It’s that time of the year when organizations or groups plan and organize Christmas parties.
One of these groups emailed me, asking for my baby picture to be used in a game during the gathering.
Baby picture?! That was sooo long ago I couldn’t remember where they might be! Or do I even have one?
I ransacked an old chest where I store things I do not need every day. And there they were! Three old albums that my mother bequeathed to me when I got married, “You may show this to your future grandchildren.”
Many years later, I have only one grandchild, Adrian, and he is in the US, so there is no chance for me to show him my old photos—or would he even be interested?
After wiping the thick dust off the albums, I leafed through their yellowing and fragile pages, careful not to damage them further. All photos have faded! I chose two which are still recognizable and asked an artist friend to please make them clearer.
This was taken when I was a few months old. I remember my mom telling me that the studio photographer waited a long time for that half smile.
I excitedly showed Tony my rare finds.
“Who are those cute babies?” he asked, beaming.
“Me!” I proudly cried.
He went back to the book he was reading, and asked, “What happened?”
Aaaargh! He’s lucky the divorce law will never pass in the Philippines.
But because it’s almost Christmas, I tried to regain my composure and muster kindness to reply in a brave voice, “Youth is gone.” Then I added silently, It left while I was not looking, and it will never come back.
“Youth? What youth?” he asked absentmindedly.
I looked in the mirror again, and I saw . . . wisdom.
“Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days.” Job 12:12 (ESV)
Gloria in excelsis deo!
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