As
I bid farewell to my parents at the entrance of the airport, I felt
pure excitement as if I'm ready to go and something new was waiting
for me. Although I couldn't remember the color of their clothes, I
could widely recall what their faces looked like. At first, I found
it hilarious that they were walking along with me by the glass
window. While I was checking in my baggage and while I was paying my
terminal tax, they were there watching me. I was like “Kakahiya
naman, wag niyo nga ako panuorin!”
Then,
reality bit me when I realized I have to turn my back on them to
proceed to the waiting area where I wouldn't be able to see them
anymore. I couldn't look at them, for sorrow has begun to struck me.
(It was like a movie scene where you have to look back and cry!) So I
gather my self and my strength, told myself “do not cry, you'll
look pathetic”, then I looked back to waive at them for my final
goodbye. They seemed excited for me as if there's no sign of sadness,
they were smiling while waving their hands back at me through a glass
window of the airport. I didn't know that, that moment would be
stuck in my head for 3 years now.
There
I go holding back my tears, flying alone to LA with that memory on my
mind. I didn't know that from that day on, my life would change
drastically. I grew a lot from the moment we parted. Everything
changed, what remained was their memory and their motivation to go
through this new life.
Nobody
ever asked me if I missed them. Maybe they think I'm too old to be
homesick and I've been spending lots of time away from them during
college. But this time is different. We're definitely hundred
thousand miles apart, living at different time zones. A simple
emergency wouldn't make them come here anytime. There were so much
happenings that we weren't physically present for each other; Mom got
sick, I got engaged, I got married, our dog gave birth, someone broke
in our house and many more. But I can guarantee that neither one of
us felt unsupported nor neglected. I have no idea when we're going to
reunite, but definitely it will not take another 3 years of waiting.
At
the end of the day, I am very fortunate to have had these experiences
though it was never easy. And so life goes on, there are more bumps
ahead, more things to learn and more tasks to accomplish. “Oh
future! Here I come!”
