at about this same time two years ago, i received an early christmas gift... an unexpected visit from my mom and youngest brother. my kid bro has business to do then here in mindanao and took my mother for an unexpected visit to us here... christmas came early for me then and made me so happy seeing them. what made me ecstatic was the visit of my mom whom i have not seen for quite a while back then and she made her short stay with us memorable by cooking for us my fave dish. 'twas a blast from the old lady and made my kids happy because i so bragged about their lola's cooking and that compared to her, i was just a neophyte, a beginner, an apprentice even. yup, learned the ropes of cooking from my old lady. it was a long, slow education that started when i was a head taller than our cooking stove.
recently, another blessing came and made me feel like its christmas again in october. just the other day, at about mid morning... i was thinking what i will cook for lunch and proceeded to open the fridge and only saw a bunch of vegetables... well, there was nothing there except cold water and those veggies anyway so i decided on a simple dish of guisadong sitaw at kalabasa (string beans and squash). as i was preparing everything, i thought that adding a few slices of chicken would somehow lighten the dish up but the problem was, there was no chicken. i glanced at the clock and saw that going to the market for a few slices of chicken was out of the question because of time constraints. as i was about to start cooking, a good friend from way back called unexpectedly and became the bearer of good news... we were going home to manila for the holidays! and our trip was being sponsored... yup, me and my kids! it was like WOW! what an early gift! i was speechless for a while and when i came to my senses, was so profuse with thanks for her generosity. it has been 5 years since my last visit home and my younger sister and other brother still hasn't seen or meet my youngest daughter who is 8 years old now. likewise, the last time they saw my 2 boys was when they were 3 and 1 yr old respectively, prior to our move here in mindanao. my 2 boys are 13 and 11 now. so you could just imagine how elated i am that they are going to finally meet their tita and tito and be able to see the hustle and bustle of the big city. this was so farthest from my mind... i do have plans to bring my kids back home but it was nowhere near and not even in the distant future. well, economics has got something to do with it and i am just so thankful to our Lord for this blessing.
and soon as we hung up, there was some loud knocking on my door and proceeded to open and see who it was... imagine my astonishment when i opened the door and saw my neighbor with a big smile on her face holding TWO BIG, FRESH CHICKENS!!! so happened that my other neighbor who was a poultry farm manager came and left for me those 2 pieces of chicken for FREE! so it was like WOW! and a double WOW even! God never really ceases to amaze me! what could i say... just THANK YOU LORD!
recently, another blessing came and made me feel like its christmas again in october. just the other day, at about mid morning... i was thinking what i will cook for lunch and proceeded to open the fridge and only saw a bunch of vegetables... well, there was nothing there except cold water and those veggies anyway so i decided on a simple dish of guisadong sitaw at kalabasa (string beans and squash). as i was preparing everything, i thought that adding a few slices of chicken would somehow lighten the dish up but the problem was, there was no chicken. i glanced at the clock and saw that going to the market for a few slices of chicken was out of the question because of time constraints. as i was about to start cooking, a good friend from way back called unexpectedly and became the bearer of good news... we were going home to manila for the holidays! and our trip was being sponsored... yup, me and my kids! it was like WOW! what an early gift! i was speechless for a while and when i came to my senses, was so profuse with thanks for her generosity. it has been 5 years since my last visit home and my younger sister and other brother still hasn't seen or meet my youngest daughter who is 8 years old now. likewise, the last time they saw my 2 boys was when they were 3 and 1 yr old respectively, prior to our move here in mindanao. my 2 boys are 13 and 11 now. so you could just imagine how elated i am that they are going to finally meet their tita and tito and be able to see the hustle and bustle of the big city. this was so farthest from my mind... i do have plans to bring my kids back home but it was nowhere near and not even in the distant future. well, economics has got something to do with it and i am just so thankful to our Lord for this blessing.
and soon as we hung up, there was some loud knocking on my door and proceeded to open and see who it was... imagine my astonishment when i opened the door and saw my neighbor with a big smile on her face holding TWO BIG, FRESH CHICKENS!!! so happened that my other neighbor who was a poultry farm manager came and left for me those 2 pieces of chicken for FREE! so it was like WOW! and a double WOW even! God never really ceases to amaze me! what could i say... just THANK YOU LORD!
