I bet you never knew that Nanay's nickname, Lully, was taken from this Coventry Carol:
She never liked her given name, Dolores, which in Spanish meant pain/grief/sorrow and I never heard her mother, Lola Towa, ever call her that. Lola admitted to it being her biggest mistake in life as it somehow became true, Nanay lost her father on her first birthday.
Today would have been Nanay’s 90th Birthday. She passed on on Niños Inocentes Day in 2002 (Fiesta de los Santos Inocentes) at the age of 72.
 |
| Nanay in her mid-twenties, taken from a Leica, their first camera. |
Yesterday, Jee Jan, Binggot and I were joking around and one of Nanay’s traits was brought up – punctuality. She was never late for an appointment, something that my sister and I inherited. When she says we leave at 8:45, you would best be ready and in the garage by 8:43 or you will be left behind.
 |
| Nanay with Edlouglen at Rizal Park in the late 60s. Tatay was using his new toy, a Hasselblad |
One weird thing Nanay practiced was when she was going to play mahjong (usually on weekends), she would not leave the house until the dining table was cleared and the dishes were done with the sink empty and spotless. So, the moment that lunch was announced, everyone had to eat right away. She was not into ‘speed eating’ but the moment she was done (because she did not want to be assigned to a different mahjong table, preferring to play with her usual group), everyone else should be finished with lunch, too, lest your plate, with one’s unfinished lunch, be swiped off the table. Table cleared, dishes hurriedly washed, and she was off. Fortunately, none of Edlouglen inherited the desire to play mahjong on a regular basis. Yes, we learned, from a young age, but would only get to play during wakes and other special occasions. Louella gets complementary rooms in some casinos near where they live but they only go there at the most, once a month, to wrestle with the one-armed bandits.
When she died, Nanay just learned how to use a celfone. Social media was not yet a thing then. Had she lived to do Facebook, for example, she would have blown her top and given a piece of her mind to people who lacked reading comprehension.
I can almost see her, with my mind’s eye, reacting to these situations:
- A grieving son posting on Facebook: “Daddy passed away this morning at 89. COVID-19 is not the cause of death so we will have a wake for him.” A relative’s immediate reaction: “Isolate yourselves. Do not spread the virus.”
She was, in retrospect, a mix of patience and impatience. She was very patient with tasks to the point of being meticulous. Darning her knitted materials, she would take to the task and finish what needed to be done and you would not know it was even damaged and repaired. Her crochet and knitting skills were so expert she could carry a conversation or watch television and not miss a count.
Oh but do not ever make her wait. If, for example, you had a meeting and you come in late, she will poke holes in your body with eyes that are unmistakably angry, not just offended. No contrite looks will appease her, she will inevitably talk you down.
 |
This cómoda con espejo (more popularly known as an aparador) and matching tocador were Tatay's 24th Birthday Gift to Nanay, the same month she gave birth to Manong. On the aparador was inscribed: "To My Darling Lully, 1954." Louella had these heirloom pieces restored. |
I hated having to fly with her because when ETA’s are not complied with, she would walk her frustration off up and down the pre-departure area with a sullen look on her face and woe to whoever says hello to her because she would start a tirade on how unprofessional the airline is. It was only funny until she walks up to the airline’s service counter and then, in a very soft voice, she would give them a piece of her mind and if anyone there dares to interrupt, she’d start again from the beginning of her spiel.
She was not averse to sitting in the very back of the bus on the condition that nobody near her triggered her hyperosmia. Oh yes, she had such a keen sense of smell that anyone who was intoxicated, had malodorous sweating, or breathed
like an unemptied ash tray better be ready to get off the bus.
She was one of the few who earned four beads as a Wood Badger. The Wood Badge is an internationally recognized leadership course for Scouting volunteers and professionals. When she passed on, she was Council Commissioner for Leader Training and was honored with a Scouter’s Burial.
That was my Nanay. There was definitely more to her that meets the eye.
This piece by no means sums up her life. But I could always go scot-free ribbing her, sometimes calling her Dolyares. Well, almost always, because if you knew her and look closely at me, you know I am her spitting image, and she took after me!
