lime

I just came home from Tabuk, Kalinga where we attended a
cousin’s wedding… I’m starting to miss my family from there. It’s a 9 to
10-hour trip (11 hours kami kanina) from Pangasinan but it was worth it. Every time
we go visit them, time is just too short. I miss bonding with our cousins and
their children, reuniting with family we haven’t seen for a long time (some of
them we see only in special gatherings and every time na nagkikita kami, I
always forget their names so I had to be reintroduced to refresh my memory!), and
meeting those we haven’t known (my mom’s childhood friends). Looking at our grandparents
so happy to see us is a reward in itself. Hugging them good bye this morning
was difficult. Lola was even laughing and wondering why we kept on hugging her,
“Apay nagadu met nga pakada?” (“Why too many goodbyes?”) If she only knew how
happy my sister and I were just being there with them.

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This is my mother’s family that I could not leave. Their simple
lives are far from the world I grew up with, yet they are happy being who they
are. They may not have a significant social standing, but I saw how respected
they are in their clan. There is a space in my heart that they fill and makes
me feel how lucky I am being a part of their circle and their culture. They are
part of the reason why I am pursuing my career goal, because I want to be the
one to take care of them. One of the great grandparents who attended the wedding
offered these words of wisdom to the newly-weds which I took a personal note of,
“The best way to repay your parents for all their sacrifices for you is to be good-hearted people… This would show how you were finely
raised.” And this is exactly how I want to repay my mother’s kin for sharing to
us our mom who is, in our family, the strongest person to keep the four of us
all together after all these years.

I can’t wait to take that long trip to Tabuk again…