Recently had a very good
three-day vacation. It was Boracay in
the off-season so we had the beach less crowded than it normally gets. I even learned to relax and float on my back,
covering a bit of distance with lazy strokes and minimum leg movement, a no-mean
feat for this non-swimmer.
Enjoying the various
cocktails which were half-priced, I remembered summers when I was a boy. Our hometown is a haven for summer
excursions, with its lake and a number of falls, rivers and brooks. When she was younger, your grandmother always
made sure we had a fill of these outings.
There was the nearby Sinilyaran which, at one time, I went to on my own,
bringing along some bread and pancit that I cooked. There was the Itbog Falls
with its twin cascades, accessible by a one and a half-hour trek or a much
shorter one, combined with a boat ride of about twenty minutes. There was the multi-level Baybay Falls
near your Lola Tonia’s landholding and the then clear waters of the lake bank
close to Salvacion where the ever reliable and loyal Tiya Amparo lived. In its heydays, the Meceda’s Buena Vista
Resort – later renamed Maguindara – was a favorite for picnics.
We all looked forward to
these excursions which gave us an opportunity to soak in our hometown’s cool
waters till our fingers wrinkled like peanut shells. Lunchtime and snacks were festive occasions
for everyone but your grandfather who, I remember, usually complained about
eating food from banana leaves. It is a
testament to your grandmother’s practical heart, however, that she always
brought along the laundry for washing and/or made use of these outings as an
opportunity to confer with a number of mortgagors who remitted a portion of
their harvest as interest for the working capital she provided. But for a few, these were unreliable
transactions that brought on tales of misfortune which usually earned your
grandmother’s forbearance of the agreed upon share at harvest time.
Your grandmother was someone
for whom relaxation was work. Her hair
already grey, I remember her telling me how she thought her life was “corny” as
it was mostly about responsibility as far back as she could remember.
Those summer excursions when we were children were, I think, her way of
teaching us what she herself found hard to enjoy – rest and relaxation.
