"May Pamili"

"May Pamili"

"May pamily is.. was... damos infortant fersens in mah layp! Thank you!"

When we first heard this infamous response of Janina San Miguel, we can only roll our eyes and say, "Hay, ang pobre! She ruined it! Sayang ang ganda mo, iha!" I, myself, laughed at this embarassing beauty contest boo-boo. Years after, I came to believe that Janina, with the worst moment of her life, actually had a point to make. She is right: My family is indeed the most important part of my life.

Take for example, my mother. Some people complained of not being praised enough by their parents. Me, I was praised to death by my Inay. Sometimes, I just felt like hiding under a rock in embarrassment whenever she praised me in front of her friends. She would make a litany of my achievements, even the humble ones, to the point of exaggeration. I guess Inay just really believed in me. In fact, I had her all-out support when I entered the seminary. My Father? Well, Tatay is the male version of Inay, as a human praise generator. The only difference is that it took a while before Tatay approved of my vocation. And when he did, Talaga naman! He's also all heart in motivating me to persevere. Even during the funeral of his brother, he would make time to attend the seminary's family day. The same goes with my Ate Gina. Wheelchair-bound and ailing from a severe kidney disease, she never stopped to amaze me. She is my heroine for patience and courage, my avid fan cheering at the bleachers, my advocate who told me not to give up, not to give up .Now, let me see... Inay, Tatay, Ate Gina... Wow, I'm so lucky, I have a dream team of moral support! ... Yes, it's hard, actually. Inay, Tatay, Ate Gina, they all passed away. Now that they're gone, family day in the seminary is never as exicitng as before. Christmas and summer vacations became treacherously lonely without them to greet me by the gate of our house. I miss them so badly, I sometimes wake up late at night, calling out their names, reaching for them. "Nay, Tay, Ate Gina... Please,be with me now... Please, please, be with me here... Even as illusion, even as ghosts, please, be with me. I just miss you so much... Inay, Itay, I really really miss you so much..." My only consolation, however, is my Christian faith, which tells me, that Inay, Tatay and Ate Gina are all in heaven. Together with Mama Mary and the saints, they are all praying for me, interceding for me.

I am comforted by the fact that even in the after life, they remain to be my family, my best motivators, my greatest heroes, my dream team of moral support. And above all, my angels. All I want to do now is to hug them, to thank them, to tell them,

"Inay, Tatay, Ate Gina, you are still the most important persons in my life.