prayers for my inang

[As posted last September 21, 2010 on Tumblr]

i believe i said to myself that i am ready even from the time that i heard that she’s not fine. that i am just waiting for a text or a call. but when i finally received a text saying that now is the time at around 2:30 in the morning, tears started falling from my eyes. i felt sad. i cried.

inang, we will miss you. i know you will now be one with God in heaven. you’ll be in His paradise. you’ll be together again with tata. thank you for all the things that you’ve taught us. specially to us, your grand children. i know you loved us all so much although during the last few years while you’re little by little losing your memories and hearing and eye sight, you obviously had favoritism but we understood that that was because you’re getting old.

few of my memories of inang Eling:

- she would let me count the duck eggs to be sold to the balut maker.

- she would carry a basket full of tomatoes (already in separate plastic bags containing a kilo each) with me in tow to sell them to our neighbors

- we were at their house, inang, tata, jeff, jenny, jona and me—we shared a dinner of rice, sardines in can (w/tomato sauce) and pineapple slices (in can with 4 slices in it) as our dessert. she even made the pineapple slices into tidbits for us to have equal parts

- she was the first who taught us how to cook rice on wooden fire

- she would tell us “dalas” which meant faster when we’re going to their house specially when its starting to get dark already

- she cooks the best “pinugot”. a shrimp dish with kamias.

- she made us experience how to use a hand powered “stone” grain grinder whenever we would make kutchinta or dila-dila or ginataang bilo-bilo

- i could not remember one, i think she never raised her voice on us and never ever scolded any of us, her grandchildren.

When I was still a kid, I remember her as a tireless woman who’ll gets sick if she stops working even for a moment. that was my inang. goodbye inang. i love you!