Happy Birthday Mama!

My mom was 29 when she had me, her 2nd baby. At 29, she must have been juggling between a jumping and crawling one year old daughter and a fragile, new born baby girl. How she managed to become a mother of two at such age still astounds me to this day.

One more thing that eludes me was how she managed to work full time while taking care of 4 crazy daughters which in my opinion, can be considered a full time job. To top it off, she's a single parent! She's amazing! Much love to the single moms out there! 

She must have sacrificed her own dreams so we could have a good life. She must have sacrificed her marriage so we could have peace and serenity growing up. But as God promised, He won't give us any more than we can handle (1 Corinthians 10:13). With the help of her faith in the Lord, she courageously survived through it all. 

She's a traditional and conservative Christian woman, like my Lola. Growing up, she was strict and with a firm closed fist. She would instill in us Filipino and Christian values and discipline and we get palo in the puwet (booty spank) when brat moments spur. hehe. I admit I got the most palo among the 4 of us :P But eventually, slowly, her fist opened wide and she became more relaxed. I thank her for being strict on us early on our age. That taught us how to be mature, responsible and independent as we got older. I thank her for her trust and her confidence in me. We hope we make you proud in all of our life choices and decisions. We promise to be worthy of that trust. When the right time comes and I become a mother myself, I will always remember and draw strength from the thought of how godly and strong a mother you are to us.

As much as I am ashamed to admit, I don't say thank you enough to her. So as a small token and appreciation, and because its her birthday, Ate Joyce, Alan and myself connived to give her a surprise gift. She's been wanting this but I know she'll never buy it for herself so we got it for her before the world ends. hehehe. Hope you liked it Mama. 

Happy Birthday Mama! Love you!

xoxo, 
Joselle