happy birthday, mama attorney!
2016
We were at the height of the campaign when I celebrated my birthday. Syempre since nasa campaign season nga kami, the team made a sort of big celebration/campaign stunt out of it. Masaya naman kahit na kung ako ang tatanungin mas gusto ko sana na simpleng celebration lang with my kids but then again nandito na ako.
I looked around and if there was any consolation to this huge party, it was that I get to mingle and talk to the people, and by people, I mean yung mga minorya. We decided to invite informal settlers para magkaroon ng discourse with them and nakakatuwa kasi pinaunalakan nila ang imbitasyon namin. Dito nagkaroon ako ng pagkakataon na makapagpakilala at higit sa lahat ang marinig ang mga hinaing nila.
People were really going out of their way to greet me. Kris was even present, maging yung mga anak ni Mar nandito rin. Nagugulat na nga lang ako bigla na may tumatapik sa balikat ko, kadalasan ay hindi ko naman kilala, para lang batiin ako at ipaabot ang kanilang suporta. Despite feeling the blues earlier this morning since magkakahiwalay nga kami ng mga bata ngayon, hindi ko pa rin maikakaila na masaya pa rin naman ako. Thankful pa rin because I get to have another year with my kids, 'yon lang naman talaga ang gusto ko. Ang makita at makasama ko pa sila as they take their own paths. Bonus nalang talaga itong mga nangyayari ngayon.
Noong matapos ang party, isa-isa na rin kaming nagpaalamanan. Patapos na rin ang araw and I really want to spend the last hours of my day with my girls. Kaninang madaling araw lang kasi kami nakapag celebrate, with them staying up late so we could have our birthday salubong tradition.
Pag-uwi ko kaninang madaling araw, I was greeted by a huge balloon, bouquet of flowers and cake. It was all bought from their collected allowances. After I blew the candle and kaunting kumustahan on how our days went, nagsitulog na rin kami since we have an early morning dahil nga kampanyahan.
Mabalik tayo sa ngayon, I was almost out of the tent, the last of the guests bidding their goodbyes and greeting me for the last time when I saw a flash of yellow and purple. That's when I saw Risa walking or more like jogging towards me.
The whole day medyo hindi kami masyadong nagkita. She and the other senatoriables were out making rounds around the city. May kanya-kanyang itinerary since we have a lot of ground to cover. However, Risa being Risa, she greeted me at around 5:00 am. She called me and was a bit shy at first since she guiltily asked one of my staff daw for my schedule so she would know anong oras ako gigising. Napatawa naman ako at her shy voice, hindi naman kasi siya ganoo, usually masiyahin at madaldal talaga siya. I waved her apologies away, assuring her na okay lang. Okay naman kasi talaga, it was nice, hearing her voice first thing in the morning. Syempre nakakatuwa binati ako eh. Nag effort pa na tumawag at tanungin ang schedule ko. After her greeting, nagkuwentuhan lang kami saglit or more on nag-exchange lang ng itineraries for the day. After wishing me a happy birthday ulit with her signature 'happy!' and take care, we ended the call.
"VP Leni!" Risa squealed as she threw her arms around me. Despite being surprised, I welcomed her hug just the same.
"Happy birthday! Akala ko hindi na kita maaabutan. Sorry hindi ko na naabutan yung party mo. Ang traffic papunta rito." Dire-diretso niyang sabi as we both pulled away from the hug.
"Okay lang, Sen. Alam ko namang busy kayo today pati binati mo naman na ako kaninang umaga. Ikaw nga kauna-unahang bumati sa akin eh."
"Really? Sorry sana hindi talaga kita nagising earlier."
"Hindi.. gising na ako 'non. 5:00 rin talaga ako gumigising."
Risa nodded, "Buti naman. Nakakahiya kung nagising kita. Anyway, gusto lang din talaga kita batiin in person. So, happy birthday ulit, VP Leni!" She pulled me in a hug again. Hindi ko naman mapigilang di mapatawa ang dami pa ring energy eh.
