Wednesday, February 27, 2008 Remembering my Lorna May on V-day By Antonio M. Ajero
IT'S BEEN one year and a half since the big C snatched her, still I can not seem to believe that my Lorna May is gone forever.
Gnawing loneliness visits me as I am reminded of her. And everything, as in all, make me remember her - our grownup children now busied by their own individual pursuits; our rambunctious grandchildren whose tiny voices have succeeded somehow in breaking the silence of our home; and all the other beautiful legacies she had left behind, including the fulfilled and shattered dreams that we had shared together.
Remembrance only serves to focus on how remarkable a person Lorna was. I feel sorry for myself for realizing she was truly the light of my life only when she was already gone.
Convergence of celebrations
February, the so-called love month, is very special to both of us. It was around this month when we first met. February 11 is her birthday (an occasion she shares with Thomas Alva Edison, the great inventor), while February 14, Valentine's Day, is our wedding anniversary. Were she still alive today, we would have more reasons to celebrate because last Sunday, February 10, was the christening of Jarrah, the youngest of our nine grandchildren. Last Sunday was also the birthday of Geraldine, our daughter-in-law and little Jarrah's mom.
Fun-loving and given to frequent family gatherings like her late parents and siblings, Lorna could have seen to it that the multiple celebration was worth our relatives' and friends' attendance. (The other important month to us is September, since all of our three children were born on this month).
We first met when we were in our twenties in the early 70's. She was introduced to me by my sister Amelia who knew her months back as a college math instructor in one of the local universities. She struck me right away as a beautiful young lady, made even more attractive and desirable by the mini skirt she was wearing. I decided there and then that she was the woman I would marry.
More than a pretty woman
Lorna May was not only pretty- and shapely; she was a strong woman who got what she wanted in life through prayers and hard work. She worked with passion and consistency and was seldom late or absent. A promotion was waiting for her at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas if she came out alive of the hospital in August of 2006.
The woman I married was intelligent and one who never outgrew her thirst for knowledge. She excelled in academics; she had very good grades in college and her many attempts in getting a graduate course in accounting, management and education, but I fully realized this only when I saw her school records while rummaging through boxes of mementos after she died.
Athletic
She amazed me no end when in her late thirties she began engaging in sports and excelling in not just one but many events. This was something she never did in her younger days, in and out of school. She was into singing and acting though in secondary and college days. Truly amazing because she filled our home with big and small trophies, and medals in bowling, badminton, volleyball and even marathon! There was a time when the Rotary Club of Davao, my old Rotary club, was the overall champion of the annual inter-Rotary bowling tournament. Of the 10 trophies RCD got, six went to Lorna May. Also, she was one of the few ladies who became president of the Davao Bankers Association sports club.
As mother, she wanted nothing but the best for her children. She wanted all our children to be given Ateneo primary and high school education and to finish college in the University of the Philippines if they qualified.
As wife she was very tolerant of me. Believe it or not, she never asked how much was my monthly income and would only / ask money from me if she ran out for payment of the bills in the house. I must admit that her tolerance invited abuse from me.
Even in her untimely demise, she did not leave behind problems for us the living to solve. Instead she bequeathed solutions for us, especially her children and grandchildren, to enjoy.
I miss her more now than during the early days of her death. How I wish she were alive today so I could make it up to her for my excesses. But alas, I could not turn back the hands of time to undo what has been done. And so, as my longing for her intensifies each passing day, I wonder more and more whether I could ever mend my broken heart.
(This article was originally written for the Valentine's issue of the RED CHRONICLE, award-winning publication of the Rotary Club Of East Davao.)
