Yesterday was an eye- and heart-opener for me. In the company of my longest friend (one I have seen a handful of times in 25 years), I have come to appreciate my life so much more.
Exactly a quarter century ago, shortly after meeting Shella in 4th grade, my siblings and I stepped off a plane at SFO for what should have been summer vacation from school. It was supposed to be about visiting our grandparents and relatives, but most importantly, we were thrilled with the idea of going to Disneyland. This is one long summer... a Gilligan's Island sort of three-hour tour.
I am not going to say that life in the USA became easier or better than in Manila because in many ways, it was much more difficult. Gone were the days of maids making my bed, preparing meals, cleaning the house, doing the laundry, washing the dishes, etc... all the same tasks that I struggle with now. However, it appears all America's best efforts to make me completely independent of others has backfired. I find myself more reliant on my family for the most vital, yet under-rated, needs of love and moral support. Instead of cutting the strings loose, I have welded myself to my siblings permanently. I have also found a husband I choose not to live without, in this simple life of essentials that is actually reminiscent of my days in the Philippines.
Life has not always been good... because life was never meant to be easy. And despite the bumps on the tracks and intimidating corkscrews that often come without warning, boy has it been quite a ride! Good thing that when I was bold, and perhaps stupid, enough to let go of God's HANDrails, He still had his safety hARMness across my heart to keep me from falling out.
In seeing Shella yesterday, with our respective partners, sisters, and even godsons, I have come to see where the 25 years have taken us. How roads are never really parallel because they cross somehow, somewhere... and often at multiple vertices.
Shella and I have come far from being the tomboys of our St. Scholastica's College class in a land across the Pacific all those years ago. Yet heaven had a plan for us both - separate but equal. And sometimes, when our lives intersect and are not quite "separate," like at her godson's superhero birthday party yesterday, I realize that life must be judged as a whole and not in bad or good moments. Therefore, life IS, and should always be categorized, as "nothing short of a miracle."
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