From a bride-to-be
Dearest Mojo,
It is 3 a.m. and I can’t sleep, thinking how much I will miss you. As early as now, I can’t stop myself from crying. So I decided to get out of bed and start typing in order not to waste my thoughts and my time. It is only two more months before my wedding, and I believe this is the best time to write you before things get much busier. But there are so many things I cherish that I do not know where to begin.
You have a very good and generous heart, Moj. Remember the time I came home and you just finished reading a letter from the charitable organization saying that the tuition for the two kids you are sending to school had gone up by 20 percent? We talked about it and you were having second thoughts about continuing your support for the coming school year. Then you said, “I can’t tell those kids they can’t go to school anymore because the fees are higher when I know I can let go of some luxuries or night-outs!” Those words spoke a lot.
You give a lot. From supporting Christian missions to giving aid to earthquake victims, you demonstrate that generosity is almost unlimited. No wonder you are rich!
You taught me a lot about finance. For some reason, you are very good at this. Hmmm…
You shake me up to reality when my appetite for expensive hotel buffets surface. “Chie,” you would remind me gently, “P1,800 for one meal is ridiculous! Think about it: that amount can actually sustain a family for a whole month!”
I can still remember the day when we found out that we had lost a significant amount we had invested. You reminded me to still be thankful that we had not been “crippled” financially after the loss. That still, we had more than what we needed and in case we would need more in the future, God would always provide.
I know I complained a couple of times that you were being stingy, kaya super thank you for surprising me with beautiful gifts such as the digicam and the watch.
I am still trying to live out all the things I have learned from you, but I want to tell you that you have done a great job sending the message across.
I will surely miss our pre-slumber chats. The nights when you pushed me to the edge of my bed to make room for you, and we would talk about things we realized that day. Some nights we would laugh our asses off talking about just anything, including solutions to our country’s and society’s problems as well as trivial and even senseless things.
I will miss even the times when one of us got pissed with being awakened just because the other suddenly wanted to talk about something.
(Shoot, I’m crying again.)
I will miss our TV series nights: “How I Met Your Mother,” “Lie to Me,” “Desperate Housewives” (I am still puzzled that you were ever interested in this)… You would even wait for me to be home so that we could watch these together.
I will miss the rare moments when you would compliment me by saying: “Chicks ka man ngayon.”
I will miss looking after you. How I would panic when I woke up in the middle of the night to discover that you were not yet home, and get frustrated when you did not answer my calls or reply to my messages.
(Shoot, I’m hungry now.)
I will miss your reminders to drink milk and take calcium supplement for my teeth.
I will miss having you as my personal nurse when I am sick.
I will also miss having an extended closet. While other girls had their “boyfriend shirt” on, I had my “brother’s shirt” on – and I got a lot of compliments for it.
Given that one cannot choose his/her brother/sister, I am super grateful that you were the one assigned to be mine. Thank You, God!
I can remember our Family Encounter weekend years ago. The other kids were asking us, “Ganyan ba talaga kayo ka-close?” It was only then that I began to understand how blessed I am and how special our relationship is in this day and age.
Sure, our bro-sis relationship isn’t perfect. But I just love the fact that when we have differences, we don’t let the sun set without reconciling.
Let me take this opportunity to thank you for being a big blessing to me.
Thank you for washing the dishes. (OK, you’re right, the dishes do not miraculously wash themselves.)
Thank you for being there whenever I need someone to talk to. For not judging me. For giving me the freedom to talk.
Thank you for knowing when to crack me up, when to stop preaching and when to leave certain things to God and prayer.
Thank you for making sundo and making karga my handbag, which actually only becomes heavy with your stuff in it (remind ko lang).
Moj, we are going to have another exciting season ahead of us. And I am happy and confident that we will be ready for this! The best thing we can do is pray.
So I pray that you will continue to grow in faith and in love with Christ. That you do not turn aside to the right or to the left. That you find joy in God’s word and in living under His will. That you have more and greater encounters with God that cannot be equaled by anyone or anything else in this world.
I pray for your good health and that you will always eat right. That you stock up healthy types of food at home and that you eat on time.
I pray for your future wife: that she be a godly woman who will support you in your endeavors and in raising a God-fearing family.
I pray for your success at work, in the ministry, in general. That God will bless you more, so you can bless more people and touch more lives.
And lastly, I pray for the thing that you keep fretting about, which I believe isn’t a big deal: for the love of you.
I think, I have said enough. Ginaya lang naman kita when you wrote me a “letter of love” when I left for college.
They say life here on earth is all about relationships: our personal relationship with God and our relationship with the people around us. I believe it is, and I am so happy we have nailed it.
I guess this also sums up why you are Mom and Pop’s favorite child. I don’t mind, you are also my favorite brother.
P.S.
Let’s not act awkward after you read this. And I hope we will succeed in minimizing the waterworks on my wedding day.
Melissa C. Tipoe, 29, works as a product manager.
