Surprises! Surprises!

Today is to be my dad's 80some birthday, and I was suppose to surprise him with a phone call. However, he surprised me instead. AGAIN! This facebook has its way of startling you with the unexpected.

After my morning rituals done, I sat my mug of espresso and logged on to check my emails. I was perplexed at someone who wanted to befriend me and included a note asking about my dad . Apparently, she had longed to know of her maternal grandfather, and the video my brother posted plus my essay seemed to resonate. She gave me details and finally inquired if my dad was her long lost grandfather.

As I read her note, my jaw dropped realizing that indeed her mother was the long lost child my dad wanted to find but didn't have any idea of her whereabouts. Instead, they found us.

Surprises are the spices of life. Whether they be fun, perplexing or unpleasant, they still come in many packages. Mine came in astonishing disbelief. The memories we have can only be triggered by the emotions it carries with it.

Male infidelities or promiscuity is not without its share of thrills in unwanted delusions. More often than not, it is not surprising for a woman's anticipation of a child. After all, she is part of the act and it is her body that can only bear witness to the coming of life. But for a man, his seed can be thrown, without him knowing if it blossomed or not. Such is the biology of life.

Earlier in my married life, I've tried some tricks on my husband to see if he had any flings or affairs on the side. One favorite prank I did was to wake him up in the middle of the night, while he was sleeping. I then whispered his ear, “Sir, mata na. Uli na sa inyo, basin naghuwat na si Misis.” (Sir, wake up. Go home. Your wife is waiting) He didn't budge at first, and I kept poking him. “Sir, mata na lagi, basin di na ta ka usab. Uli na diha, bah!”(Sir, wake up. We might not be able to repeat this. Go home!!!)

To which he would just turn on his side and say, “saba diha! Tulog na oy!” (shut up and go to sleep!)Then he would turn his back on me. I've always wondered what that meant? Should I give meaning that he doesn't have any side kicks? Or is he too smart for such indecencies...One never knows.

Last week, my son wrote on his Wall , “I live in a world full of stories.” Indeed, everyone has a story to tell. And it is only through our memories that we can relate to those stories. As I ponder and write many an amazing anecdotes, I realize that the stories we recall, are those that carry emotions with it. They are the ones we remember that changes our lives, redirect our intentions and shape our destinies.

There is nothing new in life that has not been experienced. Names, places and dates have only been changed but the wheels of human emotions, beings and experiences have always been a continuous existence.

Celebrities are not spared from such scrutinies, but simple people like us have as much intrigues by our neighbor's gossips or by the society we associate ourselves in. Some are more secretive about their lives than others, but as for me, I always believed that how painful or fun filled a life we have, the truth shall always set us free