Last Sunday, a friend of mine forwarded to me a text message that, in so many words, greets me a happy mother’s day. (See, this is what Globe’s unlimited text service can do — non-stop forwarding of undigested messages. )

So I texted that friend back: “I think I should be greeting you instead”. She replied: “nang-iinggit lang ako (she’s pregnant with her first baby). But you’re a mother to your pamangkins na rin, di ba?” Now, that gave me a choking lump in my throat!

I always thought that it’s such a shame that I don’t (and perhaps can’t) have at least a child of my own. My kid would’ve enjoyed my parenting style as much as I would have enjoyed raising him or her up. But you know what? I have 11 wonderful nephews and nieces. Their hugs, kisses, infectious laugh, relentless glib talk, and dizzying banter are enough to brighten me up. And when they get too mischievous for my vascular nerves, they make me so glad I don’t have a kid of my own 🙂