Yesterday was a day of reminiscing in facebook, but not me. Who wants to know about the past unless of course they are crazy funny. And that’s what my bff in high school Maria F. and I were chatting awhile ago…..the dare has been done...this is for you MARIA F...
So she remembers our conversations in High School when we would both burn the lines for hours just to chitchat nonsense.. And in between those calls, an irrate party line would butt in, wanting to use the phone. Yes people, it was that age where we had to share land lines with somebody else, unless you had a private line which was double the monthly expense.
Anyway, there were times when Maria F’s line would be busy and I knew it would be that party liner taking revenge. But it never brought my spirits down, because in between those busy signals there were people as crazy as me to chat on the phone….Yes, people, creativity comes when one gets bored. And three phrases in between the buzzing busy signal would be heard and it was…….”Hello…...What’s your number…..call me up!” ..And this was how we got our social media in yesteryears in the PHilippines.
The only thing was, there were no instagram or selfie etc.. physical meet ups were ‘it’. And more often than not, I would invite a girl friend to come with me, describing her to my supposedly ‘phone pal’ and passing on as me. That way, I would be safe if he/she did not come at par to my standards. Oh well, them were the days!
Going back to Maria F....Well, she reminded me that my opening lines to her on the phone was always, “Guess who’s pregnant?” and she would ask “who?!” And I would rattle away with the latest rumors I would get from other gossip girls…..
These days, we are concerned with our children just as I am sure Maria F. is with hers who are just as adorable and wanting their liberty. Giiving children space to grow on their own is I think the best thing a mother could do. You don’t have to cut the umbilical cord, just make it longer (heheheh!) I probably scared her with my previous statements in high school with the ‘guess who’s pregnant phrase’.
So I told her the story with my one and only daughter , who wanted to have a ‘serious talk’ which almost scared the shits out of me. She was still in Junior College taking up Interior Design at a local University. Anyway, she showed me her stunning diamond ring and told me that her boyfriend had asked her to marry him. I looked straight at her in the eyes and said, “why??? are you pregnant?’ (she was still in college, you know) anyway, with a stunned look she said, “NO MOM, I’m not like you mom!”....and then I sighed a sense of relief. Later on, I heard from her friends that my daughter was so strict and a prude that she could pass as their mother superior! Something she didn’t get from me.!!! heheheh!
And so I told my bff Maria F. that it was different in our days. That our conditioning was part of how we behaved, rebellious yet conforming. Even if we were santa santitas on the outside, deep inside we were burning with dragon flames. But nowadays, there is facebook, instagram, iphones and all those social media that surely, nothing surprises anyone anymore. As that famous beatle song would be so appropriate in these days, “LET IT BE”’....and those are speaking words of wisdom.
And if today I called up my bff in high school Maria F. she’ll probably ask, “okay, who’s pregnant this time?”......and if I’d answer “ME!”.... she’ll probably put on her asthma inhaler to stop from laughing and say, “yeah, right!”
this is andreas drawing of me while i was reading beside the table....my grandkids make fun of me and i love them dearly
