by Telly G. Ocampo
Thinking of Christmasses of yore!
This is my first simbang gabi after 5 years. Why? This is my story.
In February 2019 I had my partial hip replacement surgery which inevitably prevented me from going to church to attend simbang gabi. Then there was Covid. Its wrath also barred us from attending the same activity. In fact, our misa de gallo was on television. In 2020, my husband was still up and about and he was loyal to his task of waking me up for the misa de gallo. He was an early riser who is exactly my opposite. I could be as cold as frozen oil. Mura gyud ko ug mantika ug mahinayak ug tulog.
He passed on in Nov. 2021. Pardon me, but I must admit that he was in the pink of health until we had our first dose of the vaccine. After that dose, he started getting weak and weaker especially after the second dose. He was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in 2012 and had his colon reconnected two years after. He was declared cancer free two years after his surgery without chemotherapy. We went into alternative medicine with aloe vera juice.
When his condition weakened in the last quarter of 2021, we consulted a palliative doctor to prepare himself and to prepare us for any eventuality. There is always a time in the crossroad of our life when we pray for a death without pain. And God gave my husband what we prayed for.
Odette came 40 days after his passing away. My children were all in my Blue Apartelle when Odette showed her rage. How could I ever have survived Odette without them? They stayed on until Christmas praying they could be spending Christmas in their respective homes. As our family tradition subtly dictates, they are always in our home for Christmas.
Though walking is still an ordeal for me, I’m happy now that there is the new tryke which I call my “marcedes bench” ug dili Mercedes Benz. This is now my official transport. I’m comfortable with Roy Paman and Jay-r who are my dependable suki nga mopahiluna gyud naho isip ilang pasahero. They could drive me carefully to and from where my fancy brings me. It’s sad that my usual companions are experiencing the pangs of aging so there are times I travel alone.
So, I have not missed my simbang gabi. It’s my Covenant with God and my way of expressing my gratitude to Him for bringing back my two brothers “home” after some years of “vacation”.
Moreover, this Christmas, it’s my mission to visit ailing friends and relatives. I’ve started this tonite after the simbang gabi. Lito Javier is my younger brother’s best friend. I’ve heard he has some health challenges. So I’ve asked his wife, Mayet, if I could go and visit them. Besides, their place is a sight to behold with the Christmas lights and all. Duha ra gyud na ka balay sa sawang nga hayag kaayo sa suga tungod sa Christmas lights: Lito and Mayet’s house, and there’s also that house of Quincy Alas Catubig, a young architect whose little house by the sea has become a wonderland.
This Christmas Season, I have been going around the eskinitas sa Baclayon. Makamingaw gyud.
Lito treats his challenge on a positive light. Definitely, life goes on in the Javier household. Didto ko manihapon sa gitawag nila ug “garden of greens” nga giamuma gyud ni Lito. He says that gardening bouys up his spirit. Everything in the garden is tastefully arranged to become functional. You must see his place and I am sure that when you go home mura pud ka ug matakdan sa iyang pagka green thumb ug sa iyang art.
Tomorrow I will ask my younger brother, Junior Ado, to visit Lito and walk down memory lane as they think, talk and laugh about the Christmasses of yore spent together during their childhood.
Merry Christmas to everyone! May you have peace and joy and the heart for Christmas, Jesus Emmanuel.
Seated clockwise are: Mayet Javier (Lito’s wife), Lito, and the author. Standing clockwise are: Daria (Mayet’s older sister), Scarlete (the daughter of Lito and Mayet), and Lito’s nurse (who is the niece of Mayet).