Letter to Luce, my seven-year-old

“Seven na ko? Parang walang nagbago!”

“I’m seven? Looks like nothing changed!”

Nothing really changed, anak, iyakin ka pa rin! You’re still a cry-baby.

Seriously, though, I want you to know that you’ve certainly changed. A lot!

Seven years ago, you were born a month early. Your birthday would have been September 28. But like the child you’d eventually grow up to be, you were in a hurry, and showed signs that you have to be taken out from my tummy on August 25 instead. So, the doctors had to unzip my belly to take out my wee, wee, baby girl. Before three in the afternoon, the delivery nurse showed me God’s blessing to our family, a small package wrapped in green clothe, weighing just two kilos and measuring 43 centimeters – you, with eyes closed and lips puckered. You barely whimpered, I think, giving out just a kitty-like sound. Yet, you received an APGAR score of 9; that’s a high score for a premature baby like you!

Seven years later, you are still in a hurry. After we have set the date for your seventh birthday party, you want to chase the calendar dates forward. “Why weren’t I born in June?” you lamented when we were thinking up of games for your party. A few weeks later, you next exclaimed, “My birthday should have been in July!” when we were giving out the invitations. A couple of weeks before your party, when we were cutting up your horse banderitas, you declared, “August 1 is MY birthday!”

Now, we both know that’s MY birthday. But to appease your excitement, or perhaps, to further feed on the anticipation of your seventh birthday, your Tatta and I gave you your Percheron family. You wanted a horse for your birthday, we gave you three Percherons – a Daddy stallion, a Mommy mare, and a Luce-like foal. I know, I know, you wanted a REAL horse. But as I’ve told you countless times, we don’t have a REAL barn to place one in. Thus, small figurines would do for now, anak. At least, the Schleich catalogue states that: “To achieve the highest quality standards, the figurines are modeled true-to-nature and painted by hand.”

Yes, seven years down the road of your journey called life, you are still in a hurry. Nothing seemed to change.

But wait! A lot of things have actually changed since God gave us that particular green-wrapped package in 2003.

That wee baby who whimpered her way out of my tummy grew into a feisty girl who holds no qualms in voicing out her thoughts and opinions, the latter whether asked for or not. A few more years, and you would be proudly declaring, “I am a Filipino TOASTMASTER!” The kitty-like sound transformed into alley cat wails when you cry or complain, into lion growls when you assert yourself, into contented purrs when you successfully negotiate yourself into a winning argument. Not to mention your Cheshire cat grin when you get one over us. Nakaisa ka na naman! You certainly have the meeting of a toastmaster, not just from any other club, but from the Butter N Toast Toastmasters Club at that!

You have been showing a level of maturity which, I admit, I don’t recall to have shown when I myself was aged seven.

Remember when you asked me about the small laptop which you are supposed to receive when you turn seven? When I promised you THAT sometime in 2008, I never thought time would really fly so swiftly and your seventh birthday would land on us after what seemed to be just a few winks. I had to think up fast for a way out and I asked you, “Which do you want, a laptop or a party?” To which you gave me your reply, fast and firm, “Birthday party siyempre, para mas maraming gifts!”

Relieved of your choice, I next enticed you to help me prepare for your party, calling it your Horseplay. The two of us were in horse-mode for two months – thinking up of horse games, preparing horse decorations, putting some horse sense into our family and friends, reminding them to saddle up and giddy-up to your Horseplay. In the process, you realized what fun it would be to celebrate your birthday, not on your lonesome with a laptop, but amidst the warm collective love from our family and friends. Afterall, you are not just the child of your Tatta and me. You are ALSO the child of Nanang and Owwo, of Nanay, of Lola Abat Ganda, of Lola Menea, of Lola Elmy, of Lolo Jerry, of ALL your other lolos and lolas, aunties and uncles, titos and titas, cousins, teachers, friends.

At your Horseplay, you heard the wishes from several of your Horsewhisperers, some of our elders sharing their thoughts in life, that these may guide you as you walk, trot, canter, and gallop into seven and seventy more years of life full of love, laughter, and lightness of being. You were advised to aim for the ideal as you appreciate the beauty of a unicorn, a horse so mythical yet real in the world of a child like you. You were reminded, after you have galloped so many years, to look back to that day, to thank God for all the people who have come to give you their blessings.

But today, anak, I thank God for the special blessing He gave us seven years ago and whose wonders He continues to unfold before us.

You have brought change into our lives, anak. You may be a fledgling foal, but it is you who enlightened the lives of your Horsewhisperers. While before we lacked energy, you brought bounce into our bodies. While before we lacked joy, you brought happiness into our hearts. While before we lacked love, you brought spirit into our souls.

Cheers to you, Luce, for at age seven, you have become our family’s foremost toastmaster – leading us towards positive change, providing voice to our inner feelings, and ensuring that our family’s future will indeed be bright!

Seven ka na, anak. Marami nang nagbago – sa iyo, at lalo na, sa aming lahat! We have all changed!

Basic Speech No. 6: Vocal Variety

Delivered before the Butter N Toast Toastmasters Club on 23 September 2010