My co-mother (kumare, the godmother of my eldest of two daughters) Mary Ann or Meran Daza Umali emailed me this image, a photo she took while passing through Lantana Street in Cubao, Quezon City. My kids call me Nanay. I told her the irony isn't lost on me mainly because I don't or hardly cook, and I imagine my Lantana Street namesake as a woman as hefty of build as I am, wearing a greasy apron and ladling piping hot arroz caldo into bowls on a rainy day such as today. To my tokaya (namesake) in Cubao, don't work too hard!
