09/12. 21.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

My dad woke too early yesterday morning for I don't know why. Mama was still asleep, and then he suddenly crept into the room, climbed into bed, and with a big hug, told her:

"Sweetheart, 21 years na tayong nagtitiisan sa isa't-isa!!!"

Happy 21st anniversary for my parents.

I adore my parents in every way. I truly do. I have looked up to them since I was little, and whether I get married, move away, or do something with else with my life, I will always love them and be their girl. ;)

Here are 21 things I know and will never forget about them. Bordering on the funny to the serious:

They're a faithful Christian couple. ;) If nothing else, they are.
They got married at 33. 33 years to wait for your true love. For my dad, she was the only right after many wrongs. For my mom, he was her first and last. See, true love might have to wait. And from what I can see, it is so worth it.
My mom was once my dad's boss. :)) They met in work kasi. But my dad rose to equal power in another department.
My dad courted not with flowers, I tell you. He thinks flowers are for dead people. And do you have any idea what he thinks are for courting? CRABS. Fresh and grown and alive in bayongs, from their own farm.
It was kind of an accident, since that was the only bus with aircon back then; sinagot ni mama si papa on the Love Bus.
If you saw that last movie with Anne Curtis and Aga Muhlach, there was a line that said "No demand, no expectation." Years ago, that was the exact line my mom told my dad nung naging sila. Walang originality si Anne Curtis.
They taught us to be selfless, to put other people before ourselves. In conversations, in decisions, in everything, we were taught to condition our hearts not for ourselves, but for others.
They're not perfect. They've had fights and misunderstandings. But in relation to #7, they put others before themselves. They conquered, and they stayed. Wouldn't have it in any other way. Love conquers talaga! And they called each other "sweetheart" for as long as I can remember, kaso nga lang pina-ikli kaya parang "sitaart".
After 21 years, love and marriage can still be sweet. It may be old and gray and weathered, at times even cranky and menopausal, but there's nothing like true love. ;)
They're big on adventure. Daredevil plus scaredy-cat. In my lifetime, I've been able to discover places and people off the beaten road, gotten inside lines I shouldn't have, gotten discounts that were never there, seen and experienced things no one my age has, even entered private no-trespassing places. But see, my dad's cunning and my mom's going along with his outrageous ideas, got us the best adventures that no one could ever have had.
Now and always, they are superheroes to me. In their work, in raising us up, even in small things like cutting out clouds and making kites. More than Superman and Darna.
They are superb cooks. And I'm not the only one who said so. Whatever they cook tastes fantastic. They brought us up with a taste for good food, and that there is no final label to food: mapa-Gloria Maris or turo-turo by the road, good food does not lie in names and prices.
Everything about being jologs, corny, aanga-anga and laughing, I learned from them. Walang tatapat. Lahat ng pagiging fishball, kwek-kwek, singer, joker, beachwalk, puruntong...lahat yan natutunan namin sa kanila. Lalung-lalo na yung pagkanta up-to-sawa.
They love to travel. I'm blessed to have been able to tag along in their journeys. Kahit hindi pa ako nakakalabas ng Pilipinas, everything they brought me to see in my own country is not even anything just anyone has ever seen. Seryoso! Ang galing nila lagi humanap ng gimik.
Ang gagaling din mambola. They're very good with people, and they can talk their way out of everything; traffic penalties (every single one I've seen, as far as I can tell), overdues, waiting in lines, guidance counselors...they know what people want to hear. Aside from that, they're good actors. It's not tricking people, really. It's just pushing them to admit they can be wrong, and that what they think isn't such a bad idea. :))
Grabe sila kamapag-bigay sa min. Do you know that line "isusubo na lang, ibibigay pa..."? It usually applies to parents who love their children. For us, literal ang meaning nun: kapag gusto namin yung kinakain nila, isusubo na lang nila, ibibigay pa sa min. :)) Bwahahahaha.
They value knowledge. They value books, learning, reading, exploring, tasting, discovering, experiencing. They've always taught us that wisdom is a priceless treasure. That is why we grew up seeing countless movies and having countless books in open shelves everywhere, and having countless, endless coversations about what's on our mind and what's in life.
They value people. Kaya nga selflessness. They value love, friendship and belief. They value manners and virtue.
God before anything else. Always. Unconditionally. Eternally.
We've slipped, fell, and gone our way though we weren't supposed to. And we keep coming back, and they keep accepting us. We've hurt them, disrespected them, disobeyed them, but they have never truly totally cast us off in their hearts and in their lives, unlike other parents who just give up on their children. They know their responsibility and role as loving, Godly parents.
They raised us up to be God-fearing, opinioned, outspoken and selfless. I would forever be grateful for their efforts of putting us into the right. They have done everything for us out of love, and what was best for us. I cannot imagine and want any better way to have grown up, and neither can I imagine and want any better parents.

To 21 years, and ongoing, of love, family, faith and FUN!
Happy anniversary. >.<