Well Rooted Life; Day164/02; My Two Mothers

And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity]. Psalm 1:3 

Two Mom’s
My mother was born in 1932, yes that was 78 years ago.  She lost her husband 27 years ago [1983] and she retired from her teaching career in 1992 [18 years]. One of my top objectives here while in Cebu is to spend quality time with her.  I lost my father when I was 16 and I was not a good son at that time yet [I think] and plenty of regrets of how I live my life back then.  In October of 2010, I received a bad news from my sisters in Cebu that mom’s kidney is failing and told me that she might need to start kidney dialysis soon because her lab works and nuclear tests were not so good.  I did not know anything about kidney failures and all I know that my dad’s cause of death in 1983 was renal failure [a complication from diabetes].  I did some reading about kidney diseases and found out that the news that I’ve heard were not good. 

Fast forward to the present time-today she had her monthly lab works done in the morning and in the afternoon we received the results.  I’m not in the medical field but I can read lower and upper spec limits and me and my sister Hyades were thankful that her #’s were trending up for the good side.  When we went to her doctor [ Dr. German Mayo Jr.] he was astonished by my mom’s progress.  My mom is a trained emotionless person just like me and I could not even see a smile in her face when Dr. Mayo gave her the good news that he will continue the medical treatment through medication and that he will put the dialysis treatment on hold for now.  I think I can go back home to Texas now.  God is really good – as always.

Wait! The great story of day was not that. It’s what my other mom’s action [Britta] that amazed me and how she is being used to make things come to pass today.  After lunch with Amour, Dayline, Hyades, Tootsie, Britta and Biling at Golden ____ .. ground floor SM, my mom needed to rest [her Dr.’s appointment was at 3pm] so we used our hotel room to take a nap but instead me and my mom talked for one straight hour [heart to heart].  It was such a great pleasure to really have a good conversation with someone close to you.  We were just lying down in bed closing our eyes but talking.  The theme of our conversation was “the end of a good life-we are all going there”.  [this is before we got her good lab results].  I don’t celebrate for anything but I am always grateful for the good things that happen in front of my eyes. To Britta, thank you for all the things that you’ve done. [others might be wondering why I have to write a message to my wife, I am staying with my sister’s house in Pardo beginning last night and probably won’t see her for a week because I am leaving for Merida this Wednesday]

Here’s the pictures I took today. 

Brittney-18, Mom-78 and Brent-14. In 1992 when Brittney was born, Me and Britta decided to send her to Merida where mommy chit took care of her because Britta was not able to handle the new child due to work and my deployment to South Korea for 1 year.  My mother was also with us in Round Rock to help out with Brent’s arrival in 1996.  I have to keep reminding my kids about what my mom and mama bulak did for them when they were little.  This picture has more story behind it. [Location-Briccio’s home]
 

Me, mommy chit, brent, brittney, dayline, hyades

Morning Cebu traffic

sister bebs taking a shortcut somewhere

My two mothers.

MIT (Most Important Task)
1. Stabilize diet [food intake is not normal]
2. Getting ready for Merida Trip
3. Some mild shopping
4. Purchase cruise ship tickets from Cebu to Ormoc

After Action Review
A. What went well?
1. Mommy Chit’s good lab results
2. Spent time with mother and sisters
3. Watching people opening the balikbayan box [Chadd-many thanks to you]
4. I am spending PHP instead of $. [sisters hesitant when I said “Full Tank” at gas station.]
5. Being at the backseat watching instead of driving.
6. WIFI everywhere. I am able to connect [RDP] to my servers in Round Rock and check.  WIFI speed is decent-It’s like being there.
7. People I met today-papa Jojo, Mama Bulak, Bo, Timothy, Biling,

B. What did not go so well?
1. Day03 of no cardio workout, [I can’t wait for a long distance open water swim at Pantalan this Wednesday]
2. No bagel breakfast and no morning latte [but will adjust, switching to black instant coffee-Nescafe, better than Starbucks]
3. Ineffectiveness of doing things in Cebu due to traffic.
4. S and R, unable to use my Visa because the registered name was not same as me. [Costco/Sam’s version in Cebu]
5. My Cebu driving skills took a while to comeback-ok now.  Imagine not stopping the car until it is close to 6 inches or simply trusting the driver next to you-that he will not hit you sideways.
6. No base camp yet, my stuff are in backpacks and ready to go.  I feel like I am back with my US Army unit, always on the go and don’t know what to expect.  [I love it though]
7. Unable to make contact with friends and classmates due to 1. no phone numbers 2. I have no cell phone or 3. Simply I don’t have friends.  So please, if ever you were a friend of mine before or knows me, leave a message in FB and I will try to arrange a meeting or lunch or dinner or starbucks.

C. What would I do differently?
1. Nothing. Just enjoying being with Cebuano.