When Delicadeza Dies

At my young age, there’s only one thing I fear most: being jailed. I know I cannot bear to see myself or any of my family members to be inside jail or to be punished for violating the law. I fear that. Why? It’s because my parents do fear that also. I remember my mother always saying to us their 9 children, “If any of you will commit crimes against the law, I rather kill you myself.” That fear motivates us to be good people. My parents raised us well. They taught us how to earn honestly even if it means hard work. My parents served as kasama’ to a 10 hectare land owned by a distant relative. Coconut farming was the main source of income. All of us experienced farming. We were taught to sweat for the food we will take. Every Saturdays and Sundays, we were in the cockpit not to gamble but to sell “kakanin”. We woke up earlier to help them prepare the food we will sell. Being young, there were times I feel ashamed seeing other kids playing while I was there selling. However, my mother always reminds us not be ashamed since we were not doing anything illegal. The income from selling were our “baon” for schooling.  I cannot remember any instances my father nor my mother deceived anyone. And I admired them for being so. Poor but honest people.  Most of the time, my father was the one being cheated but he’s so kind that he always let it pass. My father loves planting rootcrops and vegetables which used to be harvested by neighbors without asking permission. My father never confronted them only wishing that those people will learn how to plant their own.

We were taught to strive hard to make ends meet. To work hard and to live honestly and fairly. Not to step on other people toes nor to violate other people’s rights. 

Realizing the kind of parents I have, I am really grateful.

I feel pity for the children who were never taught of shame over misdeeds.

I pity those kids whose parents are greedy and who killed DELICADEZA in their vocabulary. 

I pity those officials who has the face to run for government offices despite the fact that they have pending cases of graft or plunder. 

I pity those people who tolerate abuse and support the abuser.

I pity our country who are run by politicians with no shame. 

I pity the children who will never be taught of honesty and fair living. 

My father died already last 2012 and my mother still continued with her hardwork. She’s already 69 yet she still wants to work. This time it’s much different now. She’s managing our own farmland while she’s still alive. My siblings in the province are tilling their own land which my parents were able to acquire through their hardwork and with the help of my other siblings who spent some years overseas. My mother is eager to leave one or two hectares for each of us before she departs. I admire her. Most of the time, I reminds her to have an easy life coz she’s aged already. She doesn’t like. She still helps my siblings. She still earns for her own. She never wants to depend to anybody for that I SALUTE my PARENTS!

 

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