Hello hivemates!
How have you been?
I hope that all is well.
They say that South East Asians (Filipinos included) smile a lot. No wonder when you look at the news, you can see smiling Filipinos waving at the camera, whether they are facing natural calamities such as floods or earthquakes, or any other burdensome situation. However, we can still manage to give a smile.
It’s not that we downplay the problems, but it’s more on being hopeful in every situation, bad or worse!
This reminds me of my 83-year-old grandmother.
For me, the brightest smile belongs to her. As we celebrated her 83 years of existence, it reminds me of how she endured the past months when she was confined in the hospital for over a month. She recuperated for over 2 months and had a hard time getting up, nor could she sit or stand because of the big wound on her legs, a very tough battle for her, given her age.
On her birthday, her smile lit the entire room. Yes, there were foods, money cakes, yet her sweet and sincere smile reminded us of the joy that she has in getting this far.
When she smiled at me, I felt the warmth of her enduring love. Her love was so felt that it helped me a lot to overcome the death of my mother (her daughter).
At her age, she has been through a lot of things. Her life experiences have tested her so much. For me, those tests were so painful. Imagine losing three of your four children? It looked so impossible to endure, yet she was able to push through with life.
She’s left with one son and dozens of grandkids, and a lot of great-grandkids who are the source of her happiness.
We love to be with her, especially on her special day, where we spend our precious time to witness and experience her warm smile and embrace!
I am so happy that she’s blessed with 83 years of meaningful experience. By witnessing her life, I think I can say that I could smile at my rock bottom moments too, as she taught us how to have a resilient glow.
What about you? Who's the one person who can radiate the room or place with his/her smile?