WEEKLY QUESTION 4
Did it ever occur to you that when you were still under your parent's roof, everything was a burden? You doing what you're told, whether you like it or not - it must and has to be done. Chores that you are suppose to do everyday should have already become a habit. But no, you still consider it as a "punishment" to your youthful life?
Now that - that youth had been of yesterday, looking back at those "impositions", it had become more of the lessons you've learned.
This week's question from Teacher Julie's Greenbucks is - "What valuable lessons have you learned from your father?"... I say, so many and my blog had been constantly writing about it. For this time, I'll just talk about how my father forces us to work.
Having 6 children with only a year or two years gap, we used to have two house helps. To help my dad with in his farm, we also have four to five stay-in workers we call " the boys". Stay-in drivers too to help my Dad in transporting his vegetables and driving the trucks. Other times when my dad has a project for his Contracting business doing rep-raps or school buildings, most of his workers live at home or at my aunt's vacant house near us. Add our adopted cousins who also became household members.
The first three older girls - me(10 years old) and my two sisters(9 and 7) have a list of every day chores posted in the kitchen. A rotation of who is to wash the dishes and clean designated rooms of the house.
I always say it then that IT WAS UNFAIR. We have so many house helps but we are the ones doing the chores for them. Also during planting, weeding and harvesting in our farm. We are there during Saturdays, a day of no school which is more of a play day supposedly. I really find it a big "burden" or more of a "punishment" cast by my father because aside from the "boys", there are day paid workers around we call the "puldiya". I never miss to tell my sisters that indeed, my dad is SO UNFAIR.
He used to tell us, "Learn to work and do things by yourselves because no one will do it for you". Realization does come always and my Dad was right. Had it not been with the learning of working hard, life is MORE UNFAIR if I did not know it earlier.
That makes my never ending picking up of children's toys, cooking 3 different dishes each meal and emptying the washing machine easier. I had my training grounds hahaha!!!
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7 comments:
My late father was a PITA! (pain in the ass). He was one of those boys who came from Besao to Baguio in the 40's, english speaking you know....90 percent of his speech to us were in English/Ilocano, never asked him why? Was quite strict to all of us. Never saw him so angry until he had to fetch me at City Hi when I was finally thrown out for good! On our way home pacing Harrison Road, I asked him in a very low tone if I could attend EPC (Eastern Philippine College) next school year - he angrily shouted at me and said "okinnam, saan ka laengen nga ag-iskwela no EPC met laeng!". He sent me to BCF instead, hehe.....
All in all, I missed him a lot up to this day, and if there is anything I truly learned from him: NOBODY CAN BRIBE HIM IN HIS LINE OF WORK. He would have been really rich if he had a weak conviction. I knew many of his peers became wealthy but they died early. He died at age 82.
Cheers and goodhealth.....
Ciao TruBlue,
EPC is BCU, right? Remember my dad saying he studied there for one sem and had to go back to SLU because he misses his "difficult" student life hehehe...
Made me laugh about the dying early. Cheers to your father.
Reminded me of my grandma who also speaks English most of the time. Even the swearing of "You, son of a bitch!" and the shouting of "GET OUT!" with our dogs. Our playmates used to tease us with those expression and it always gets us into fights.
AY,bakit nga ba ganun ano? With so many extra hands, you were made to work? That's unfair! But then,that would have been right all along for you wouldn't have learned how t look after yourself and your growing family.
That is what i always tell my children, that they have to learn how to help themselves, how to do things for themselves because no one else is going to do that for them.
Thanks, and I am going to do the #5 in a while :)
Its ok kung medyo late, no need to do it when you receive the email.
Hi Lovelyn,
Wow! You had quite a busy household! But what were your helpers doing while you were doing the work?
Ciao Julie,
See, you agreed, that was really unfair hehehe... Its good we turned out okey.
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Ciao Tina,
In the evening, they're watching TV hehehe and in the morning busy running after our little sisters. They're quite spoiled nga e. But we have this lady from Banaue who stayed with us the longest till he married my cousin. She's the best cause she insists to wash the pots and ignors my dad when he says to let us do it by ourselves.
halos pareho pala tayo ng environment when we were growing up. not with the farm as my tatay is a tailor with his own shop -- but with those long list of relatives who help in the tailor and at home. but as you said, even with loads of helpers around, we are asked to work our share of household chores din. of course i complained, even if i am already doing the work; never knowing there's a lesson there :)
EPC was the gutter of all high schools in Baguio during my days. It's been so popular for accomodating the less-talented students, the laughing stock, so to speak, hehe.....
Not so sure if it became BCU, maybe some of your readers can assist. Cheers!
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