Thursday, January 6, 2022
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If there was a balikbayan box (called a "package" in our childhood years) that arrived, for sure it was from Auntie Jasmin. As a child, I remember the smell of "American air" coming out of those packages. This signalled finding items in the box with white label stickers written with black marker ink in her American Classic cursive handwriting. I would excitedly find our names on all sorts of gifts–odd-shaped nuts, lots of Cadbury chocolates and those blank Christmas cards that came in a pack of 100s. I would marvel at the wonderful one-can-never-find-in-Manila Girl Scout camping gadgets in the box. She was Santa Claus all year round.
If I could be a little more imaginative, I think the vessels in her heart were gift-box-shaped.
Because of Auntie J, I discovered that the Aristocrat Burger and Chicken BBQ were too big for a kid, yet yummy. Because of her visits, I got to taste the bibingka of the Manila Hotel. She also took me to the Thomas Jefferson Library. Auntie J liked that we wrote her and gave her a wishlist. I don't remember writing her much until I became an adult.
During one visit, I remember her wearing blue running shoes with a kangaroo logo (Roos) and a zipped pocket meant for a door key. That was strange for a Filipino child like me. So I asked her about it. And she would explain how life in the US meant no yayas, and with no one home, you would need to bring your house key anywhere you go. She looked at my feet and immediately said, "I think we are of the same size." She took the pair off and gave it to me. Once, she asked me to get her pocketbook, and I tried my best to look for a book she would've been currently reading among her luggage. I went back to her several times to tell her I couldn't find it. Because of Auntie J, I learned that the purse or wallet was also called a pocketbook. Because of Auntie J, I learned that God's Pocketbook is an infinite resource of blessings flowing through grateful people, and hearts full of grace.
Auntie J came home to Manila to be with my Papa, her younger brother who was sick with cancer. She sponsored whatever treatment Papa preferred. She also took good care of me and my daughter Nik on my first US trip. She was always sensitive to people's needs and would not just offer help, but send help.
For some people, Auntie J looked serious and somber, almost unsociable, only to find out, after warming up to her, that she was a person of simple joys (nuts and fruit chews in her goody bag) and infectious laughter.
Thank you, Auntie J for all the kindness and love you have given me and my family. Thank you for being an example of hard work and toughness. Thank you for the long-distance calls you would make to check on us. Thank You for painstakingly learning how to use your IPhone, and Facetime and Viber video chat, even if you were simply content with your clam-shell phone just so we could stay in touch. Thank You for the many many days of just laughing with me and laughing together at ourselves. Thank You, Lord, for the gift I call Auntie J. - Richelle
