It is now Mother's Day in the Philippines. Since about 30% of my readers reside in the Philippines, I decided to post this article now in honor to all Mothers of the World. There are hundreds of poems in the web about Mothers and Motherhood. But the following acrostic poem is my favorite. My own mother passed away several decades ago, but I will always remember all the things she had taught me such as being frugal and be responsible for my actions. To all my readers, Happy Mothers' Day and enjoy the following poem.
M - O - T - H - E - R
"M" is for the million things she gave me,
"O" means only that she's growing old,
"T" is for the tears she shed to save me,
"H" is for her heart of purest gold;
"E" is for her eyes, with love-light shining,
"R" means right, and right she'll always be,
Put them all together, they spell "MOTHER,"
A word that means the world to me. Howard Johnson (c. 1915)
For more mother's day poem, visit www.mothersdaycelebration.com
Today, I like also to remember my Mother by revisiting and posting an excerpt from an article Tribute to My Parents, in my autobiography, http://davidbkatague.blogspot.com
"My mother, Paz Barrido Balleza and family are big landowners in Barotac Viejo and the neighboring towns of Banate and Ajuy. The Balleza family were considered rich at that time. She was born on January 14, 1909 and is the youngest of three children, the only girl with two older brothers, Modesto, Jr (lawyer) and Jose who are much older than her. My mother’s parents both died, when she was only in high school. So, she was under the care of her oldest brother, Modesto. At that time, Modesto Balleza family had a big house in Iloilo City, just across the street from St. Paul Hospital and one block from Assumption College-an exclusive and private school for girls.
My mother went to high school at Assumption College until she was a junior. In her senior year, she met my father, fell in love with him, stopped school and got married. My mother with tears in her eyes told me that the reason she married without finishing high school was to get away from the control of her oldest brother. When their parents died, there was no will. Thus, the Balleza properties (rice and corn lands, coconut plantations, fish ponds) were all under the control of her two brothers.
The division of property according to my mother was very unfair. The brothers claimed the best rice lands to themselves. What was left for her to inherit were the properties in the distant barrios, rice land with no irrigation, except for one parcel of rice land (20 hectares) near the town. Of course, she did not receive one-third share of their parents' properties. When she married, control of her properties was given to her. My Dad then helped her manage the rice lands and other properties.
My mother was very frugal. She would not leave a morsel of rice on her plate. I remember her saying, “If you do not finish your food, God will punish you”. So even today, I always have a clean plate after lunch or dinner. My mother had a strict budget and allocated 10% of the farm income into her savings. By the time, I was in college, they had enough savings to purchase a commercial property in Iloilo City. With the back pay that my father received having served as a Dental Officer in the Philippine-American Army from 1941-1945, they were able to build a commercial building at Iznart street, just across the YMCA building, etc...". For the whole article, you are welcome to read my blog dated 12/15/11 as indicated above.
The David Jamili Katague Family, Barotac Viejo, Iloilo, Philippines, 1956 My Mother Front Row on the Right. I am in the Back Row, First from the Left.How about you? Do you have pleasant memories of your Mother? I will be delighted to hear from you!
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