I am 30 and moving on…

Thanks God I'm 30!

I remember the my first day in school back when I was 6 in my hometown in Mindanao. I was a very confident lad knowing that my mom had been teaching me the alphabet and basic maths since I was 4. I can read! 'Carabao, dog, cat, house… teacher…' Cool. I was confident, I know I was better than most of my 7-year old classmates back then.

I also remember when I first had a taste of a hard life. My dad was out of work after 15 years of government service and never had a job since then. I was 10 then. My mom, who never had a job, had to fought hard for us to live. My dad, frustrated, turned alcoholic and messed-up. My mom had to sell our TV after the electric company cut off the supply… then the fridge. It was so frustrating. For years, I was helping my mom earn a living. First I found myself selling sando bags at the public market with my muslim friends. My dad had to scold me for doing that. Reason? He was just ashamed that his officemates may have seen me doing that. It didn't matter for me anyway. I was earning P1.50 of the P1.00 capital. At the end of the day, I bring home a kilo of rice and my mom fish or beef bones for dinner. Lucky for us though, we didn't had to pay rent. My mom was tasked by our landlord to look after the house for 5 years… At 11, I was a shoe shine boy. I was then on the streets. Fruit vendor. Cigarette vendor. News boy. Banana Q vendor. While my mom was selling some stuffs house to house. My mom had to venture into 5-6 and most of the time she can't pay, she had to hide. My dad, with his friends.

Looking back, I realized that God must be very good. Cool. Despite, me and my siblings had a decent education. We feel that our endurance to life's cruelty is starting to pay-off. I'm still selling now, maybe this is my passion. A legacy of my mom. My sister is also selling. My brother is on a job hunting. Mom is still selling. Dad is still an alcoholic but we are now good friends. I remember him one time telling me… 'Dong, ikaw ang ako saviour, salamat…' It felt good from a father who never spoke of me since. I know I love him and I have my way of telling him how much I care for him.

I'm now 30 and I'm still moving on. I now have my own family and growing. Josh has been giving us life since he was born a year ago. Ella and I are expecting the second one on June. Cool and I love it! It's a good life, it really is.

I'm 30 and I am thanking my mom for the legacy she shared to us. I thank my dad for the reason of our living. I thank Ella for giving me the joy of being loved. I thank Josh for the welcoming smiles in the morning. I thank God for the life, for the good life.

I'm 30 and I'm still moving on.