I love you, Ma.

Today is All Saint's Day. And since tomorrow (All Soul's Day) is a working day, I honored my departed loved ones today.

I visited my mother's tomb early morning with my little one and we lighted pink and red scented candles, arranged fresh blooms and said our quiet prayer.

It has been 18 years since she passed away and it still feels like she just left. The emptiness, the sadness and the longing for a mother don't really leave. It might fade, but it never really goes away...

In a moment there, as I said my quiet prayer, I kinda groped around that hollowness inside again. But this time, I told my mom how I have come full circle- i'm a mother now to a child as old as I was when she taught me my first Marian prayer.

And I think my mom would be happy to see me and lil one this happy. Finally, after all the hardships, me and little girl are in bliss.

There are a lot more things to go through, I know. But if there's one thing I learned from my mom, it's the miracle of a mother's love. The fact that a mother-daughter bond can never break: No matter what. And it's the mother's love that will always be the HOME we all come back to.

When little one was in the restroom a few moments ago, the rain suddenly poured heavily. Thunder and lighting in chorus. And my little one cried out: Mommy! Mommy! I literally jumped out of my chair with my heart beating at the palm of my hand.

She has always been scared of thunder. AND just as she saw me and hugged me, she stopped bawling. And I know, that this is being a mother is all about. Being the source of comfort and the big bear hug that will envelope us when we are just scared witless.

Today, say a short prayer for the mother who has always been there for me and my sister, C. For the grandmother that my lil one will always know by heart.

Prayer for Deceased Parents
O God, Who hast commanded us to honour our father and our
mother,
in Thy mercy have pity on the souls of my father/ mother,
and forgive them their trespasses,
and make me to see them again in the joy of everlasting
light.
Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son,
Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy
Ghost,
God, world without end.

Amen.


And for all the mothers in the world, single or otherwise, Thank God.