Bees And Ducks

Mama and Dad

The Secret Life Of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd is a book that will always remind me of my mother - Normie. Today is her birthday. She should have been 53 if she’s still around to spoil her grandchildren.

“The next ten thousand years she would fix my hair. She would brush it into such a tower of beauty, people all over the world would drop their harps just to admire it. You can tell which girls lack mothers by the look of their hair. My hair was constantly going off in eleven directions...” Lily’s narration from the said book - Lines that first struck me when I was already on the third page.

Normie was born in Balatoc Itogon Benguet. Her family lived in Batuang Itogon who came all the way from Tadian Mt. Province for the gold mines. His father Felix Dulaycan and her mother Lydia, whom I can’t remember her maiden name, had six children. They too were young orphans when my grandmother Lydia died and Mama Normie at a young age became her siblings’ keepers.

I was in Grade 5 back then, I came home from school when my two sisters were spooning the peanut butter from the container. I asked them why they’re eating it with out bread and they told me, “Mama had let us!” That was our last 'merienda'(snack) with her and we were so clueless how weak she was that time.

I have so many beautiful memories of her that could surpass the number of pages to Sue Monk Kidd’s book though I only spent 12 years with her - Why she had so many shoes, her scent and a lot more.
Aunt Betsy, Irish, Mama, Me, Noeda and Dad

I can never forget the laughter I drew out from her when she can’t keep up on chasing me as she holds a ‘tsinelas’(flip-flops). She was in fury to whip out my butt because I made my sister cry and from a cautious distance I watched her trying to stop and hide her laughter as she says, “ Lovelyn, kala dyay! Darasim”( You come here! Hurry up!).

I always picture her with her dance as she sings her “Ducky Song”:

“Five little ducks went swimming one day.
Over the pond and far away.
Mother Duck said, “Quack, quack, quack, quack.”
And only four little ducks came back...”

I was singing this song to my 8 month old baby as I was feeding him last week. My eldest son Lukie was on the couch intently listening to my song and I saw his worried face. When I came to the "last 1 duck who went to swim and then no more duck came back", he was already in tears. I knew why so I went next to him and explained that the ducks grew up. They went to have a family of their own that’s why they did not go back to their Mama. “Just like me and Papa”, I said. “We came here in Italy and Lolo Danny and Lolo Mondax stayed in the Phillipines.” I told him and his face lit up. He was smiling again and went for the tissue for us to wipe our eyes.

I know my mother duck is up there with harps and cellos played by the angels as she sings her “Ducky Song” on this day of hers.