Dearest Marge...
Pretty soon, you won’t be a baby anymore... pretty soon, writing these letters will seem redundant, because i’m looking forward to the days when we can finally talk with words that comprise more than three letters (e.g. sky... fly... bye...). I’m excited about the prospect of telling you stories and knowing that you will understand all the crazy details... Hopefully, you and i will become friends before we start moving on to 4-letter words...
"...As you go on through life, gather roses while you walk..."
In the four weeks between December 22, 2009 and January 20, 2010, we attended, yep, you guessed it... three weddings and a couple of funerals.We caught three couples grabbing the moment, with your dad having the honor of playing a big role in three weddings, you in one of them, as well as attending the wake of someone in the family i barely knew... I was principal sponsor for the weddings of the former Cecile Gamoso, and Mike Lorenzo to Zeth Maceda. I was a groomsman and you were a beautiful flower girl in the wedding of Vergil dela Cruz. All of the above people worked with your dad, and we have remained very good friends.
Last January 1, my cousin’s husband had a freak accident by having a loose-flying piece of firework cannonball through his left temple. He had supposedly spent the past two or so years in some Middle Eastern country for work, and had been back in Baguio City for barely two days before the thing happened. He most likely had so many more stories to tell, and they most likely had so much more love to share.
And last January 20, little Jennifer bade our family goodbye…
I’ll keep this short and sweet, baby girl… Life is too short, but it’s never too short that you can’t make your mark in other people’s lives the way I was blessed enough with opportunity to have done.
As you go on through life, gather roses while you walk and remember where the thorns are, so you will know where to step or to avoid when next you have to take those paths again. The lessons in life are wide and plenty. But to learn them, you must keep not only your eyes, but also your heart open. It may not have eyes, but your heart makes more of the memories you keep looking back to in your head than your eyes. Don’t be hesitant to share what you have learned with others the way that I did. Despite whatever material blessings may come your way, the most precious things you can share without giving away your heart, and the things that people will always remember you for are what you have learned that you have shared.
If you’re lucky enough to have helped make them laugh with you, they will remember that, too.
Don’t be afraid to love, because loving is the single purest good thing in this world. But do remember that someone who loves, has to open her heart. And sometimes when it’s left open, bad things go in there and hurt you. But the good news is that no matter how broken your heart can get, it will heal. Maybe not tomorrow, or next week, but it will. I promise you.And unless survival requires it, don’t stay too far away for too long from the ones you love. You will never know if a crazy piece of firecracker rocket will decide a part of your head is its new landing pad.
Before the people at Hallmark think I can resurrect the cornball greeting card business, I am ending this post here, and leaving you with a link to a song that makes me think of you whenever I hear it. Listen closely, because this song has many things I hope you can live by. It’s Ronan Keating’s version of Lee Ann Womack’s “I Hope You Dance.”
‘catch you later. Love,
Dad.
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P.S. wrote this post/letter last week, but posted it much later so people won't say i don't have anything better to do with my time...
Anyways... turns out that today is... Chinese New Year... and Valentine's Day... it also happens to be a Sunday. You, mom and me went for a little snack at a nice place called Cafe by the Ruins up in Baguio City. We chose to take a nice slow walk through the park on the way back to the store. The photo here shows you refusing to let go of my hand, while you desperately try to follow a bunch of other children running around the grass with cheap toys like inflated balls decorated with lead-laced paint, rather ingenious little planes made with plastic and paper that flap its wings like a bird...and what nots...Just something you might want to try and look back to.. Let's see if remember any of this... since you're only almost a year and nine months old... and they say that memory retention really starts at three years old... let me know...
dad...
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