Manolo Fortich Part 3

By the early part of the '70s we had all gone our separate ways.
Destiny played it's part so well and one by one, we met our lifetime partners and had our own families with the exception of Manit.
Lydia herself had a child out of wedlock that Manong Boy took as his own son.

In marriage, there's bound to be heartaches along the way.
At first we find it so hard to adjust to the rigors of married life.
There were so much responsibilities attached to it.
Each one worked hard to provide for the needs of our children so they will not experience the same hardships that we have been through.
Every now and then we would go back to Lingion to seek refuge from the storms of life that battered us.
It was always a comfort to be surrounded by loved ones in those trying times knowing that they will always be there for you.

Then Manit decided that they will build a house in the town proper.
It was a reasonably small house but it accomodated Papa, Mama, Manit, Lydia and Poypoy.
Manong Boy built his house just across from them.
But Papa kept going back to Lingion to work in his farm.
Victor was already working with the del Monte Phils. Inc. as a field supervisor and Lydia was taken in as a telephone operator in the same multinational company.
But due to the pressures of family life she did not stay long on the job and finally settled as a plain housewife.

Then, Papa got seriously ill and finally passed away after a losing battle with cancer of the prostate.
It was the first stroke of sorrow and immeasurable pain in our family.
But life has to go on and we moved along with it.

There was a time in Vic's life that he decided to enter the political arena.
He was lucky enough to win as first Kagawad in the Sanguniang Bayan.
But in the next election when he ran for the Mayoral seat he failed to muster enough votes to win. But it did not matter, he enjoyed the race more than it's price.
The electorate could not understand his ideologies because money was the language of the day.
Manong Boy also tried his luck in the dirty politics but to no avail because the playing field was not even.

Then our children graduated from elementary and were enrolled in Holy Cross High School.
From here on they were off to college with their chosen fields of interests either in Manila, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Musuan and Malaybalay.
They graduated as nurses, engineers, therapist, statisticians and agriculturists.
One of them turned into a policeman and another a business entrepreneur in spite of being degree holders.

As Fate would have it, some had "fallen along the way" and become single parents. But let us consider it as minor annoyances and a part of life.
Most of them had answered the call of the "Winds of Destiny" and turned OFW or lived abroad either on the shifting sands of the Gulf, the Carribean, Europe and the USA.

A few did not reach the finish line but were as equally successful as those who did.
Success is not measured by the amount of salary you receive, nor the position you are in, neither by the places you have the luxury to travel.
It is just a matter of attitude and the feeling of contentment and happiness.

Unlike us, the children chose their own careers and answered life's calling.
Unlike us, they were well provided regardless of how it is done because unlike us, they did not struggle just to stay in school.

Year later, Mama died peacefully in her sleep.
We have no premonition regarding her death because days before that she carried on with her usual calm disposition, never faltering in her speech or steps.
For us, hers was a life well lived.
People say that if you lost your mother, you lose the best of all.
How true indeed!