Youth Speak: Mother’s cry
3 MIN READ
By JAYMANTE PEARL APILADO
What would be a likely reason for your mother to cry?
I was once the apple of my parents’ eyes and the darling of the family, because I am the only girl on my father’s side. I always had what I wanted, and my parents’ attention was all mine. That is, until two younger brothers came after me.
Now, my parents’ attention is divided among the three of us. (The question is: is it equally divided?). We grew up always quarreling, and we often hit each other because of petty issues such as choosing what TV channel to watch, and what household chores to do.
As a result, our parents were often mad at us, and spanked us with either a slipper, belt, broomstick, or with their hands whenever we the children quarreled. And as the eldest, I was always at fault because, according to my parents, I need to be more understanding and patient than my two younger brothers,.
As a teenager who lacked a mature understanding and outlook in life, I took my parents’ lectures and advice negatively. I felt that our parents always favored my two brothers, whose faults were turned into my entire fault.
The blame is all in me.
How I wished for time to go back to when I was the only apple of my parents’ eyes, and longed for their full attention.
This was until I met some friends at school, who like me had various kinds of problems with our respective families, and hungered for our loved ones’ attention that they seemed unable to give us.
Our rebellion and dark journey started. We learn to smoke, drink alcohol, skip classes, and fight with other girls within and outside our school. We became notorious for our bad record and image in our school.
That time, my parents did not know what my life was turning into because they were busy working, and become busier and busier as my brothers and I continued to grow up.
One night, I came home drunk, returning from a drinking session with my friends in a safe place where no one could recognize us. As I entered my room, my mother blocked me and asked what happened. I responded angrily: “Nothing!” then quickly shut the door and locked myself in.
I guess there is no secret that cannot be revealed, because one morning, my friends and I received a letter from our principal summoning us to her office. She talked to us about our misbehavior, adding that she wanted to see our parents. She gave us a suspension letter to give to our parents.
I was so worried about the consequences of my actions. Many questions lingered in my mind, like what would be my parents’ reaction to my deeds.
At that point, I decided to take the consequences of my actions, whatever they are, since I know it is my fault and I am the one responsible for my actions.
I approached my mom as she prepared our dinner, and asked her if we could have a private talk in their room. I gave her the letter of suspension. As she read the letter, her tears started to fall, and her eyes pleaded for an explanation. But I didn’t know what to say. I just uttered, “I’m sorry.”
And as I gazed across the room to avoid my mother’s eyes, I noticed a display on the opposite wall with this quotation: “Don’t let your parents down, for they raise you up.”
Those words of wisdom touched my heart and opened my eyes to my mistakes. From that night onwards, I promised myself never to let my parents down again. Most importantly, I promised never to make my mother cry again. for she was the reason of my existence. #
* Jaymante Pearl B. Apilado is a second year AB Communication student of the Saint Louis University (SLU) from San Fernando City, La Union.
Editor’s note: We encourage the youth to speak up by publishing their writings to Nordis Weekly. For this purpose, we have set up this “YouthSpeak” corner. Students and other young people can send us their essays and other short writings through email, postal mail, or hand-carried. Please include your full name, age, applicable contact information (address, phone, email), and name of school if you are a student.
