HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUCAS!
Lucas Emmanuel Surla is my youngest nephew, born on the 27th of September, 2001, to my younger sister, Darlene. Like most of you would probably know by now, her husband, Bong, is Papa's friend from the grades at Notre Dame. They've been friends forever... Bong and Papa, not Lucas... and now they're brothers-in-law and kumpares cause Papa is Lucas's godfather.
Lucas is the reason why Papa had to go to Singapore ahead of me by 2 months, when he first left in 2001. I wanted to wait for Darlene to give birth, I just wanted to be there for her. I remember, the whole time she was in the delivery room, I was in the hospital chapel saying the rosary. It was in the topmost floor and sadly, was not fitted with airconditioning cause the floor was designed to be an open-air balcony. The chapel itself was bordered with concrete walls and although the wind would blow like a hailstorm outside, it was boiling hot inside. I would alternately stay in and out at intervals just to get a balance in temperatures.
Darlene gave birth the natural way. Now, we hear about women doing this all the time, and unless there's a danger during the pregnancy, the pain from this method of giving birth is almost a negligible fact for those who haven't experienced it. When friends and relative give birth, we tend to gloss over the pain and discomfort of the mother, having all our attention focused on the newborn. It usually is enough for us to know that the mother is alright, and it is here when elder female relatives would enumerate a whole cornucopia of do's and don'ts, and then everybody again take turns to say. 'How cuutee!'
Looking back now, it just makes me glad that it's all over, that my sister was able to come through, and that they now have this little bundle of joy. I believe, the way I felt at the time, I could have sold my soul to whatever forces that be, if it would ensure that my sister didn't have a hard time. The pain, a couple of floors down from where I was, was so real for me. The thought of it, which was really all I had of it, ripped me apart. This is my kid sister here... the same one I used to pull the blankets over on a cold night, the same one whose classmate I charged on to for breaking her crayons, the same one who cried at a fight we had with such a horrified shock that my anger fizzled down in a rush as my heart broke into pieces... and something was now tearing up at her, and I can't make my peace with the thought of all that pain. I was so frustrated at the time, wanting to spare her from it but there was nothing for me to do... she just had to go through it.
Now Lucas is 2 years old and as I remember that day everytime I look at him... a happy, frolicking toddler who isn't afraid of anything (except the Jollibee mascot), who seems to be built to grow big and hunky, who doesn't mind the pain of bumps and bruises he gets from playing, who says 'Lucas yan!' when he wants to stake ownership of something, who can't stand blankets and long-sleeved sweaters... a second thought always follows, that it was all worth it.
But not only because of everything that Lucas has become and is coming to be. There is another story I will never forget from that day. When Darlene was wheeled out of the delivery room, all groggy and spent, Bong met her with one white rose in his hand. He came near, kissed Darlene on the lips, and said, 'Thank you, my love.'
I swear. those words have kept my sister smiling... to this day.
Lucas Emmanuel Surla is my youngest nephew, born on the 27th of September, 2001, to my younger sister, Darlene. Like most of you would probably know by now, her husband, Bong, is Papa's friend from the grades at Notre Dame. They've been friends forever... Bong and Papa, not Lucas... and now they're brothers-in-law and kumpares cause Papa is Lucas's godfather.
Lucas is the reason why Papa had to go to Singapore ahead of me by 2 months, when he first left in 2001. I wanted to wait for Darlene to give birth, I just wanted to be there for her. I remember, the whole time she was in the delivery room, I was in the hospital chapel saying the rosary. It was in the topmost floor and sadly, was not fitted with airconditioning cause the floor was designed to be an open-air balcony. The chapel itself was bordered with concrete walls and although the wind would blow like a hailstorm outside, it was boiling hot inside. I would alternately stay in and out at intervals just to get a balance in temperatures.
Darlene gave birth the natural way. Now, we hear about women doing this all the time, and unless there's a danger during the pregnancy, the pain from this method of giving birth is almost a negligible fact for those who haven't experienced it. When friends and relative give birth, we tend to gloss over the pain and discomfort of the mother, having all our attention focused on the newborn. It usually is enough for us to know that the mother is alright, and it is here when elder female relatives would enumerate a whole cornucopia of do's and don'ts, and then everybody again take turns to say. 'How cuutee!'
Looking back now, it just makes me glad that it's all over, that my sister was able to come through, and that they now have this little bundle of joy. I believe, the way I felt at the time, I could have sold my soul to whatever forces that be, if it would ensure that my sister didn't have a hard time. The pain, a couple of floors down from where I was, was so real for me. The thought of it, which was really all I had of it, ripped me apart. This is my kid sister here... the same one I used to pull the blankets over on a cold night, the same one whose classmate I charged on to for breaking her crayons, the same one who cried at a fight we had with such a horrified shock that my anger fizzled down in a rush as my heart broke into pieces... and something was now tearing up at her, and I can't make my peace with the thought of all that pain. I was so frustrated at the time, wanting to spare her from it but there was nothing for me to do... she just had to go through it.
Now Lucas is 2 years old and as I remember that day everytime I look at him... a happy, frolicking toddler who isn't afraid of anything (except the Jollibee mascot), who seems to be built to grow big and hunky, who doesn't mind the pain of bumps and bruises he gets from playing, who says 'Lucas yan!' when he wants to stake ownership of something, who can't stand blankets and long-sleeved sweaters... a second thought always follows, that it was all worth it.
But not only because of everything that Lucas has become and is coming to be. There is another story I will never forget from that day. When Darlene was wheeled out of the delivery room, all groggy and spent, Bong met her with one white rose in his hand. He came near, kissed Darlene on the lips, and said, 'Thank you, my love.'
I swear. those words have kept my sister smiling... to this day.
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