A Tribute to my Grandma Sofia!

 

my big bro and grandma 25 years ago

      As I was sipping my coffee early this morning while listening to the chirping bird which J and I call “George”, I was struck with a moment of Dejavu! In this moment I was transported back in my life many years to when I was much younger.

      Life in my province, and specifically Dumaguete City, Philippines 20+ years ago was way different from what I have come to know now in this dreamland called “America”. The kind of life I had then was simple, there was no electricity, no cars, less pollution, stray dogs all over the neighborhood that where constantly fighting with the stray cats (why do cats and dogs never seem to get along? Just wondering!), A.M radio with pictures of our celebrity on the front blasting on. You would see smoke coming from each houses kitchen, kids playing outside the houses, while on weekends the neighborhood moms would be lined-up in stair ways picking lice out of their daughters hair especially during summer. The group of dads or men would gather without shirts in their small stores attached to the house with their bottle of gin and roasted peanuts. All of these memories bring a smile to my face and even give me a little pinch in the back of my heart because I miss it all so much. I miss it because when I look back it reminds me of who I am and I couldn't be who I am today without all of those experiences; its something that reminds me to keep my feet on the ground. And most of all of these things, there's only one particular person that I was reminded of and am always thankful of and that is my Grandma Sofia.

      Grandma Sofia is my Mamcy's wonderful mom. She stands 5'1'', she weighed about 95 lbs, but you shouldn't underestimate her because she could do amazing things like balance a load of folded clean clothes wrapped in a white blanket that was about 4 feet tall and probably weights 15 lbs on top of her head. Seeing her balance those really was pretty impressive for a very petite, Grandma; she was tough. Our Grandma Sofia is our Hero!

      Grandma Sofia's days would start as early as 4 am, she would take her shower, get dressed and start rolling her tobacco (now that is the real start, when the tobacco is lit!). She has a particular place nearby the water pump where she would do her laundry, this place is open to the public for all sorts of things like bathing, washing clothes, doing dishes, drinking or for whatever purposes. Way back then, there's only a few people who could afford for tap water; I can even count them all with my fingers. Life was hard back then, I was about 6 years old when I started to see the real world on my own. Hoping to provide a better future for us, both my parents left for Manila the capital of Philippines for work leaving me and my brother with our Grandma. Without an education she managed to raise us children by means of doing laundry for our neighbors. Once Grandma lits her rolled tobacco that is game on! Grandma spent hours hand washing laundry while smoking her tobacco squinting frequently trying not to get the smoke in her eyes. My oh my how that tobacco stays in her lips until its gone, even until now I cant still figure out how she did it; Only Grandma knows!

      Did I ever mention how great a cook she was?! She was born with a natural talent for cooking, and to make ends meet she also worked in her friends cafe as a Cook. She was my mentor, I was 6 when I first learned how to cook rice with her guidance and patience. Washing the rice, measuring the exact water level, building a fire with wood and setting the pot on top of it. As a first time cook, her rule to me was keep your eyes on the pot, make sure to add wood if needed and scream if it boils, because she would always be there to rescue me (I told you she's my hero!). At 7 am she would start her second job after walking a good ½ mile to the Cafe I mentioned before; this was all while her 7 grandchildren were still snoring, and drooling. Around 11 am grandma would come home and starts cooking lunch for us, her famous dish was a “Pig brain Omelet” (keep away from the iPads, laptop or keyboard from you just in case your about to throw-up!).

      It is still fresh from my memory how she does it, she would carefully boils the pig's brain in a clay pot over wood fire on low heat, scrambled the eggs, fried it and place the boiled pigs brains and rolled the eggs kinda looks like burrito roll. Then she sliced the omelet in 8 pieces, one for each of us. Pretty creative huh! After making lunch for us she would head back to rolling her tobacco and doing laundry which always lasted until 5 pm. After a long day washing clothes, she would make dinner and after start ironing, but she would use a charcoal iron. While she was ironing, us 7 grandchildren would entertain her with songs. During these family concerts we would be trying not to get too close to our single candle that was our only source of light, singing our hearts out to Diana Ross's “If We Hold On Together” over and over again. This Diana Ross song is really special to me because it brings back fond memories with my grandma, cousins and brother which is something that I can't bring back but it will always stay in my heart forever. I so miss you Grandma!

      And this very day at age 28 turning 29, with a coffee in my left hand, I find myself roaming around my keyboard listening to the same song of  Diana Ross's “If We Hold On together”, so far a few tears have rolled down my checks, because I loved her so much, I still miss you Grandma. I can honestly say now that, I get it. I know the answers to all my questions and that is “You served your Purpose”. Today January 5th, 2012 marks your 19^th year death anniversary. Its almost been two decades but your memories and your unconditional love still lingers on with me. You’ve been gone for too long and now your back in the hands of your Creator. Please continue guiding us and protecting us. You'll always be Missed and you'll always be Loved.

Thank you and I love you Lola Sofia Elnas!

-Love-