We parents are our children’s number one fan. For us, our own are the best, the prettiest, the loveliest. We oftentimes hear or read the phrase “..the face only a mother could love” which is used to diplomatically say “one’s ugly”.
Facebook pages are full of photos of children and grandchildren. It has become the world’s biggest photo album. Parents proudly announced their children’s graduation with honors, awards, rewards, jobs, the first step of their apo, the first smile. Those are in reality FAN PAGES of our children.
My blog is a testament to this. Oh My Buhay is full of my children’s photos. When they get married and have children, oh my buhay would start looking like my apo’s fan pages.
There’s no computer or internet yet when I was growing up. Every person who knew my mom could attest to the fact that she’s one of the most beautiful in our town. Even when she was living in the US, she was always praised for her timeless beauty. Even young people gazed at her face and admired her flawless skin.
For some reason, my mom had the habit of asking her relatives and friends who’s the better looking between the two of us.
I did not not quite get the logic.
“Kang Turia, sino ang mas maganda sa amin ni Annie?”
“‘Insan, ikaw”.
“Ino, sino ang mas maganda sa amin ni Annie?”
Tiya Felicing, ikaw.
“Minda, eto si Annie, sino ang mas maganda sa amin?
Tiya, kayo po.
Maybe that was my mother’s way of telling the world “look at my daughter, she’s big now and as lovely as I am”. Except that I did not quite agree with her way of complimenting me, if she really were.
As a young girl, I was put on the spot and the whole thing made me feel very awkward every single time. It was not a mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest between us. I would die if someone ever answered “mas amganda ho si Annie”. Everytime my mom asked someone the same question I stopped breathing. A wrong answer could break my mother’s heart. Lucky for me, 99.9999 percent answered “Kayo ho”. And my mom would give a very pretty smile showing her four dimples.
Even when I was already married with a kid, she still did that seeming solicitation of compliments. Ewan ba, naka ugalian na nya iyan. Maybe she just felt happy.
One time she visited from the US and she hosted a simple lunch at my Kuya Ben’s house in Pila-pila. I was probably in my late 30s. Smilingly, she asked Ka Chayong Arcilla the same thing. “Chayong, tingnan mo si Annie o, Sino ang mas maganda sa amin?” Ka chayong looked surprised with the very spontaneous and pretentious question. It was like saying “tingnan mo kami pareho kaming maganda”. Ka Chayong looked at me, then at my mom, then glanced at me again.
I was paralized for a few seconds when she deviated from the decades long answer “Ikaw Felicing” when she said “Si Annie”.
Immediaely, someone from the crowd contested Ka Chayong’s answer. “Si Tiya Felicing, mas maganda”.
I totally disagreed with the answer of Ka Chayong. I didn’t even come close to my mom’s beauty. She didn’t wear make-up, I did. She was in her 70s and I was in my late 30s. There’s beauty in youth because of the absence of wrinkles. We’re comparing apples and kamatis here.
To my astonishment and relief, my mom, upon hearing the verdict, exhibited the same glow, the same lovely smile showing her 4 dimples. This was a clear affirmation that my mom, as with every other mother in the world, was also her daughter’s fan.
Edmund and I are no exceptions. Many times when Edmund chanced upon my daughter in the office, he would tell me “Ang ganda-ganda ng anak ko”. “Bagay na bagay sa kanya ang suot nya”.
At home, I am the paparazzi, when she’s dressing up, I always liked to take her picture. Sometimes she doesn’t want because she’s in a hurry. Last night, I caught her getting ready for a wedding dinner at Crown Plaza. She tried on 3 dresses and she picked this one, the entourage’s color motiff. The invitation says “Strictly Formal” but she opted to wear a short dress to feel more comfortable anyway she would just eat and sit.
