Just a few months back, I would always wake up with the usual smell of an overcooked rice.. And at the top of my lungs I would shout from the third floor, “Lola, sunog na naman sinaing mo!”
Despite our constant reminder never to cook for us, she never heeded .. Because for her, despite the ‘tutong na sinaing’ she served during breakfast, it was a service of love.
For years, she was the lola who played a lot of roles in our household. She was a yaya, a labandera, a cook and a lot more. She would get angry if we asked her to just sit around and watch her favorite telenovelas, she was always on the go, always looking for something to do.
Despite her age, she loved to roam around. Everyday she would visit my aunt, get her trycicle service with my little brother. And although we keep on remindin her it was dangerous for an old woman like her to wander the streets, she would never listen. Or even if we thought she would, she was just acting.
She was makulit.. madaldal..
She was a healthy woman, so we thought. Until that accident happened and had broken limbs.
And after two months from that day of accident, she was taken away from us.
Then everything here in our home would be different. No one will ever cook breakfast again the same way she did.
I will miss our chats and that familiar face saying, “Karen magsinger ka na lang, yayaman ka pa!”
I regret that I was not able to tell her how much I love her .. and I regret that I just walk passed her because of my busy sked.
They say everyone has her own time .. and for my lola, September 01 was hers. But it was a very sad loss for us. I wish I could have given her more love, I wish I got to know her more.
I will really miss you lola.
