Category: Family First

Posted on

The Last Student in the Family

My sister Jodie is now in her last year as a college student. Classes opened just last week at their university. Oh, how time flies so fast! She used to be a tiny girl whom I used to send to and fetch from kindergarten. Next year, she’ll be a fresh graduate already. And she’ll start to look for a job and find one.

My sister Jodie is one tough cookie. She’s actually a working student. She’s a part-time tour guide at the restaurant where I still work albeit occasionally na lang (we have the same job there). I still pay for her tuition fees, though, and my two other siblings provide for her daily allowance. The money she earns from her part-time job she spends in her school projects and other personal expenses.

Continue reading “The Last Student in the Family”

Posted on

New Job and First Day Stress

Just to be clear, it’s not me who’s just landed a new job but my sister. Actually, today is her first day at work. I dunno with you, but every time my siblings take on a new adventure (be it anything), I’m the one who feels the stress or anxiety or pressure or excitement or whatever feeling you could associate with it. I feel as if I were the mother. It must be because, as the eldest child, I treat my siblings as my own children.

You see, my sister lost her job (she used to work as a retail assistant for Globe) a month or so ago. One morning after that misfortune, another misfortune happened. She accidentally hit her head in the restroom and got a big bump in her forehead which prevented her from looking for a new job for weeks. When she was finally able to apply for a job, she fortunately got one fast. And I couldn’t stop thanking God for the blessing.

Continue reading “New Job and First Day Stress”

Posted on

On Living Within Your Means

I came from a lower middle class family. Unlike other families where both parents are working, it was just my dad who had a job. My mom took care of our home, of us. It was in my early years that I fully grasped the meaning of living within your means, through the examples and practices of my parents.

Then, my mom had a budget to follow and I believed she was able to manage her spending most of the time. Maybe it’s because she knew she couldn’t overspend because it would make her children hungry and her husband disappointed. During those times when she did overspend, she was smart enough to cover for it by borrowing money from friends. A not so smart practice, but at least, she was able to feed us and we didn’t go hungry for our dad to notice.

Continue reading “On Living Within Your Means”

Posted on

Farewell, Tita Lourdes!

During my college years, I experienced living with relatives to save on resources and eventually, out of necessity. You see, I grew up in the province and my family didn’t have a house in Manila where the university was. I survived college with the help, both emotionally and financially, of relatives. One of them is my uncle Roy who is my dad’s younger brother.

Tito Roy used to live in Bacoor, Cavite with her wife Lourdes. They had a bakery then. I spent my freshman and sophomore days under their roof. In exchange for their kindness to accommodate me in their house, I helped in their bakery every weekday after school and during weekends when I had no classes.

Continue reading “Farewell, Tita Lourdes!”

Posted on

Pretty Little Sister

My pretty little sister J is not so little anymore. Actually, she’s gonna be on her final year in college this year. She’s the youngest in our family but the way she carries herself shows otherwise. My family and I are very proud of her.

J has been taking her studies seriously since she started going to school. During her elementary and high school years, she had those 1st 2nd 3rd place medals and won even more. Now that she’s in college, she continues to be an active student joining in-school organizations and a lot of extra-curricular activities. And when she had the chance to do some part-time work, she also grabbed it. Now she’s earning real money already and gets to support her studies with very little and sometimes zero help from us.

Continue reading “Pretty Little Sister”

Posted on

Happy Momma

My mom laughs a lot. She has a cheerful disposition. She also has a great sense of humor and she doesn’t even know that. She’s like the clown in our family. There’s no dull moment with her around. I think my mom really suits my dad because he’s a very quiet man.

My mom is a happy woman but she can be emotional at times. At one point in her life, she was a crying lady. It was when she cried like a waterfall wall when her sister died and she didn’t have money to fly to the province to attend her burial service. I was still a kid then and didn’t understand a thing. I just saw her crying and instinctively, I cried with her. Haha.

Continue reading “Happy Momma”