Overflooded with Memories
Our stepsiblings were gone by the time me and Silvain woke up. They were on their way to church, and left us an extra key. We would have gone with them, but we had scheduled lunch with Ate Elaine and Kuya Marlo, and their kids Sammy and Sophie. We had met up a couple of months ago when they went on vacation in Seattle, so we didn't miss each other so much yet, but they are always so fun to be with, and Sammy and Sophie are just the cutest. They hugged as warmly when we met at the lobby of Bob Chinn's Crab house up in Wheeling. The restaurant was Hawaiian-themed but played Western music (quite an odd mix, reminiscent of Seattle' own Hula Hula, where the regulars sang country music in the Polynesian-themed bar. The power went off for a time (maybe due to the rain, perhaps?) It had been a gloomy weekend, and Kuya Marlo jokingly said that we brought Seattle Weather with us.
Afterwards, we went around the Chicago Botanical Gardens, which was a welcome respite from the flatness of Chicago. It was a sprawling compound with different themed gardens, most of them in different islands around a main lagoon. It had started rainign lightly, but we still thoroughly enjoyed walking around.
After we said our goodbyes, we met up with our stepsiblings to go to a housewarming party for Cherna and her family. This was a larger celebration with more people. The food, as always, was good. Ate Malou, who looked slightly intoxicated, told us about her slight conflicts with Mom, telling us that they're trying to "refocus" her, and that we should just "understand" her as she is our Mom. As usual, she told us to move back to Chicago.
On the way back, we bought Bailey's for the steps, and had a few drinks in Forest Park. Christina, who initially was wary of the liquor, found that she enjoyed it, and got thoroughly tipsy. Sadly, we made our promise with Mom, and had to leave. That night, we slept in Broadview. As I laid down to sleep, she held me, and sat beside me. Quiet and attentive, I was beginning to see again the mother I had not seen for so many years; the mother who loved us truly and unconditionally, the mother not aged and overripe with many fruitless years in America. A mother still youthful and cheerful, whose years of hard labor did not show on her brow. We were having a conversation which I now forget, before I drifted off to sleep.
Mom shows her love in strange ways. She wants to take care of us, and baby us. The next day, we had breakfast, and she managed to control even the seating arrangement in our small table. She presented me with a collection of sunday comics that she kept for me all these months. She wanted us to talk, but refused to talk about the things that truly mattered to us. How complicated can it be?
On our last day in Chicago, we had to meet up with our Lola and our Tita Yvonne. Mom wouldn't go with us because she had to work at the office. We picked Lola up at the Senior Center and drove down to Chinatown, where Tita Yvonne apparently shopped regularly. We met at the Triple Crown Restaurant, where Tita Yvonne presented us with a humble gift of a box of hopia. We ordered a lot, and the food was delicious and overflowing. Tita Yvonne confided to me that she never really want Mom to get married again; back then, she was mildly successful as a paralegal assistant and didn't really need the financial benefits of getting married. As the conversation proceeded, I realized that Tita Yvonne was wont to think of everything in financial benefits; so while her husband loves her, somehow I get the feeling that she does not feel the same way. Either that or she just doesn't want to seem sentimental. Just by her looks, you can see that she is a strong-willed, straightforward woman.
I felt very bad for Lola Virgie. She said that her landlord was threatening to kick her out of her apartment if she didn't clean up her apartment and discard of her junk. She beckoned me to come up to her apartment, and eagerly gave whatever junk she thought we would like. She made these steel chains that contain lead, according to the plastic bags the links came from. She also gave me odd things, like hand sanitizer lying around. In the past, she would give even her grocery, regardless of whether it has expired or not. She has a very generous heart, but over the years, her tenacious habit of collecting has not helped her get peace of mind. As she escorted me back down, she asked me to look into senior living apartments in Seattle. She says that her gout becomes painful during the winter as she gets increasingly sensitive to the cold, and that none of our relatives really visited her in her apartment. Last winter, she also slipped on the sidewalk ice, and broke her foot, which is better now.
Sadly, we couldn't tell her that the hills in Seattle might be even harder for her to walk around on, and besides, I'm afraid that my brother and I are unable to take care of her at the moment. Nevertheless, I promised that we would look into it. I love her, but I don't know what I can do for her.
We went back to Broadview for a little more quality time with our mom. She was evidently upset that we weren't sleeping in Broadview during our last night in Chicago, but we were very adamant in spending the last night in Forest Park, and she refused to compromise by sleeping in Forest Park. I'm afraid she is too embarassed to see our stepsisters now. She tried to make us stay as long as possible there though, and we hung out with Michelle, one of her boarders. She was a fun Fil-Am veterinarian doctor from New York. She kind of misses the East Coast, and is still acclimatizing herself for Chicago weather, but she is strong and easygoing, and Mom doesn't seem to treat her bad; I think she will adjust well.
Our last night was a happy one. We had pizza and pizza pockets and some more drinks and chips while we watched an obscure Joseph Gordon-Levitt film. I fell asleep first, as usual, and dawn came too quickly, and we woke them up to say our goodbyes. I wish we had more time with them, but at the same time I was anxious to go back home.
I slept through most of the flight, until we came pretty close to Mount Rainier, and knew we were back home. As we neared the sound, it never looked more beautiful. Up in the air, it looked almost like home.
Afterwards, we went around the Chicago Botanical Gardens, which was a welcome respite from the flatness of Chicago. It was a sprawling compound with different themed gardens, most of them in different islands around a main lagoon. It had started rainign lightly, but we still thoroughly enjoyed walking around.
After we said our goodbyes, we met up with our stepsiblings to go to a housewarming party for Cherna and her family. This was a larger celebration with more people. The food, as always, was good. Ate Malou, who looked slightly intoxicated, told us about her slight conflicts with Mom, telling us that they're trying to "refocus" her, and that we should just "understand" her as she is our Mom. As usual, she told us to move back to Chicago.
On the way back, we bought Bailey's for the steps, and had a few drinks in Forest Park. Christina, who initially was wary of the liquor, found that she enjoyed it, and got thoroughly tipsy. Sadly, we made our promise with Mom, and had to leave. That night, we slept in Broadview. As I laid down to sleep, she held me, and sat beside me. Quiet and attentive, I was beginning to see again the mother I had not seen for so many years; the mother who loved us truly and unconditionally, the mother not aged and overripe with many fruitless years in America. A mother still youthful and cheerful, whose years of hard labor did not show on her brow. We were having a conversation which I now forget, before I drifted off to sleep.
Mom shows her love in strange ways. She wants to take care of us, and baby us. The next day, we had breakfast, and she managed to control even the seating arrangement in our small table. She presented me with a collection of sunday comics that she kept for me all these months. She wanted us to talk, but refused to talk about the things that truly mattered to us. How complicated can it be?
On our last day in Chicago, we had to meet up with our Lola and our Tita Yvonne. Mom wouldn't go with us because she had to work at the office. We picked Lola up at the Senior Center and drove down to Chinatown, where Tita Yvonne apparently shopped regularly. We met at the Triple Crown Restaurant, where Tita Yvonne presented us with a humble gift of a box of hopia. We ordered a lot, and the food was delicious and overflowing. Tita Yvonne confided to me that she never really want Mom to get married again; back then, she was mildly successful as a paralegal assistant and didn't really need the financial benefits of getting married. As the conversation proceeded, I realized that Tita Yvonne was wont to think of everything in financial benefits; so while her husband loves her, somehow I get the feeling that she does not feel the same way. Either that or she just doesn't want to seem sentimental. Just by her looks, you can see that she is a strong-willed, straightforward woman.
I felt very bad for Lola Virgie. She said that her landlord was threatening to kick her out of her apartment if she didn't clean up her apartment and discard of her junk. She beckoned me to come up to her apartment, and eagerly gave whatever junk she thought we would like. She made these steel chains that contain lead, according to the plastic bags the links came from. She also gave me odd things, like hand sanitizer lying around. In the past, she would give even her grocery, regardless of whether it has expired or not. She has a very generous heart, but over the years, her tenacious habit of collecting has not helped her get peace of mind. As she escorted me back down, she asked me to look into senior living apartments in Seattle. She says that her gout becomes painful during the winter as she gets increasingly sensitive to the cold, and that none of our relatives really visited her in her apartment. Last winter, she also slipped on the sidewalk ice, and broke her foot, which is better now.
Sadly, we couldn't tell her that the hills in Seattle might be even harder for her to walk around on, and besides, I'm afraid that my brother and I are unable to take care of her at the moment. Nevertheless, I promised that we would look into it. I love her, but I don't know what I can do for her.
We went back to Broadview for a little more quality time with our mom. She was evidently upset that we weren't sleeping in Broadview during our last night in Chicago, but we were very adamant in spending the last night in Forest Park, and she refused to compromise by sleeping in Forest Park. I'm afraid she is too embarassed to see our stepsisters now. She tried to make us stay as long as possible there though, and we hung out with Michelle, one of her boarders. She was a fun Fil-Am veterinarian doctor from New York. She kind of misses the East Coast, and is still acclimatizing herself for Chicago weather, but she is strong and easygoing, and Mom doesn't seem to treat her bad; I think she will adjust well.
Our last night was a happy one. We had pizza and pizza pockets and some more drinks and chips while we watched an obscure Joseph Gordon-Levitt film. I fell asleep first, as usual, and dawn came too quickly, and we woke them up to say our goodbyes. I wish we had more time with them, but at the same time I was anxious to go back home.
I slept through most of the flight, until we came pretty close to Mount Rainier, and knew we were back home. As we neared the sound, it never looked more beautiful. Up in the air, it looked almost like home.