I'm glad I was the youngest daughter for 11 years, (then my youngest sister Sami was born). Being the youngest was a double-edged sword. Dad was easier on me, but my brother and sisters considered me the lowest in the rungs of the family.
But that was okay because my siblings loved me and I always had Terrie to play with. Alice made me feel special and Irene told me lots of stories that struck me as "sophisticated" because she was the eldest. My brother was nice to me. He often took me out on his bike, and we'd go to school together or he'd take me to a restaurant. I always felt safe with my brother.
Every afternoon Dad took his nap. While he slept Alice was in charge of pulling out his grey hair. Terrie and I had to walk on his back. I didn't know then that it's a common Asian therapy, but the walkers are usually grown women.
On other afternoons Terrie and I had to sleep on his arms. We never slept though, but he did. Sometimes Terrie and I would play on his tummy. We'd make our hands little walking people and walk around his tummy making up games and silent conversations. I wonder now if he liked that, if maybe he pretended to sleep a bit longer so we could make our hands go all over his tummy with the games we played.
I never asked for things that I wanted because mom always said no. There was a time we'd go to a market, and there was a bahay kubo. the sign said, "Make your child happy, give him a house of his own". I'd stare at that bahay kubo every single time. Then one day, Dad and mom picked us up, and mom said, "We have a very nice surprise for Mona". I was shocked when we came home to see the bahay kubo. It was the most wonderful gift I ever had in my whole entire life.
I used to always ask Dad if we could have a dog, and he always said no. So I'd say, "Okay, get me a cat" and he'd just keep quiet. Finally, he said "Mona, no dogs, and no cats". But one day my Lola Nanay Feling gave me a puppy. I was scared that Dad wouldn't let me keep it, but he came home, saw it, saw my face, and smiled. He said nothing at all.
Shortly after that, a stray cat came to our house. Terrie and I fed it, but we never expected it to come back every day. Knowing Dad's stand on animals, we tried to chase the cat away with a broomstick, but the cat was stubborn. For two weeks the cat kept coming. One day we were having supper, and Dad and Irene and I were looking out at the garden beside the lanai and besides which was our dining table.
We were talking about how nice and still the day was and how our garden was so lovely, not overly laden with plants, nor was it sparse. All of a sudden Terrie ran across the yard with a broom, chasing the cat away. Irene broke out in laughter and Dad looked at her and was amused. I didn't think it was funny because it was what Terrie and I did with that cat all the time.
But after that, it seemed as though Dad accepted the cat, which ended up living with us and found space in a storage room to give birth to kittens.
One day we lost our dog, and I cried and cried for days. Then one morning Dad woke me up very early. He brought me to the lanai, and there were 50 birds of different colors and shades in a very large cage. Dad loved to surprise me.
It seems that I never asked for things as much as possible but Dad would anticipate what I wanted, and he'd give it to me. When I finished college and pursued my career as a writer, Dad sent me to Boston University to get an MS degree in journalism. Dad was a great believer in education, from the time that we were small. Nobody is a perfect man. He wasn't a perfect man. But he was a good man.
But that was okay because my siblings loved me and I always had Terrie to play with. Alice made me feel special and Irene told me lots of stories that struck me as "sophisticated" because she was the eldest. My brother was nice to me. He often took me out on his bike, and we'd go to school together or he'd take me to a restaurant. I always felt safe with my brother.
Every afternoon Dad took his nap. While he slept Alice was in charge of pulling out his grey hair. Terrie and I had to walk on his back. I didn't know then that it's a common Asian therapy, but the walkers are usually grown women.
On other afternoons Terrie and I had to sleep on his arms. We never slept though, but he did. Sometimes Terrie and I would play on his tummy. We'd make our hands little walking people and walk around his tummy making up games and silent conversations. I wonder now if he liked that, if maybe he pretended to sleep a bit longer so we could make our hands go all over his tummy with the games we played.
I never asked for things that I wanted because mom always said no. There was a time we'd go to a market, and there was a bahay kubo. the sign said, "Make your child happy, give him a house of his own". I'd stare at that bahay kubo every single time. Then one day, Dad and mom picked us up, and mom said, "We have a very nice surprise for Mona". I was shocked when we came home to see the bahay kubo. It was the most wonderful gift I ever had in my whole entire life.
I used to always ask Dad if we could have a dog, and he always said no. So I'd say, "Okay, get me a cat" and he'd just keep quiet. Finally, he said "Mona, no dogs, and no cats". But one day my Lola Nanay Feling gave me a puppy. I was scared that Dad wouldn't let me keep it, but he came home, saw it, saw my face, and smiled. He said nothing at all.
Shortly after that, a stray cat came to our house. Terrie and I fed it, but we never expected it to come back every day. Knowing Dad's stand on animals, we tried to chase the cat away with a broomstick, but the cat was stubborn. For two weeks the cat kept coming. One day we were having supper, and Dad and Irene and I were looking out at the garden beside the lanai and besides which was our dining table.
We were talking about how nice and still the day was and how our garden was so lovely, not overly laden with plants, nor was it sparse. All of a sudden Terrie ran across the yard with a broom, chasing the cat away. Irene broke out in laughter and Dad looked at her and was amused. I didn't think it was funny because it was what Terrie and I did with that cat all the time.
But after that, it seemed as though Dad accepted the cat, which ended up living with us and found space in a storage room to give birth to kittens.
One day we lost our dog, and I cried and cried for days. Then one morning Dad woke me up very early. He brought me to the lanai, and there were 50 birds of different colors and shades in a very large cage. Dad loved to surprise me.
It seems that I never asked for things as much as possible but Dad would anticipate what I wanted, and he'd give it to me. When I finished college and pursued my career as a writer, Dad sent me to Boston University to get an MS degree in journalism. Dad was a great believer in education, from the time that we were small. Nobody is a perfect man. He wasn't a perfect man. But he was a good man.
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