Mahirap magpalaki ng magulang. I often hear my dad say that about his parents.
After almost 12 years, this is the first that I will be living with my
parents again. Now, I must say, mahirap
talaga magpalaki ng magulang.
Living with them now is different.
It’s like having younger twin siblings with senior citizen cards. I must admit, though I love the fact that they are here for a vacation to
spend time with us, I often times find myself complaining about certain things. However, being a mom certainly helped me put things in the right perspective.
So, every time I complain about:
…my mom’s stubbornness about eating unhealthy food, I think about
how she would run after me to feed me when I was a toddler.
…my dad’s endless stories about his work – the countries he has
been to and his experiences, I think about how he and my mom would eagerly
decipher my baby talk or how they patiently answered my endless questions when
I finally learned how to talk.
…my mom’s suuuuuper slooooow walk, I think about how she held my
hand when I walked slowly and clumsily as a toddler… what her life must have
been like when I was getting really good at walking, climbing, jumping and
running. I cannot even begin to imagine
her strength and endurance in keeping up with 3 active little children. I only have one and I am already complaining!
…my mom’s grocery list, I think about how she and my dad
selflessly set aside their needs for our wants… how they postponed spending on
their wants so that we can have what we need.
…my dad’s speech about his life lessons (this on repeat mode), I think about how toddlers talk non-stop. Julia is not yet on this stage but I bet when
she is, I will, at some point, prefer listening to my dad’s maritime stories.
The list goes on. I am not
mean to my parents, hahaha! I complain
sometimes, yes, but I love them and I am glad they decided to spend time with
us. I love seeing my mom early in the
morning, reading at the dining table with her hot pandesal. I love hearing yaya’s stories about how my
dad spends his time watching Pororo with Julia.
My dad is right. I will
never understand them unless I become a parent myself. Being a mom made me understand my
parents. But living with them again, now
that I am a parent myself made me love them even more. I now truly appreciate what my parents have done
and have gone through so that I can be who I am now.
It was only now that I realized that being a mom helped me become a
better daughter.
