We fondly call her Baliling and Mamalo. She is my confidante and quiet strength. We can talk for hours on phone, so you can just imagine if we are together. LOL

If you think I am cool? She is way much cooler. Prayerful and always grateful and hopeful. Miss positivity. Miss optimistic. She gives and gives and so people around her take and take ha ha!

I don’t remember her nagging or making a sermon over things at home. So I grew up not only in a home but in a haven. And to me, it means a lot growing up because it gives me assurance that the world outside can be noisy and chaotic but I have a home to go home to, anytime. Knowing that we are all right no matter what gives me, especially, confidence to face life. That’s the greatest gift she and Hutsai (my late father) gave to me and my brother. They also instilled in me non-negotiables that no one understands except those who know or share the same values.

Others may be able to forgo family for whatever reason, but not me, not us.

Excellent cook, best homemaker! She cleans the house well, does laundry well (white clothes remain white), she presses clothes well and in a jiffy! I wish I were as good as her!

Did you know that even if I am already married whenever I go home, we would still sleep together. Papa would always say, “dulog mong duha sa kwarto.”

Another trivia: She is the champion of Scrabble. Di mi kalupig sa iya!

I could go on and on but I really want to thank her for giving me a PEACEFUL and LOVING existence. This QUIET STRENGTH is something I will cherish forever.