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Lola Means Grandma

© Johanna Francisco

My grandmother recently celebrated her 81st birthday. I have racked my brains trying to come up with just the right gift. She said she has everything she needs. At her age, what could be meaningful? Then it hit me, it could be nothing less than a tribute that comes from the heart.

In every Filipino home, one will find certain common features. There is almost always a piano and usually one or both grandparents living with that family. Sad to say, most times we take our grandparents for granted. Yours truly is guilty of that same crime growing up in Chicago, Illinois.

My brother Jerome and I arrived in Chicago one dreary day in May of 1980. He was six and I was ten years old. What was supposed to be a vacation for us stretched to years of permanent residence in the US. We were unprepared and confused. There were two reasons for our unexpected stay. First, my brother and I contracted the chicken pox and would be too late for school enrollment in Manila. Second, the political climate in Manila was increasingly becoming tense. The future of the Philippines at the time was uncertain. Our parents opted to at least have ours secured for the price of being separated from them. Needless to say, the assimilation process for two very young children was difficult. At least my brother was preoccupied with McDonald's and Toys 'R Us. The adjustment was hardest on me.

Through it all, there was Lola. Together with our cousin Ana, Lola quietly took care of our needs and prepared our meals. She made sure there was breakfast in the morning before we go to school. In the afternoon, we would come home to the smell of Pizza cooking in the oven, or French Fries for the customary mid day snack or merienda. In the evening, she would cook her unforgettable sinigang, a tasty soup of pork, vegetable and tamarind extract.

Besides making sure we were properly nourished, Lola would fuss over us. She nagged us into wearing warm clothes in the winter. She would practically bar the door and would not let us out of the house without the requisite scarf, gloves and cap. Slyly we would concede, but once out of her sight, we would take off the caps and loosen the scarves. At the time, we thought she was being overprotective.

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