Between Sisters
It was 3:45 AM. I wouldn't have answered the phone as I wanted to savor another 15 minutes of sleep but I saw her name flashing on my mobile phone's screen. "Twinnie, gising na. The new pope is a Jesuit! First Jesuit. First Latin American. . . . Dali na, watch it on your computer."
I could have gotten grumpy with my sleep disturbed so close to waking time but I was witnessing one of my sister's most amusing sides. She has such simple, but certainly not worthless, joys and I really like that side of her. She's one who gets excited with Churchy stuff, such as when she finally qualified to become a lay minister in their parish in Canada or whenever she would discover a new spiritual or inspirational speaker or when gifted with some religious articles and reading materials. It's a real treat seeing this child-like quality in her.
I can't remember when we started calling each other Twinnie, an endearment for twin sister. I remember though why. We had lots of look-alike house dresses that our mother would sew for us (or ask Adeling, the dressmaker she would hire to do home service sewing, to make for us) using the same fabric that she would buy at bargain prices. Born 10 years apart from each other and with two boys in between, we developed a certain deep connection that I think only sisters can have.
When I look back at my family history, I look at growing up with Twinnie as one of the best parts of my childhood. I really appreciated it that she would let me tag along with her when she went out with her friends or when she went to church for Wednesday novenas to the Lady of Perpetual Help. It was not that I really wanted to attend the novena mass but I just wanted to be allowed to get out of the house. The probinsiyana lass that I was tremendously enjoyed it when she would bring me to Manila to go to the much smaller and shoe-box looking malls of the late '70s and early '80s. She had and still has an amazing eye for bargain items. One morning when she was home for a vacation, we found ourselves browsing through the website of Naturalizer at 4:30 in the morning simply because she received an email prompt for an online sale. Another fun memory with Twinnie was how we would keep food stuff (Chips Ahoy was our favorite.) in old cans and canisters and bury these among clothes in her cabinet or behind books in bookshelves, away from the prying eyes of our youngest brother.
What I'd consider as her most striking and endearing trait is her genuine concern and compassion for people. She just isn't the kind of person who will pass up a chance to reach out to others. Hence, she is Ate Ruth not only to us her siblings but to the rest of the clan and to others outside of the family circle. She has such a big heart but isn't the type who does things for others to see and for people to appreciate. She lives by the scriptural dictum that one should not let the left hand know what the right hand does. She is almost saintly. Really! I am sure that those who know her - as family, as friend, as teacher, as colleague, and as a nurse - will agree. She might kill me for doing this but I think it would be great to be in the limelight once in a while, and especially on one's 55th!
Happy birthday, Twinnie! I feel truly blessed to have you for a sister and I believe that this world is a better place because of you. May our loving God bless you with your heart's deepest desires. Love you!
I could have gotten grumpy with my sleep disturbed so close to waking time but I was witnessing one of my sister's most amusing sides. She has such simple, but certainly not worthless, joys and I really like that side of her. She's one who gets excited with Churchy stuff, such as when she finally qualified to become a lay minister in their parish in Canada or whenever she would discover a new spiritual or inspirational speaker or when gifted with some religious articles and reading materials. It's a real treat seeing this child-like quality in her.
I can't remember when we started calling each other Twinnie, an endearment for twin sister. I remember though why. We had lots of look-alike house dresses that our mother would sew for us (or ask Adeling, the dressmaker she would hire to do home service sewing, to make for us) using the same fabric that she would buy at bargain prices. Born 10 years apart from each other and with two boys in between, we developed a certain deep connection that I think only sisters can have.
When I look back at my family history, I look at growing up with Twinnie as one of the best parts of my childhood. I really appreciated it that she would let me tag along with her when she went out with her friends or when she went to church for Wednesday novenas to the Lady of Perpetual Help. It was not that I really wanted to attend the novena mass but I just wanted to be allowed to get out of the house. The probinsiyana lass that I was tremendously enjoyed it when she would bring me to Manila to go to the much smaller and shoe-box looking malls of the late '70s and early '80s. She had and still has an amazing eye for bargain items. One morning when she was home for a vacation, we found ourselves browsing through the website of Naturalizer at 4:30 in the morning simply because she received an email prompt for an online sale. Another fun memory with Twinnie was how we would keep food stuff (Chips Ahoy was our favorite.) in old cans and canisters and bury these among clothes in her cabinet or behind books in bookshelves, away from the prying eyes of our youngest brother.
What I'd consider as her most striking and endearing trait is her genuine concern and compassion for people. She just isn't the kind of person who will pass up a chance to reach out to others. Hence, she is Ate Ruth not only to us her siblings but to the rest of the clan and to others outside of the family circle. She has such a big heart but isn't the type who does things for others to see and for people to appreciate. She lives by the scriptural dictum that one should not let the left hand know what the right hand does. She is almost saintly. Really! I am sure that those who know her - as family, as friend, as teacher, as colleague, and as a nurse - will agree. She might kill me for doing this but I think it would be great to be in the limelight once in a while, and especially on one's 55th!
Happy birthday, Twinnie! I feel truly blessed to have you for a sister and I believe that this world is a better place because of you. May our loving God bless you with your heart's deepest desires. Love you!
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