"Thank you."
I swung my head around to check if I'd heard right. Was that my son? Was that actually my son
bidding the waitress thank you? The waitress came to our table with a vanilla shake and gave it to my son.
And i heard it again, "thank you," he said, and with a smile. I nearly fainted.
Years of nagging him again and again to never forget his pleases and thank yous had finally worked.
It had become automatic to him. So, why am I so overjoyed?
Here's the column I wrote eons ago that would best illustrate why......
*********
DON'T you just hate it when people forget to say thank you?
I mean, it's such a simple thing to do. You see someone drop an
object and you point it out to them. They pick it up and that's it.
Not a wave, not a thank you, not even an acknowledgement.
It's sad, right?
We were at a party recently when my sister-in-law was tasked to give
out printed copies of the order of events. She went from table to
table distributing the sheets of paper, smiling all the while. When
she came back to our table, her smile had faded and she seemed upset.
"Wala man lang nag thank you sa akin," she said, quite puzzled. "Can
you imagine that?" she said. "Except for our relatives, " she pointed
out, "there's more than 12 tables here and not even one of them
thanked me."
I completely understood her. Thank you. Two words. Two such short but
meaningful words. It means you care. It means you appreciate others.
It means that you acknowledge the help and value of other people.
I go berserk whenever my son forgets to say those two words. Never
ever, I rage at him, forget your Ps & Qs (Please and Thank yous).
"Kahit wala ka nang matutunan sa akin," I lecture, "Basta lang wag
mong kakalimutan mag-please and thank you!"
Whether it's something big like a friend lending you money or a
security guard opening the door for you, don't forget to say thank you
with a smile. You'd be amazed on how two little words can spread a
whole world of cheer.
s. Friendship. That's what we teasingly called my Lola Maria when the ICU waiting room at the Manila Doctors Hospital overflowed with her guests.
Two weeks ago we rushed her to the hospital because she couldn't breathe. The culprit? Hika. She developed asthma this year, the year she turned 90 and boy did she complain about it. "Kung kelan matanda na ako," she grumbled.
Not a big fan of hospitals, my lola (or Inda as we call her) wanted to go home right away. Unfortunately, her heart was not up to it yet, taxed heavily by the asthma. The visit to the ER resulted in a prolonged stay in the ICU.
The unspoken fear of everyone who visited her was that she could so easily slip away from us. One doctor was so surprised when he learned she was 90. He told her that she should be happy 'coz she was evidently way past the limit. Not to us who love and treasure her. You see, my lola can get very makulit but that's all part of her very cute package. She's one strong woman and boy, is she still sharp. As my auntie says, Inda remembers everyone who owes her something and she specially remembers when it is she who owes somebody something even if it's only a bottle of Royal Tru Orange.
To go back to that Ms. Friendship thing, everyone but everyone who learned she was sick rushed to the hospital. Maybe it's because of her old age that everyone was overly concerned or maybe it's just because she's genuinely loved.
Children, grandchildren,great-grandchildren, pamangkins, neighbors, her boarders -- we all came flocking to talk to her, to give her comfort, to offer prayers and mostly to exchange stories about her. I think it was we who gave each other more comfort though, Inda was more concerned about throwing off all the tubes they had inserted in her body. And oh, how upset she was at not being able to go to the toilet on her own!
Strong, determined -- that's the Inda I've always known. She who has raised four kids and taken in many more. She who has lived through and gave birth during a World War. She who fought valiantly so that her husband would accept the Lord and her religion. She's not one to give up without a fight and I know this is one that she won't lose. We've promised her everything -- her favorite food, her favorite flowers and told her we intend to throw a big party for her. "Jollibee, Inda," we teased, "para may mascot at baka isama pati si Aga Muhlach."
Well, the doctors said today that she's moving out of the ICU to a private room. Prayers are most welcome.
After watching two movies at the ongoing French Film Festival in UP Diliman's Film Center
(http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=592967429), I suddenly remembered the days when Sky Cable was not too greedy and the Chinese Channel was included in their regular package and I was hooked on nothing but Chinese movies.....
"THERE'S something wrong with this picture, 'Nay," my son, Naki, pointed
out as Ned and I were watching Charlie's Angels on HBO one Saturday
night.
"Huh?" I asked puzzled. "What?"
Smiling very broadly, Naki said, "You're not watching Chinese movies!"
Guilty.
For the past few months I've been obsessed with Star Movies Mandarin.
From the time I wake up to the time I go to sleep, I'm tuned in to the
Chinese channel. No, I don't speak Chinese nor do I understand it but
I can read subtitles and am discovering a new world of movies aside
from Hollywood and the local scene.
As a certified TV addict, I was getting tired of the same old movie
fare on the English channels and chanced upon Love On A Diet starring
Andy Lau and Sammy (forgot her last name). Love, in any language, is
still love and very entertaining to watch. So, I sat there entranced
for the next two and a half hours as I watched the two Hong Kong
superstars playing two very healthy (as in fat) individuals trying to
lose weight and in the process falling in love with each other.
I was hooked. Day in and day out, I'd tune in to watch more movies
and discovered other action (and triad) genres and more. Already a fan
of Jackie Chan, Chow Yun Fat and Jet Li, I'm now a devotee of Ekin
Cheng. Not to forget Andy Lau, Jordan Chan, Edison Chen, Daniel
Wu.....and the list goes on and on. I've gotten hooked so badly that I
even watch "Movies in the Making" without English subtitles and
watched an entire Andy Lau concert (no, he didn't sing a single
English song).
The thing is, while my husband nearly dies laughing whenever he sees
me glued to my Chinese movies, I have found an ally in my son. A fan
of AXN and Japanese anime, he's bent on studying the language so that
he doesn't have to read the subtitles anymore. He also happily told me
the other day about a comedy he watched, Happy Ghosts. Yup, on the
Chinese channel.
Poor Ned! With only two television sets in the house, he has to wait
for Naki and I to start snoring before he can tune into BBC and the
rest of the news.
Well, the other night, Ned woke up to me still watching TV. "Ano'ng
pinapanood mo?
"Ha?" I answered,"Hindi Chinese," I added defensively.
"E ano?," he asked sleepily.
"French."
