Josefina
one of the strongest and most admirable women i had the blessed privilege of knowing was Josefina. to her parents and siblings, she was Phina. to her peers, she was Josie. to her children and grandchildren, she was their Mommy and Mama respectively.
Josefina was the eldest of ten children. she started working when she was eighteen to help her parents support a big and growing family. she studied shorthand and stenography and graduated top of her class. her secretarial skills landed her a job with the government where she stayed till she retired at the age of 65. she met Bernardo in the same office where she worked. their friendship blossomed into love and they got married. her first born son was miscarried but she was blessed afterwards with three more children - two boys and a girl.
she loved to read, crochet and cook for her family. she even attended a cooking/baking class just so she could learn new recipes. some of the other things she loved doing were shopping with her children, going to Church, strolling at the mall and looking for bargain books. as she transcribed her steno notes every night, her children were lulled to sleep by the sound of her typewriter keys - tak tak tak tak zing...tak tak tak zing...
she was raised a Catholic and was devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary, always keeping a Rosary with her nearby. one of her dreams was to go to Mexico with her eldest son to visit the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
she was not perfect and had her weaknesses but she was a devoted wife to her husband and a gentle and loving mother to her children. when her kids had school projects, she always helped them out - sometimes doing the project herself. she rarely had arguments or fights with her husband and if there were, it was often very brief and petty. she was truly blessed that her husband was gentle to her and never raised a fist. when her husband died, she remained strong for herself and her children and grandchildren.
when her two sons relocated to another city to work, she would always make it a point to visit them regularly especially on their birthdays. traveling almost 12 hours by bus, she didn't mind the long trip just so she could be with them. she would always arrive early in the morning and immediately rush to her sons' rooms and plant a kiss while greeting them a happy birthday.
one of her wishes which she often said to me was to live a long full life so that she could continue to serve her children and grandchildren.
this was not to be...in February 2009 her eldest son took her to the hospital for an examination after she woke up one day to find her sheets wet with blood. the doctor recommended immediate hysterectomy. her son wept when they left the hospital. he was very close to his mom and was afraid for her. his prayer was should God call his mother home that he be given the chance to take care of her and be with her till her last breathe.
she underwent surgery in March of the same year. the biopsy result was stage 1-A endometrial cancer. with early detection and proper treatment, the 5-year survival rate was 90% for those who had her condition so there was no real cause for alarm. what people overlooked was the 10% chance of survival...
6 months later, she was again brought to the hospital for a check-up. her doctor found a new growth. she had to undergo chemotherapy to arrest the cancer. the cancer was so aggressive that ten days after her treatment, she succumbed. her eldest son was with her all throughout these trying times. his prayer was answered.
she will never get to go on a pilgrimage to Mexico or have her desire of serving her family. she will never get to visit her children on their birthdays again and greet them with a hug and kiss as they wake up. she will never ever get to do the things she want or see her dreams for her children and grandchildren fulfilled.
she is now at rest - no more cancer, no more pain, no more worries, no more problems to disturb her sleeping and waking hours. her family truly misses her.
i miss her too. i miss her very very much. we would never get to talk again or go shopping or attend Church services and do stuff together...
i thank God that i got to know her - for Josefina was my ever dearest mother and i am her eldest son.
Josefina was the eldest of ten children. she started working when she was eighteen to help her parents support a big and growing family. she studied shorthand and stenography and graduated top of her class. her secretarial skills landed her a job with the government where she stayed till she retired at the age of 65. she met Bernardo in the same office where she worked. their friendship blossomed into love and they got married. her first born son was miscarried but she was blessed afterwards with three more children - two boys and a girl.
she loved to read, crochet and cook for her family. she even attended a cooking/baking class just so she could learn new recipes. some of the other things she loved doing were shopping with her children, going to Church, strolling at the mall and looking for bargain books. as she transcribed her steno notes every night, her children were lulled to sleep by the sound of her typewriter keys - tak tak tak tak zing...tak tak tak zing...
she was raised a Catholic and was devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary, always keeping a Rosary with her nearby. one of her dreams was to go to Mexico with her eldest son to visit the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
she was not perfect and had her weaknesses but she was a devoted wife to her husband and a gentle and loving mother to her children. when her kids had school projects, she always helped them out - sometimes doing the project herself. she rarely had arguments or fights with her husband and if there were, it was often very brief and petty. she was truly blessed that her husband was gentle to her and never raised a fist. when her husband died, she remained strong for herself and her children and grandchildren.
when her two sons relocated to another city to work, she would always make it a point to visit them regularly especially on their birthdays. traveling almost 12 hours by bus, she didn't mind the long trip just so she could be with them. she would always arrive early in the morning and immediately rush to her sons' rooms and plant a kiss while greeting them a happy birthday.
one of her wishes which she often said to me was to live a long full life so that she could continue to serve her children and grandchildren.
this was not to be...in February 2009 her eldest son took her to the hospital for an examination after she woke up one day to find her sheets wet with blood. the doctor recommended immediate hysterectomy. her son wept when they left the hospital. he was very close to his mom and was afraid for her. his prayer was should God call his mother home that he be given the chance to take care of her and be with her till her last breathe.
she underwent surgery in March of the same year. the biopsy result was stage 1-A endometrial cancer. with early detection and proper treatment, the 5-year survival rate was 90% for those who had her condition so there was no real cause for alarm. what people overlooked was the 10% chance of survival...
6 months later, she was again brought to the hospital for a check-up. her doctor found a new growth. she had to undergo chemotherapy to arrest the cancer. the cancer was so aggressive that ten days after her treatment, she succumbed. her eldest son was with her all throughout these trying times. his prayer was answered.
she will never get to go on a pilgrimage to Mexico or have her desire of serving her family. she will never get to visit her children on their birthdays again and greet them with a hug and kiss as they wake up. she will never ever get to do the things she want or see her dreams for her children and grandchildren fulfilled.
she is now at rest - no more cancer, no more pain, no more worries, no more problems to disturb her sleeping and waking hours. her family truly misses her.
i miss her too. i miss her very very much. we would never get to talk again or go shopping or attend Church services and do stuff together...
i thank God that i got to know her - for Josefina was my ever dearest mother and i am her eldest son.
i love her and i always will.
This work by justaboutbecool.blogspot.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
death is the great equalizer.. no matter how rich or poor you are, it all comes down to one thing in the end.. death is something everybody can relate to.. losing someone dear is never easy..
ReplyDeletetouching and nice..there's time for everything..nice share kuya b..
ReplyDeletenice share kuya cool..
ReplyDeletevery very very touching ang moving. :(
masakit talaga tanggapin mawalan,
pero yung mark na naiwan niya sa puso ng isang tao di mawawala.. :(