If I read one more comment on YouTube or some other social media where you have Filipinos say, “So proud to be Filipino”, I am going to scream. Seriously, is it a Filipino thing? Please don’t get me wrong. While I’m very proud of who I am and where my family came from, all this talk about being proud simply because we’re Filipino is pretty annoying.

When Filipinos achieve a certain amount of success whether they’re a singer, actor, dancer, what have you, without fail, other Filipinos comment as if they had something to do with it. They’ll directly link their success to the fact they’re Filipino. Hello, my Filipino people. If Filipinos do well for themselves, it’s due to their hard work and determination. It has nothing to do with their being Filipinos. Please remember that.

My husband is so cute! He very rarely posts anything on his Facebook account, but early this morning, he puts up this sweet comment for our wedding anniversary.

In your smile,warm and fun,you show your gentleness and beauty.. In your heart, I feel all the closeness and care, all the tenderness and devotion of a lifetime romance. In our marriage, all the harmony and hope, all the power and promise of a love that grows ever stronger and more beautiful with every passing year. Mahal na mahal kita.

I was quite touched by his words as he’s a man of few words to begin with. Btw, mahal na mahal kita means “I love you very much” in a Filipino dialect called Tagalog. Anyway, I consider myself so blessed to have such a wonderful man by my side. I couldn’t ask for a better partner in life. Gosh, I’m such a gushy cheeseball.

Years ago, I remember her discussing sex (very rare for a parent let alone a Filipino/Asian parent) with me as a young teen. For some reason, she tried to explain oral sex, but she didn’t know the technical terms. She referred to fellatio as “licking dee cone” and cunningulus as “licking dee meow meow”. LOL!

So now when I see an ice cream cone or a cat licking itself, I burst out with a chuckle. Ahhh, god, I miss her. Mothers are the best, aren’t they?

It’s been over two years since my mom’s passing and I still find it hard to talk about her without crying. She and I were so close as a mother and daughter could be. It still breaks my heart that she had to go before her time. (She passed away from non-small cell lung cancer.) The doctors have said the likely cause of her cancer was second hand smoking. How ironic. My mother never smoked a day in her life, and even avoided people who smoked or smoking areas and yet, she died from something like this. When she died, I was quite the angry person. I thought it was so unfair someone as kind and good as my mother passed away while scummy, pieces of garbage still lived. I am truly thankful I have a husband who supported me while I was going through my pain. I am not as angry as I once was, but while I’ll never forget my mother, my heart is slowly healing.

I’ve always been the type of person who would be the first to lend a hand to someone when they needed it. Far too often, I have given my all and expected nothing in return, BUT sometimes I wish people would be considerate and do the same for me. I know I’m to blame and I have to remind myself that I come first. And if you don’t put yourself first then no one will.