2024 TOP TEN HIGHLIGHTS: Number 6

 One fine night, my son Gio unexpectedly asked me “would you be willing to accompany me in a 4k race?” I hid my excitement and replied “of course I would be more than willing. But isn’t there a longer distance, perhaps a 10k?” My son immediately informed me that there was only 1 category and no other options.

A few minutes later, he asked for my Credit Card. To my bewilderment, we were joining the Pokemon Run in Taiwan! Too late to back out now. I already consented to his wish.

And so we flew to Taiwan and arrived late at night. Woke up the following day and walked 4.5km to the venue. A festive atmosphere filled the grounds, families with babies, toddlers and children enjoying the Pokemon-inspired exhibits.

I will spare you with the details and go directly to the gist of this story.

We headed to the airport in the afternoon, boarded the plane and arrived late at night in Vietnam.

We again boarded the plane in the morning and headed to Bali, where we stayed for 2 nights. In going back to Manila, we stopped over first in Singapore.

So to summarize, we flew to 5 countries in 5 days. This may be a natural occurrence to some people but definitely NOT with me! 

To be continued . . .

2024 TOP TEN HIGHLIGHTS: Number 5

My mother has always been athletic. She was a volleyball spiker in her teens. A tennis player in her twenties. A golfer in her thirties. A bowler in her forties. And she did not just play for recreation. She religiously trained and played to win in competitions, usually reaching the Championships.

I have often wondered where she got all that energy, when she barely eats! She has no favorite food and her motto is “I only eat inorder to live.” Yup. That is my mother—eating only so she could perform her daily activities. She doesn’t eat junk foods nor drink alcohol. A little rice and lots of veggies used to be her food staple.

When people ask her what is her secret for maintaining her 36-27-36 figure she would answer in jest “I cannot maintain my production so I just maintain my figure”. When interviewed what is her secret for not having any maintenance meds, she would boastfully reply—“I am NOT a car. I don’t need maintenance. Just have enough food, enough sleep, enough exercise, enough rest, enough stress, and enough money to last a lifetime.”

My mother is the epitome of clean, healthy living. Yet she could not escape the illness that flows through the veins of her lineage. Last year, she was medically diagnosed to have Alzheimer’s Disease. (My tears are flowing while I am writing this.)

With her failing memory, she instructed me to invite anyone who was still excited to see her on her 90th birthday. Attended by 120 friends, relatives, former Philamlifers, Marbeleños, villagemates, her birthday bash was a Reunion of sorts. Filled with laughter and tears, it was an event no other.

To be continued . . .