Like mother, like sons
Veda Bañez Alonso takes a while to answer when asked if she had raised her three sons as a hippie.
Veda Bañez Alonso takes a while to answer when asked if she had raised her three sons as a hippie.
“Our friends are scared of you, dad.” My daughters told me that when I fetched them from school one day. I had commented that their friends would become quiet when I approached. I wondered why, because I get along well with people of all ages. I am generally considered intelligent, fun and friendly.
Cookie La’O decided to pursue a career in golf when, in his teens, he excelled in the sport. He was introduced to the sport at 12 and has done everything, from amateur tournaments abroad, representing the country in the 1997 South East Asian Games, to opening a golf academy for kids.
Mother’s Day is here! Are you ready to celebrate your mom? If your answer is “meh,” that’s okay; getting along with Mom is not always easy. Despite the difficulty, we can always try to figure out how we can give life to our relationship with the person who gave us life.
This morning, I got this insight as I watched the Benguet tayao dance, where a couple dances in a circle to the beat of drums and gongs. The man raises his arms toward the heavens while the woman keeps her arms folded and low, as a bird protects her chicks.
One in 10 Filipino couples has one or more conditions that prevent conception, according to a recent study.
My little boys have grown. As I watch my two sons sleep peacefully, I often say a prayer of thanks for the years we have gone through together. They have grown from lovable bundles of joy into endearing full-fledged teens. I love my boys tremendously, though they can be a handful at times.
“Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! Look, up in the sky, it’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Superman!” Those were the classic words that my siblings and I chanted each time the “Superman” cartoons aired on TV.
![The author [left] shares a light moment in this photo with the rest of the Baticulon Family.](http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/files/2013/03/Family-90x65.jpg "Baticulon Family")
Today, my youngest sister will graduate as valedictorian of her high school class. As she delivers her valedictory address on the podium, my engineer father and my homemaker mother will be listening from dedicated seats in the front row. Dapper in his polo and regal in her blouse handpicked just for the occasion, they will share the spotlight as my sister accepts her gold medal.
Of all the things I learned from my mother, I think the best and most valuable is the power of prayer. We go through trials, and everyone has his or her own way of dealing with life’s challenges—in our family, it has always been through prayers, whether in Mass, rosaries, novenas or at the Blessed Sacrament.
I’ve been married less than a year. I’m an only son to a mother who just got widowed. My mother has no living relatives, as well.
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