Athens Castaneda’s Mom - Maria Consolacion Guiam Castañeda
My Mom with 4 generations - ako, my niece and my grandniece (my nephew's daughter).
When Mama turned 95 on 26 November 2012, I took her to the early evening Mass at our parish to thank God for the blessings bestowed on her. Before the Mass ended, Mama was asked by the priest to come forward to the altar to receive a special prayer followed by the sprinkling of holy water. As I ushered Mama back to the pew, another parishioner came forward to ask the priest to bless her mother who turned 100 the same day. Natalo si Mama by 5 years!!! Quite a number of people, who were at Mass, came forward, greeted and congratulated Mama as well as the 100 year old lady. One of the parishioners asked Mama what her secret was for her longevity. Without batting an eyelash, she quipped "Mababait ang mga anak!" I have 2 older brothers: the first was born 8 years ahead of me and the second one was already 5 years old before I came along. Afraid that she won't have a daughter, Mama prayed to St. Anne. Lo and behold, I said hello to my parents before they celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary. So may this be a warning to future mothers: beware of what you ask from Jesus' Grandmother! Mama was a public school teacher but retired from the Central Bank of the Philippines. So Saturdays were always her marketing days and by Sunday, our refrigerator was filled to the brim with food cooked the Kapangpangan way. She learned to cook not from my grandmother but from her Tiya, my grandmother's sister-in-law. But, alas, her knack for good cooking did not pass on to me. Since she can no longer cook, our kitchen is in someone else's restaurant. I am sure that my fondness for clothes and style comes straight from her. As a child when she dressed me up, everything had to match from the ribbon or barrette on my hair to the color of my bobby socks!!! She has always been a prayer warrior. She spends her days praying the rosary and her various novenas. When she's not praying, she sleeps and somewhere in between she watches television. She is now a woman of leisure. It is surely well-deserved. She was a loving daughter to a woman who was widowed at 24 and never re-married. She was Ating Mary to her 2 younger brothers and a devoted wife for 42 years. She also doted on her grandchildren and great grandchildren until she was in her late 80s. Then a s now she asks, "What's for dinner?"