Clavelina Aguado. That’s my mother.
She brought me out into this world in the
month of May. Yet it’s also in the month
of May when she finally said goodbye
to the colorful flowers that bloom in
the month of May. I had so many fond
memories with my mother. And if I
have the chance to replay one moment with
her, I would choose the moment when I first
saw in her the courage and strength of
being a mother of ten children. I
was in sixth grade and we had a project
to submit. We were required to make an
ash tray out of a bamboo tree and the
deadline would be the following week. It
was Friday then and I had not done a
thing – no material to use, no resources
available and nobody seemed to
help me out. My father who was always
occupied with his farming routines did
not bother himself a bit to help me.
So there I was, completely worried and
crying on early Saturday morning.
To make the scenario even worse, rain
was pouring heavily and there was a
strong wind outside as a tropical
storm would be passing through the region.
But who cares about the rain and the wind
and the storm, I had no project to
submit and that was torturing my brain,
so I kept on weeping on an early
Saturday morning. My mother couldn’t
stand me crying so she pulled out a
rain coat for me, took a sword-like bolo
like those that they would use in an epic
war movie and drag me out walking with
her through the nearby woods. We ended up
at the foot of the mountain where bamboos
were all over the place. But the area
was bushy and shrubby and certainly
would make you think twice whether to go near
the bamboo tree or not. My mother was
hoping that there would be a bamboo tree
already cut down or just left lying
around but there was none and that left her
with no choice but to go underneath and
cut a bamboo tree herself. The rain was
pouring heavily. The place was bushy
and difficult to walk through. There were twines
and twigs and thorns that kept slapping and
scratching my mother’s arms and face as
she held firmly her bolo to cut down
a bamboo tree. At that very moment
I saw a woman’s courage capable
of enduring everything for the sake of
her beloved. I saw a woman’s strength
powerful enough to stand every
test of time. I saw a mother who was
so willingly giving her everything
for the love of her child. I do believe
there are other mothers out there who share
the same character as my mother yet
there will always be only one woman
I would truly remember forever.
Clavelina Ascueta Aguado.
That’s her full name, and yes, she’s my mother.