Every child is a gift from heaven. This is what our parents believed. Getting married at early age, teens to be more precise, our parents had a long way ahead of them. And so, our first sibling (a girl) came, followed by another one, then another one… then me, the seventh child. Plus two more after me. .. We thought that was it. Then, came our last sibling, after a hiatus.
I was about nine when we welcomed our youngest sibling, Berse (she is also fondly called Angging in our family) to this mortal world. She was the apple of the eyes of many in the family. She was well loved, the privilege she naturally received being the youngest. But she never grew up a spoiled brat.
In our family, the older siblings were, at times, charged with looking after the younger ones. And I had my share of babysitting the younger sisters, especially when my older siblings were all at school. This brought me closer to my younger siblings, and Berse, being the littlest always deserved more of my attention. She told me, she could remember fondly enjoying a piggyback ride she got from me when we were heading somewhere.
One thing I could remember so well about Berse is her being an industrious person. As a young child, she would find ways to earn a little money for herself. I thought this was a trait predicting her success in the future.
I was off to college when Berse was starting grade school. Away from home for 8 years, the only times I could see her were during short visits at Christmas or summer vacation. In 1985, job brought me back close to home and about that time, Berse was starting college. This was the time Berse and I were closely associated again, as she went to the school where I worked as a professor. Through the years, I saw her transformation into a very responsible person. I even teased her as 'sipsip', showing extreme loyalty to one of her favorite college professors. We parted our ways again after her graduation from college as she started teaching in a high school somewhere.
Fast forward.... today Berse, our baby sister, turns 42 years old. And yes, she lives a simply full life. She is blessed with a nice family, intelligent kids and a very successful career. There is one thing I admired so much about her, being the caregiver to our octogenarian mother. Living alone like a single mother since husband Roger is working overseas, I thought it was difficult for Berse to lead a normal life, with our frail and ailing mother, three kids with two teenagers, and acting as head teacher in two elementary schools. I thought she has so much on her plate. But I have never heard her complaining. On top of that, she seems to be the go-to person when a sibling or two are in need of something, especially financial matters.
I am greatly indebted to Berse. She has done the greatest job which nobody else in our family has ever done, caring for our dear mother. Words are not enough to express my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to our baby sister.
Now I realized why heaven sent her, the youngest sibling in our family. Because if she did not come, who would take care of mother? If the older siblings were to take care of the younger ones, then the youngest will take care of the old folks! LOL..
Happy birthday dear sister! We wish you with continued success in your family and in your career! I owe you something... a trip to the US with a stop over in Canada someday soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment