Junic's pics

The eldest of my parents' boys is still in town. He has been a few weeks away from cold Calgary, Canada, and coping with Manila summer. He gets a good workout with his camera when he finds the time in between working from our home, keeping fit by taking walks or biking and doing his turn in looking after and cheering up our Mom.

This Easter he took some pictures of us, and I admire the results. Can't help but post them on this space. He captured not only the physical looks of his subject but their inner essence (do I dare write the word "beauty"?).

Thanks, Junic. Keep those snapshots clear and sharp.

Panfilo Cabiz is our big clan's all-round gardener, repairman, carpenter. When we were small, he and wife Teenie looked after us while our parents worked. Mang Cabiz, as we called him, is the type of man who'll get seriously sick if he's not doing hard, manual labor. Although his legs have formed open and close quote marks from years of carrying the weight of tree branches, twigs, etc., he, like Old Man River, just keeps rolling along. Keep him away from firewater, and he's fine and super efficient.

Bianca entered her teens last year. With it comes the adolescent phase's awkwardness. But we love her dearly because she laughs at our jokes. That makes me feel good. I feel I'm the soul of wit when she guffaws hard at an "eeewww" joke and exclaims, "Tita Babeth naman!" She can also be counted upon to play the piano for weddings and other occasions of celebration. Please book her through me.

They are the M & M's of our lives: Marga the mom and Machiko Skye, a.k.a. Max, the un-shy. Marga and I like to do collaborative work on my books, while Max and I are pen pals.

When the human children Jared Franco Susi, Max Susi and Kai Fernandez aren't visiting in Pasig, guess who's our baby? Not my youngest sister Gigi but her own baby, the mini but overweight pug Bruno Lolarga. He's got the papers to show he's a Lolarga, too.

I never look good in pictures which is one reason I prefer to be behind the camera shooting away. But this time, I asked Junic if I could pose by the mural of Corazon restaurant at Shangri-la Plaza Mall's East Wing. This is what I call my summer look--a dress that's cool on my body and sandals, courtesy of my daughter Kimi, on my feet. I'm even proud of my cane, symbol that I'm growing into crone-hood.

Photos by Junic Lolarga

Ana Santos at the Cloud

The announcement below came from Mt Cloud's sprite-like moving spirit Padma Perez. This blogger has a few more things to say about Ana and her journal--it came at the right time when a niece and daughter of mine came forward to the family to declare that they would bear their children and raise them as single mothers. In December last year, I gave Ana's journals as my Christmas presents to niece Marga and eldest daughter Kimi.

Since then, Max and Kai/Butones have blossomed in the love and guidance of these two ta/nays and their supportive immediate families, but especially their parents and siblings. Every day that I am with my daughter Kimi in Baguio, she never ceases to amaze me on how she has re-directed her priorities--to be present at Butones's formative years by holding down online jobs that she does from the house. On her breaks or even when she's facing the computer, when Butones needs her, she cuddles and breastfeeds my now 20-month-old apo. She has been a strong advocate of the use of modern cloth diapers that are environment-friendly. She also promotes full breastfeeding to her fellow young moms.

I also love Gershwin songs. In "I've Got Rhythm," the lines "Who could ask for anything more? Who could ask for anything more" most apply to this super-happy nanay/booboo, married in the eyes of church and law and somehow managing to be happy even after, too.

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Ana Santos, the woman behind the best-selling journal for single mothers, Happy Even After, will be in Mt Cloud Bookshop, Baguio City, to speak about the journal and share experiences with solo moms on Dec. 14 at 6 p.m.

Happy Even After is a journal that is both a source of information and a well-spring of inspiration for single mothers. Aside from the usual blank pages for one’s notes or diary entries, it includes expert advice, words of encouragement, and useful information such as the full text of Republic Act No. 8972 or the Solo Parents' Welfare Act of 2000. It also contains testimonies by well-known single mothers like television host Angel Jacob, journalist Miriam Grace Go, and widow and political leader Risa Hontiveros, among many.

Ana Santos writes:

"When I became a single parent years ago, I found myself wanting to speak to someone who would understand what I was going through. Raised in a traditional Filipino family, my being a single mother was a hushed topic in family reunions and social gatherings with old friends…

"Over the years and in my work as a journalist, I met other women who have been raising children on their own and found a kind of sisterhood in them. Some were friends, acquaintances or relatives. Others were government officials, incredibly successful career women, celebrities, super models. The title never really mattered. We were all just women trying to find our place in the world and mothers who wanted nothing but the best for our children."

The journal makes a nice Christmas present for single mothers and will be sold at the discounted price of P385 on Dec. 14. The author’s talk is free and open to the public. Mt Cloud Bookshop is located in the Casa Vallejo Building, Upper Session Road, Baguio City, and is open 10:30 a.m.-8 p.m. daily.