My Ultimate Mama
Our relationships with our parents started basically from the moment we first opened our eyes to gleefully see the beauty of the world. As we were growing, we considered all adult figures involved in our lives as heroes. We all needed them to survive. Nevertheless, we realized that survival isn’t the real matter. We took more from life than just merely becoming a school grader, an elementary student, or a high school achiever; we took from life and played the son/daughter role.
When we were young, we look at our parents often being the “commander”, the leader of the band, or sometimes, the one who’s got the power. There were times when I thought my mother’s choices for me were completely unacceptable to my young, developing mind; that somehow I thought I knew better. I guess you would all agree with me on this. There were moments when we crazily see our relationship with our parents close to imperfection. Throughout our years of growth and maturity, we went into high school, enrolled in a University in another city, we began cutting umbilical cords, we had our hospital exposures, laughed with new acquaintances, traveled, and more. Yet, to me, the greatest is the act of independence. We move into great age, and it is then that we realize our parents have become a soul-mirror of us. We begin to grow like them, talk, and act like them. The lessons in life they managed to teach us have stayed within us throughout the years. They were never afraid to correct us when we’re wrong, or teach and encourage us in their own special way.
No matter how many times we try to configure it, we all resemble our parents. I, for one, know that we as students, as individuals, as teenagers; we go through life situations that are at times stressing and trying, but with close contact to our mom and our dad, life is never unfair. I realized that I’ve had an over 2-decade long relationship with my mother, being my sole provider and protector; and within those years, I’ve matured my childish needs, desires, expectations, demands, and wants. Things like patience, sacrifice, and even the ability to say “yes” or “no” came straight from them. Our loving parents are our personal angels of protection. They are in-charge in leading us to the right direction. They guide our actions and fill our needs. They have made us better persons in loving another human being. No other man can measure and give us what they have.
To our parents, we are proud of you. We are even prouder to honor you, for your wisdom, guidance, and the examples you have set. You gave us courage, and you helped us eliminate our uncertainties and fears. As we’ve grown into adulthood, we’ve found the riches and wealth of wisdom you have laid on us. We thank you for the patience as we learned to mature. We thank you for the answers of our many questions and we thank you for giving us the best you had to give. We don’t agree on everything because we are all human, because we are separate beings. But, we still have this relationship that has been forged and strengthened over time into a solid loving, caring, and thought-filled tie that not even time will break.
Guys, look at you parents now; they quietly sit beside you, joining and embracing your hearts in this very memorable date that will truly mark the calendar of your lives. Now, look at yourself. How you came to be after the long years and the many miles of your journey. You will never see yourself the same today without your parents. Their influence is often felt for a lifetime far beyond any price, far beyond any cost. I would like you to know that I love my parents, even to my Father whom I’ve never seen, because I know that they love me too. Your parents love you, they love you so much that it would be impossible for you to see yourself today if it weren’t for them. Whisper to their ears or say it aloud, I love you Ma, I love you Pa. I have appreciated everything you have brought into my life. Yes, everything. I hope you stick around here long enough, and I pray that I may do too for as long as the Lord forbids.
Our dear parents, tomorrow we shall enter and face a test of our diligent preparation. We chose not to put so much stress on it because seeing you here today, or just the mere thought of you, of all your sacrifices, are quite enough for us to win the battle. Life is the way it is, we might not know what awaits us at the end of the tunnel, but, today we would like to get into your heart and tell you that everything is offered to you. One day, we will all become parents like you and we hope to give the same understanding and support to our children. Thank you for being there. Thank you for staying and for the existence you brought into us. Thank you for making us into the person that we have become. Most of all, thank you for being our PARENTS. We offer our never ending love to you.
-Lesley Anne Pino
