A Profile of Tenacity

When I think of the virtue of tenacity, a person that comes to mind is Baby as she was called in my brother Benjie's household.  She was their housekeeper, cook and one time nanny for their grandchild, Gelay, during the years she was with them.  

I met her for the first time in 2011 when I stayed at my brother's house while I attended a meeting in the Philippines.  She was then the nanny of Gelay, my brother and his late wife Pinky's grandchild.  In fact, my brother used to kiddingly say that Gelay was looking more like Baby since they were very close.

Baby did not stay at my brother's house all the time through the years.  Occasionally she would take off to be with her family in the southern part of the Philippines.  She would have had enough money to tide her over for that time.  She told me what she did when she went home and how she made her living while there.  

She described to me how she patiently would raise baby pigs till they mature and sold them for profit. I was very impressed since I have never met a person who actually made a living from hog raising.  She described how big they would get and I would listen with eyes wide open with my imagination painting how they would have looked. 

She also told me that she dreamed of building a house that could accommodate her three children.  She was a single mother with her husband leaving her when the kids were young.  Her family had a piece of land which she shared with her mother and siblings and where she could build her dream house. I listened to her and imagined what it would be like as she described her plan.  Her life was evidently simple and humble and I relished her telling about it.  I found it refreshing to hear.

When I went home in 2018 she told me she gave up raising pigs for a living since feeding them was getting to be expensive that she could not get a good profit.  Instead she had a carinderia or small eatery in front of her house where she served food using recipes she learned from Benjie's wife, the late excellent cook Pinky.  She proudly told me that people relished her food.  I was not surprised since I have loved the dishes Pinky taught her to prepare when I was there in the Philippines.  She also told me that she had finally built her dream house and one more news that she was proud of.  Her daughter had found a job working for a company in their province which my brother also worked for in Manila, Through her hard work and savings, she was able to put through her children to finish college degrees and now with one successfully using it.

In the past two years, Baby was home most of the time.  About two weeks ago, my brother relayed the news that Baby passed away in her sleep.  Baby's daughter think it must be from fatigue since Baby was taking care of her ailing mother.  Baby, according to her daughter, hardly had any energy the few days prior of her death.

It is ironic that she died a month or so after the person she has served in various functions, my late sister in law Pinky.  I wrote my brother that Baby was now with Pinky and how they were both giving persons.

I had always wanted to write about Baby years ago especially after her story about raising pigs for a living fascinated me but also because I was impressed by her tenacity to fulfill her many dreams including building a house and raising her kids into successful citizens.  After hearing her caring for her mother till the end of her life, I am honored to also include also in my writing about her how lucky I am to have known a person who was also unselfish as she was.    

Have a great time up there Baby with Pinky.  God must be delighted with both of you.