She's Never a Stranger

My mother first left for Riyadh when I was in third year highschool.  On the day of her flight, I didn't cry.  But I knew I was sad.  Deep down, it feels like something's been taken away from me.  The following day at school, when my friends started asking questions about her departure and how I'm coping up with it, that's when I felt I'm about to burst into tears.  And I did.  It's funny that it took me more than 24 hours to realize how desperately sad I was.  I thought to myself, "Wow!  It's for real, my mom's gone!  Far away!"  It's been 6 years since that day.  My mom comes home every year, but goes back to Riyadh after a month or so.

In my younger days, I've been hearing stories and watching movies of how relationships between children and parents who are working abroad are ruined due to being apart.  Many people, relatives and friends, feared for me.  They're afraid that, like most stories, I would be emotionally detached from my mother.  They thought my mom would never really get to know me, or my siblings for that matter.  But seriously, I think they're wrong.  MY MOTHER WASN'T, ISN'T and WILL NEVER BE A STRANGER.  And if there's one person in this world who knew me almost perfectly well, that would be her.  Yes, she's far away.  But she knew me enough to trust that I would do the right things, make the right decisions, choose the right choices.  She never doubted me.  We are thousands of miles apart but there's an ever-present bond between us.  We never have to talk constantly on the phone, send emails to each other or write letters.  There's a calm in me that's saying "She's doing great there!"  And I know she feels the same way.  She knows more of the affairs in my life and the things that have been going on with me than those people who are physically just within my reach.  And why is that?  Simple.  Wherever she goes, SHE's my MOM and I'm her daughter.  And no matter how long it takes before she'd finally settle down here in the Philippines, I know that I'll keep knowing her deeper and better and our bond would just keep getting stronger.  For she's not just my mother, she's my bestfriend, my sister, my counselor, my role model, my inheritance.

I am and will forever be proud that I descended from a wonderful woman such as my mom!