3rd Place

 Dear Mama,

    We had our speech competition in Toastmasters this morning, the one I was telling you about in my last letter. I landed 3rd place, Mama. I guess that wasn't bad since I was a last minute replacement, and I only had 2 days to prepare. 

    Actually, I forgot some lines, Mama. I can't tell if the result would have changed if I did not forget those lines, but I know my speech would have been better if I did not forget those lines. Good thing was, it did not affect the message of the speech, Mama.

    I do hope I am making you proud, Mama. Someday, I will be champion, too.

    I miss you, Mama.

    I love you.

                                                                                        Daddy

Good luck to me!

Dear Mama,

    Angel will be having their outing tomorrow. They will proceed after work to a private resort they have rented for overnight stay. She will be with her team mates at work. I hope she will enjoy the experience, Mama. She really needs to go out and socialize more with people. She has been stuck for so long at home. She's almost always at home since graduating from college, Mama. She needs to be exposed more.

    I will be joining the speech contest after all, Mama. Our club representative backed out at the last minute. Of course, as the club president I wanted to make sure our club will be represented. So, I need to take her place. The problem is, I really do not have a speech for competition ready. Right now, I'm editing an old speech to make it a competition-worthy speech. So, good luck to me.

    That's all for now, Mama. I hope I will finish writing my speech tonight. I only have tomorrow to prepare. Good night for now, Mama.

    I miss you, Mama.

    I love you.

                                                                                        Daddy

How are you?

 Dear Mama,

    How are you? I've been wanting to write but I don't know what to say. I mean, I don't know what to say without whining or complaining. I cannot be bothering you, Mama. I know you are at rest. But I really wanted to talk to you.

    It's 8:59 p.m. now. We had our ExeComm meeting with my fellow officers at Cabalen Toastmasters Club, then I had my dinner. After that I folded the clothes I washed yesterday. Tomorrow, I will be folding the clothes I washed this afternoon. 

    That is my routine, Mama. I wash the clothes when I get home from work at 3 p.m., then fold the clothes I washed the previous day. Then, either I rest before I prepare for dinner, or prepare for another Toastmasters meeting. Most of the time, though, it's Edgar who is preparing the dinner because Ralph is working nightshift although he is working at home.

    There's really nothing much I can say right now, Mama. Maybe I should stop now so you can rest.

    I miss you, Mama.

    I love you.

                                                                                                Daddy

Ralph's not home today

 Dear Mama,

    Ralph's not home today. He left this afternoon to go somewhere south of Manila, not sure if it's Laguna or Cavite. He will be attending the wedding of a friend, and he won't be back until Sunday. 

    Our children are all grown up now, Mama. There's really nothing I can do anymore and just let them do what they want to do.

    I feel so tired now, Mama. And sleepy, too. We had our Toastmasters meeting, and it wasn't bad. But I'm tired. I want to rest, Mama. I want to rest in peace.

    I think I should end my letter for now, Mama.

    I miss you.

    I love you.

                                                                                    Daddy

Angel's first day at work

 Dear Mama,

    Angel just got home. It's her first day back at work today, Mama. They finally called her to report. She has different classmates in the training, though. Her previous group has already moved on since it was a training. That's why it took so long for her to be called back. They had to wait for a new batch of trainees she can join in. I hope things will all go well now, Mama. We all got our booster shots.

    I wasn't able to visit you last Monday, February 14, at the cemetery because they did not let me in, Mama. After I got my booster shot, I went to have lunch and rested for a while. I went to La Pieta at around 2 p.m. but the guard said visitors are only allowed in the morning. Things have been stricter and policies have been changing  so often since pandemic, Mama. I'm sorry for not visiting you.

    A lot of things are going in my mind right now, Mama. There's Toastmasters, the kids, our finances, our neighborhood, Nanay, my job, the pandemic, the coming election, and a lot more. And yes, our new dog G is causing me stress, too. She is too frisky and active for us. I pity her because we don't know how to take care of her. 

    I guess that will be all for now, Mama. Take care of yourself.

    I miss you, Mama.

    I love you.

                                                                                                Daddy

14th year tomorrow

 Dear Mama,

    Tomorrow is Valentine's Day again, and it will be the 14th year since you went home. I remember, this time in 2008, we were in the hospital, you asked me to buy some toy balloons. I went out to look for balloons and was fortunate to find them after almost an hour of searching. I remember you were so happy then playing with the balloons that I bought. Good thing I just learned how to make dog-shaped balloons then, and you loved them. I never had a clue that it would be the last time I would be seeing you happy.

    I remember waking up to hear you shouting and crying in pain at dawn of February 14. The nurses did everything to pacify you, we did not know what to do. They injected you with tranquilizer, and it took a while before the medicine took effect and you finally fell asleep. I thought that was it, you're fine. That was the last time I saw you alive.

    I went out to post the announcements that we were selling the computers from our Internet shop, so I can raise money to pay for our hospital bills, as I was jobless then and money we received from selling our house was already depleted. I post the signs on several street posts and some walls, too. I never expected what I saw when I came back to the hospital.

    I saw Ima standing outside the door, crying. The door was wide open, and when I looked inside there were a lot of doctors and nurses trying to revive you, Mama. After some time, they stopped and said there's nothing they can do. I was just standing at the door, looking at the commotions inside. It did not immediately sink in on me. I felt numbed.

    And just like that, Mama, you were gone. You left us. There were no goodbyes.

    I'm trying my best to be strong, Mama. Trying my best to fulfill the promise I made. But sometimes, I feel weak, and I want to give up. I want to rest, too Mama.

    I'm sorry, Mama. I don't intend to make you feel worried. I won't give up on our children, Mama. That's a promise.

    I miss you, Mama.

    I love you.

    Happy Valentines Day.

                                                                                                Daddy

Weekend

 Dear Mama,

    I'm about to sleep, but thought I'll another letter for your. I really got nothing significant, just want to share how my day was.

    I finished a job today at work, not sure if it's correct. I will have to wait until Monday for it to be reviewed. I hope it's correct, or at least there'll be only few errors in it, It wasn't an easy job for me, Mama. There were a lot of documents, and I don't know if I needed them all. It was never explained to me. I just did my best by using previous year's workpapers as reference.

    I also attended a meeting today with the CATMC, and I delivered a speech, Mama, It was supposed to be good, but I forgot some lines. They were not obvious, Mama as the speech still made sense, it's just that the parts omitted were jokes that could have made my speech more entertaining. Anyway, they passed it. So, I should prepare for my next speech and finish my Level 2. That will then qualify me for a Triple Crown Pin, Mama. This is the first time I will get it since I joined Toastmasters.

    And lastly, Mama... I am proud and happy to share with you that our club, Cabalen San Fernandino Toastmasters Club, is now a President's Distinguished Club! It is the highest level that a club can achieve in a year, Mama. This will involve growth of members through delivering speeches, growth of the club by building its membership, and also some points on the administrative, which depended on the officers. At least, I can say I have accomplished something for our club during my term, Mama. Aren't you proud of me?

    That will be all for now, Mama. I will be sleeping now. I need to wake up early tomorrow for the laundry.

    I miss you, Mama.

    I love you.

                                                                                        Daddy

Booster shot

 Dear Mama,

    I'm going to get my booster shot on Monday, February 14. It is the schedule that is allotted for our barangay. All three kids had theirs, although from different sources, not our city. And after I get my booster, if it's not as heavy as they said it will be, I will go La Pieta. It's your anniversary in heaven again, Mama. It's been 14 years since heaven earned another angel.

    I do understand you really belong there, Mama. You were only lent to us to help us see the good things here on Earth. Thank you for all the love you gave us, Mama.

    Angel still hasn't been called yet by her company. She's wondering if she will still be called. She doesn't want to apply to other companies, yet. I just let her be, Mama. It's not her fault. Ralph's covid episode has affected all of us, but hers was the worst effect. 

    Things are starting to get back to normal, Mama. I mean the abnormal normal. It's starting to get noisy again here in the neighborhood, although still not as loud as it used to be before, which caused me to have hypertension and anxiety disorder. Still it has been affecting me, because of my trauma from the previous owners, I am easily triggered by the slightest noise.

    Anyway, that will be all for now, Mama. I can't wait until I get home with you.

    I miss you, Mama.

    I love you.

                                                                                            Daddy

Am I done yet?

 Dear Mama,

    As I've mentioned in my previous email, Ralph and Angel had their booster shots yesterday (Friday). It seems the side effects are stronger than the previous 2 vaccine shots. Ralph is asleep, he did not have any dinner. He was sleeping during dinner time, and Edgar deemed it is better to let him sleep. Angel is also on the bed now, she said she going to sleep.

    I just had my dinner, Mama. I had it late because I attended another virtual Toastmasters meeting. It's cold tonight, and I'm not sure if I already have fever or it's just the weather. But I have already taken a paracetamol to be sure.

    That will be all for now, Mama. I will also sleep in a while.

    I miss you, Mama.

    I love you.

                                                                                               Daddy

Ralph's new job

 Dear Mama,

    Ralph will be staying home for good now. He just got hired in a company here, Mama. The only issue with it is that it is in San Fernando, and not in Angeles City. He applied in a lot of companies in Clark, but it was the one in San Fernando that hired him first, and he accepted the offer, Mama.

    He will be resigning from his current job soon, and will be getting all the things from his place in Pasig, too. I told him to sell his things there so he won't have to bring them home. Not sure if he would like that, though.

    Angel still hasn't been called yet by her company, Mama. She is still waiting, Maybe they are still filling up the batch where she will join. I hope she will be called soon. 

    That will be all for now, Mama. By the way, Ralph and Angel will get their booster shots tomorrow. Although it will be in San Fernando, because a fellow Toastmaster helped us to get a schedule there. Edgar already had his booster shot in Clark when their office got a schedule for a booster shot. I'll try to get mine next week.

    I miss you, Mama.

    I love you.

                                                                                            Daddy