Saved by the grandest of mothers

By my raw calculation (math was never a strength), Lola Purang would have been, what? 105 years old or something close to that today. And she lives, oh, how she still does in my heart, this woman whose love was unconditional for her folks, her siblings, a husband who went too soon, her children, the in-laws or, another term for elders that I overhead as a child, the "outlaws", grandchildren, great-grandchildren or those others she took into her fold--an extended family of help, sisters and brothers in the Methodist faith, strangers who were brought home by family to sup from her table or sleep in her house. It was amazing, that faith of hers that sustained her goodness and kindness all the days of her life. Here's to you, Telesfora Cariño Lolarga, the lace and love of my life.