Pangasinan! Mariel is Coming!

I grew up in Pangasinan and most of my relatives are there. My mom hails from Sison and Papa is from Sudipen, La Union. We always visit them there and Mariel even stayed there for three weeks while I was away and seeking greener pasture in Singapore (unluckily, I was not able to find a good job there or perhaps, something more important is waiting for me to do back home). Ate Keiichi already went to Sison ahead of us last Friday, Tito Ranny, my brother fetched her because our grandmom, Nanay Lydia, misses us all so much especially Mariel and Keiichi.

Three weeks ago, Typhoon Cosme devastated Zambales and Pangasinan. Trees were uprooted, rooftops were either flown out or damaged by nearby fallen trees but luckily, no lives were lost in our family. Until now, they don't have electricity so we are still wondering how we could cope up with the hot weather in Sison. Good thing, Mariel has her battery operated electric fan and there are lots of Aunts, Uncles and cousins who are too willing to fan her and make sure that she is cool all the time.

Mariel is the youngest in the family and she is loved the most because she was considered Nanay Lydia's miracle medicine when she had suffered stroke in February. They were all depressed because of the typhoon three weeks ago but when I dropped the bomb that Mariel was deaf, they felt how blessed they are that only houses and crops were damaged. Almost everyone cried at first and felt sorry for her but when they heard me talking about the possibilities that she could still hear and would soon hear us clearly, they were all excited with the process especially when I required all of them to learn sign language :-) It will be a new experience for all of us.

Keiichi had been away for four days now and we miss her badly. Daddy cannot eat much because he is wondering how his eldest now or if she had already eaten her meal. He kept asking me if I had texted them but since most of the time, they either have empty batteries or no load, I don't expect to hear that often from them no matter how many text I will send to them. I just know she is well-taken cared there - maybe to the point of being spoiled because Nanay would see to it that the kids would like the food and if they don't, she would prepare another one for the choosy kid. Daddy thought he could rest his voice because her "annoying" Keiichi won't be around but mind you, he misses her more :-)