Tag: remembering

Yelly Writes

Margie Concepcion L Osorio

Yelly

In Filipino, we have a word for “big sister” – it is ATE (ah-teh). In several Philippine dialects, it is Manang (mah-nahng). We also have other words for elder sister, according to whether they are eldest, second eldest, third eldest, and so on.

In my mom’s family, there is an Ate, a Ditse, a Sanse and a bunso. My Lolo Osiong and Lola Gening had 8 living children – 4 boys and 4 girls.

The Ate in my mom’s family was my Tita Margie. Tita Margie was, to me, the paragon of all Ate virtues. Without any exaggeration, I’ve always felt that Tita Margie epitomised the perfect “Ate”. She took care of her family. She took care of my Lolo and Lola. She took care of her siblings. She was at least 10 years older than the second eldest girl and she took her role as big sister seriously.

Mom often recalled that her Manang Margie made matching clothes for them, my Tita Migen, my Mom and my Tita Bing. They had pictures of the three of them wearing matching outfits that Tita Margie had sewn for them. Mama always said that Tita Margie always insisted on all of them being turned out well, that she would sew them outfits if they had something important to go to. She was the same with us. She would insist we dressed up properly and dressed appropriately.

Tita Margie started sewing when she was in high school and never really stopped. I remember she would sew clothes for my cousins and me. I remember all the clothes she sewed for me. Her sewing machine and sewing kit were a never-ending bag of surprises and she created magic with needle, thread, cloth and her Singer sewing machine. Once, my brother Aryeh asked for a plane-shaped soft toy and Tita Margie, even though she had never made a toy like that before, gamely took the challenge on. That toy is still at home, in Don Jose, somewhere. Tita Margie always made things to last.

Tita Margie was the constant in my mom’s family…at least to me she was. She was always there for everyone – for her brothers and sisters, for her nieces and nephews. She was the head cheerleader for her family. She was proud of her siblings and their achievements and I know that in her own way, she made sure that her siblings knew that. She let them shine and she helped them shine.

Tita Margie always wanted the best for her family. She was the same with her nieces and nephews. In a way that was uniquely Tita Margie, she encouraged all of us to be the best we could be. She supported us in whatever way she could. She cheered us on but at the same time, if she felt we were behaving in a manner that was less than acceptable, she would tell us, in no uncertain terms. She had rules and she had standards. But she had a way of calling out bad behaviour that only she could. We may not have felt it at the time, but in hindsight, everything she did, she did in love, because, she always wanted what was best for us.

Everything she did, she did because she loved us. Everything she did, she did for her family. Her love for her family was in everything she did, in every word, in every deed, in every stitch, in every treat, in every gift.

I cannot imagine Manila without Tita Margie. I cannot imagine not seeing her cheeky smile and hearing her witty conversation. But at the same time, I am relieved that she is no longer in pain, no longer uncomfortable, no longer struggling to move. I am thankful that she is now healthy and whole, with my Lolo and Lola, with my Uncle Magni, Uncle Franklin and Uncle Wawell. I am thankful that she is now with the Lord. I am thankfully reassured that when the time comes, I will be with her again.

I love you Tita Margie.

Yelly Writes

Victory!

Yelly

“The world must know what happened, and never forget.” » General Eisenhower

Thinking of all the individuals who served in the Allied Forces to push back the Nazi Germany and their cohort, of all the people who the Nazis thought were disposable, those that survived the concentration camps, those that served in the auxiliary services that kept the nation running, those people who fought against those wanting to obliterate our intrinsic rights to practice our freedoms.

Also thinking about my grandfather who served in the Philippine Army, to fight the Japanese in the Philippines. He served with distinction, walked and survived the Bataan Death March, continued to serve his country as the first chairman of the National Science Development Board (which was a precursor to the modern day Department of Science and Technology) and worked to raise the profile of science and technology and how this can help the Philippine nation move forward and develop. I think of all the selfless individuals in the Philippines who fought the Japanese covertly or overtly, the men and women who laid their lives to protect the larger population from Japanese oppression and I marvel at their bravery. I am not sure that I can be that brave or selfless.

We must never forgot what these people went through, what horrors happened. We must never allow this kind of hatred, bigotry and oppression to be experienced by anyone, regardless of the colour of their skin, race, creed, religious beliefs and political views.

I

Thinking of all the individuals who served in the Allied Forces to push back the Nazi Germany onslaught, of all the people who the Nazis thought were disposable, those that survived the concentration camps,those that served in the auxiliary services that kept the nation running.

We must never forgot what these people went through, what horrors happened. We must never allow this kind of hatred, bigotry and oppression to be experienced by anyone, regardless of the colour of their skin, race, creed, religious beliefs and political views.

I would like to think that we are more evolved now as an international population.

We must be honest about what happened in the past. We must be brutal in the discussion of the series of events. We accept that there was and will always be blame to assign in times of strife and war. War happens when someone wants to subjugate another, overpower them, obliterate their culture and mores; when someone believes they are better than others.

Thinking of all the individuals who served in the Allied Forces to push back the Nazi Germany onslaught, of all the people who the Nazis thought were disposable, those that survived the concentration camps,those that served in the auxiliary services that kept the nation running.

We must never forgot what these people went through, what horrors happened. We must never allow this kind of hatred, bigotry and oppression to be experienced by anyone, regardless of the colour of their skin, race, creed, religious beliefs and political views.

I would like to think that we are more evolved now as an international population. We must be vigilant about this. We must fight to maintain our rights, as international citizens, to be who we want to be, to believe what we want to believe and to express our thoughts and opinions. Yes, there should always be rules, because without them, our society would not have order. We must remember that these rules protect these rights that we enjoy and more often than not, take for granted.

But above all, we must remember that we must be guided by love and kindness. If we are guided by love and kindness, everything else follows.

Yelly Snaps

Remembering and being thankful

Yelly

 

“When you go home, tell them of us and say, for their tomorrow we gave our today.”
~John Maxwell Edmonds

 

For those who fight to to preserve the peace, for those who give their lives so we can live ours, for those who stand against the wall so we have the freedom expand our horizons, we can never thank you enough.