Beautiful women

As part of the celebration of International Women’s Month, I would like to extend my gratitude to the two important women in my life: my mother Carolina, a retired public school teacher, and my older sister Christina, a soldier based in Davao del Sur.

There were many times in my youth when I thought that my mom’s first priority was her profession. At the dinner table, she always talked about her students, their behavior, their examination results. She even expressed resentment at some of her students’ parents who were complaining about the grades of their children.

When my sister Christina graduated from college, she chose to try the Officer Candidate School for the Philippine Army as her interim career plan. Fortunately she passed all the requirements and got the rank of second lieutenant.

My father was in fact a soldier, too. He died in a battle with an extremist group in Mindanao when I was 11, God rest his soul. When I was young, I wasn’t happy having a deceased soldier-father, a teacher-mother and a sister aspiring for a Valor award. I felt all alone during my adolescent years. I would have loved to talk with my mother about my school activities, and about the crushes that I had with my sister. But what could I do?  I was and am the only man in the family. I felt like the two important women in my life had cast me out and left me alone in favor of the professions they had embraced.

When my dad died, many of my relatives asked me if I would follow in his footsteps. But why? I told them. I wouldn’t want to leave my wife and children behind. I would want to see my kids growing up with a father.

I thought: I am not a coward, but I don’t think I can endure all the training, hardship and pain just to be able to wear a camouflage uniform and combat boots. I can protect my mother and sister without those, and besides, I don’t want to die in the hands of the enemy. I don’t want die with multiple gunshot wounds. I don’t want to die violently.

Complaints, grievances and fearfulness somehow ran in my veins when I was young. It seemed that I did not acquire my father’s genes. I thought that if he were alive, he’d be horrified to have a son like me, and surely he would say that my sister was far better than me. He may also be dismayed to hear all my resentments at having a family of public servants.

Yes, I’m so ashamed of my earlier attitude. I was so stupid to think that growing up with a family involved in public service meant living with a wannabe-hero family. I didn’t see that women nowadays are braver than any Spartan and stronger than Hercules. My mother and my sister are living proof.

Now I understand all the sacrifices of my loved ones for this country, and I am so proud to have them in my life. Their love, care and advice have made me who I am today. I am so gifted to be with two women, my mother and my sister, beautiful inside and out, whom any man would want.

Carlo P. Morales, 25, is a freelance web developer.