An Open Letter To My Nieces and Nephews

Time passes by so quickly and I am getting busier and older. For most of the days, I am not seeing how well you guys are growing each day to become the better version of yourselves but I am thankful that you have great sets of parents to guide you to the paths where you should be headed (or you should want to be headed, at least). As you all know, Tita Pau is working extra effort to reach her dream of becoming a doctor and I am missing most our family days that were set in exchange to studying for the “free” time that was given to us. It is and was never easy to accept that, at first – to sacrifice the days that I should be spending with the whole family but I am getting used to it. You will soon understand that the Lord has given us our own purpose in life and that we must work hard for it – which is what I am doing right now.

I am writing this open letter to all four of you since I cannot afford (yet) to buy you gifts for Christmas. So instead of buying gifts, I opted to give you this letter that (hopefully) you will remember when you all grow up.

France, you had a tough childhood. We all saw how difficult it is for you to see your mama cry when she was hurt. We know how hard it is for you to grow up without a father figure. All of it was heartbreaking for us. We need to be strong so you will be strong. We never thought that you will be facing an early taste of how life kicks in when you least expect it. Life should be slapping us during our adulthood – when the time comes that we are all geared up and ready to fight for our own battles. Not when we are still young and bound to just enjoy the beauty of the world.

You will soon learn that life happens the way we never thought how it will turn out to be. God has His own stories for each of us and maybe, I believe, He gave you this battle early because He knows that you will be resilient. You will be a strong woman in the future, ready to conquer whatever life offers you. You will be the one, and the only person that Mama will count on. We will always be here for the both of you but you will always be the one that Mama will find to have her source of strength to keep her going. I want you to know that Tita Pau understands you. I might not show you that, but I know that there are times when you seek for assurance. You are still young and we understand that sometimes you question if we really love you whenever you are being disciplined.

Remember that you are still a kid and you still have a lot of lessons to digest. You will realize that in order to learn, sometimes you really have to be emotionally hurt so will have the guts to stand for your own. France, everyone in the family loves you so dearly. You just have to know that each person has their own way of expressing love towards another person. Mama might not be able to give you everything you want because she may have reasons but know that not everything you want is everything that you really need. We can’t always have what we want but we can have it if we’ll work hard for it.

You are the first born, and you can’t imagine how excited we were when you were about to be born. All of your firsts were a milestone for us. You are the Ate of Marley, Kiel, and Elise and we want you to be a responsible Ate and be able to set a good example for them. We are proud of how you are becoming. You are beautiful, smart, sweet, and gifted. Do not ever let anyone neither belittle you nor take that away from you. The whole family will never fail you because you will always have us. I hope that you follow your heart’s desires and always pray that God will guide you to the path that you always dream to be in. We will always be right by your side to support every decision that you will make in the future. I pray that you will be a woman of success. Thank you for being Mama’s inspiration. Continue to be God’s masterpiece and work harder for yourself. Everything in the end will be worth it. We might not know what God’s plan is for you but we will always believe that it will be the best.

Marley, you are the clown among your cousins. You are the most “maka-masa” person in the bunch. You are a social butterfly and a friendly kid. You are a cool kid just like how you define yourself to us this early phase of your life. J We are probably looking at a kid who will grow up to be someone who considers the welfare of other people and to just think of it now makes us proud of you. You might not have everything you wanted or wished for, but know that Nanay and Tatay are working so hard to give you what you needed the most.

You are the typical boy who would rather play outside than study. Although I hope you spend more time for school assignments, sometimes I find it comforting to think that you are having your unforgettable childhood memories that you will surely cherish for the rest of your life. You are hardheaded at times and you throw tantrums that sometimes Nanay can’t control, but we know we have a sweet boy in you. I appreciate how concern you are with us especially whenever you ask “Nanay/Tatay/Tita Pau, okay ka lang?” (and just now, while I am writing this you asked me “Tita Pau, inuubo ka pa rin? Ang tagal na niyan ah. Wala ka bang gamot?). I don’t know but the little things like that really mattered to us the most. I admire how you are being a kuya to Kiel and Elise that you also manage to be the kuya to Ate France since you know how fragile Ate France can be, most of the time.

You always want things done your own way and you want to learn so much from Tatay. You think highly of Tatay that he is your lodi when it comes to the boys’ thing like basketball, wrestling, cars, and so on. It makes me feel happy that you are so curious about everything and you want to know how things work and why things work that way. You are physically the toughest among the bunch and we hope that you will be the one to stand up for them when things get rough.

I hope and pray that you grow up to be a great man who respects everyone you meet. I know you will be the one who will protect your cousins at all cost when you all grow up. God, how I wish time slows down because I still want to spend time with you and watch all seasons of Stranger Things whenever I have the luxury of time to binge watch and not worry about school. Thank you for being Tita Pau’s company, assistant and go-to practice patient. J I pray that all your dreams will come true. Whether you want to be a painter, a basketball player, or whatever profession that may be, know that we will always be here to support you. Always remember that the Lord will grant everything that you pray for as long as you will be a good boy and as long as you work hard for it.

Kiel, you are growing to be the jolliest and most innocent kid that we all love. You continue to entertain us with your dance moves and intellect. There was never a dull moment with you. You are a constant switch to just turn the vibes up when somebody’s feeling down. We’re thankful how you are growing up to have a lot of things in your mind that you enjoy learning every single piece of your curiosity. I pray that you will continue to seek all your unknowns and have the passion for learning because that is one of the noblest things that you will have throughout your whole existence. I hope that you will be a good brother to Elise and be her ally especially whenever other people drag her down. You should be his mighty hero who will protect her because you will soon get the hang of girls taken cared of like a precious gem. I thank the Lord for giving us a sweet boy in you, and gosh how I hope you will never get tired of expressing fondness towards us even though you have your own girlfriend 10 to 15 years from now. We want nothing for you but the best. All your heart’s desires when you grow up and finally decided which path you want to take, you can count on us. Always. But right now, I just want you to enjoy your childhood and explore things you want to explore.

Elise, you are the whole family’s little princess. You might not understand what Tita Pau is up to right now but anyway, from the moment that you were born up until now, your alluring smile always wins our hearts that you instantly become our bundle of joy. You are blessed to have two older cousins and an older brother who will surely be your own recourse when things get tough, although of course we will be here for you 24/7. I pray that you will grow to be someone who values family next to God, compassionate, obedient, understanding, mature, and loving. Know that to have a good heart is one character that will make you stand out from the rest. This might be a short part for you but wait until you become 18 and I’ll make the longest letter for you. J But right at this moment, I just wish that may you have a blast on your first Christmas day (although you might not know what’s happening). Also, may the rest of your childhood be a part of you that you will love to look back and cherish when you grow up because nowadays, only a few get to be happy about it.

Guys, you are the fiery balls of happiness of the family and we thank the Lord for giving us a bunch full of bliss, intelligence, sweetness, innocence, and good hearts. I am grateful that we have all of you who kept us going. You might not know how I appreciate the time I spent with you because you guys take all Tita Pau’s stresses away. I have tons of mental breakdowns, frustrations, and disappointments because of med school but all of those are nothing compared to the joy that you give me all the time. God has blessed us so much that we don’t know how we deserve you but I believe that all of you are God’s way of telling the whole family that even though life has its own twists and turns, He gave us four reasons to just enjoy the ride and be someone you will be proud of someday.

France, Marley, Kiel, and Elise, your parents are not perfect but know that they are doing their best to set a great example for you while you are growing up. They are working with their full potential to provide everything that you need. Even Mommy and Daddy worked hard to give you what you need, although most of the time, what they just want for you.

Merry Christmas! This might be nothing to you but this is an important one for Tita Pau. Soon, when you all grow up and are able to read this, you may find it cheesy but this will all make sense, believe me. Again, let’s make this vacation count because we are rarely complete during regular days. Happy Holidays!