Monday, November 14, 2011

# 48 a baby no more!


baffling how fair complexion, slim build, tousled hair and colorful attires draw hysteria. korean invasion!! you have seen it all. korean dancing and singing groups strutting, prancing, spinning and bouncing onstage.  boggles one's mind how they pull it off. the korean actors are getting into the picture, too. they who have nudged the mexican ascendancy of the telenovela craze.  

she can dance like a korean.  sings along to korean songs, never mind if she does not understand the lyrics (does not hurt if she lowers the volume on those korean songs just a teeny-weenie bit).  can dress  like a korean.  can fix her hair like a korean.  she is, after all, a korean.  in her previous life.  or so she thinks.  fact is she is as filipino as her little button of a nose can attest to.

this koreana is our tete.  for four years, she was the only child, only grandchild and only niece in the family. to say she was spoiled is an understatement.  she was the apple of the eyes of popsie and mamam, first-time grandparents. every move she made, every breath she took, every step she made (yes, that song by the police) was the highlight of their days.  popsie loved to start his mornings by holding an infant tete in his arms. already lacking in dexterity after his first stroke, a few minutes was enough for him.  tete was the only grandkid he would hold in his arms. he passed away before the the little ones came and joined the brood. today our original baby is turning sixteen!!! definitely a baby no more! where did all the years ago, you ask.

popsie's second stroke left him paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair.  he would often ask that tete be positioned on his lap while he was wheeled around.  at times, tete's stroller would be parked right beside popsie's wheelchair.

tete's illustration shows her comic side.  many a time she would attempt to deliver a punchline but would miss  the right timing.  she wonders why she elicits laughter more when she unwittingly says something not meant to be a joke.  

burnt bottom, hardened crust, bitter glaze and firm bun are elements of what tete thinks is an ugly-looking cinnamon roll. her first attempt at baking was a total disaster.  disillusioned for a few minutes, she vowed redemption.

failures challenge tete. like a spark plug that revs up an engine, it spurs her to act on perfection. accounts of her first half-marathon and kitchen feat show her fierce competitive nature.  in her mixing bowl of varied interests, she has effortlessly maintained balance.  stirring in her fascination with dancing.  folding in her passion for running. melting in her infatuation with the culinary arts.  blending in her diligence in her studies.  there is space for more in her bowl.

happy birthday, my dear tete. i love you, gang.  follow your dreams, they will take you to great heights. climb those mountains, the view is better at the top. run the distance, the road ahead will push you to limits unknown. dance to the rhythm but do the slow dance. do not be in a hurry. sing to the music. rewrite the lyrics if you have to.  this is what life out there is all about.

tete at sixteen.... a couple of years before the effervescence of youth is replaced by the calculated resolve of adulthood.  isn't that awesome?

2 comments:

  1. Grabe! Giaa has grown up before my eyes (well on skype and via text, email, vidjos, and beautiful drawings) and I can't believe that she will graduating from high school. Time seems to get away from us, so Giaa listen to Nanna, (read the second to the last paragraph) and you will be all the more wiser :) I say to you - Happy, Happy Birthday!

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  2. so deep

    hahahahahahaha official SEALS
    so funny

    so deep, so deep

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