Three in One (Part 2)

Blogging about my first three-in-one grace, for which I am exceedingly grateful, is as gleeful as drinking it. 

My second one is not for me alone—but for the whole household, which includes Tony, sons #1 and #3, Attorney and Judge (our pet dogs), and Sammy, son #3’s weekday driver. 

Her name's Teresa.   

For almost three years now, since the Covid-19 lockdown, she has been a part of our family. She used to be a three-times-a-week-part-time househelp, but in March 2020, she had to stay in to avoid being infected while coming and going.  

Since we lost Ate Vi+ (our trusted househelp for eons, who always needed an assistant or two), we could no longer hire one as dependable as she was. So we had to make do with part-timers who came and went within weeks or months. 

Now this! 

Teresa is three Ate Vi-and-her-assistants rolled into one. There isn’t anything she can’t do. She is constantly moving—cleaning, gardening, sewing, re-arranging furniture, fixing leaking roofs, finding unused items and using them, serving us, caring for our dogs, cooking, etc. etc.

She is a spoiler too. She won’t allow Tony or me to help with her chores. As a mother, she constantly calls her children to make sure they are okay.    

In the beginning, she was insecure about her kitchen non-talent, but by watching the Net and chefs from all over the world, she has become an international chef herself. 

We hardly dine out these days as we were wont to do weekly, not because of virus fear, but because she can cook them all. She orders her ingredients from son #3 who sources them online.  

She is with us at a perfect time: when Tony can no longer navigate the kitchen and stairs as he used to; when JR has been assigned big responsibilities in the university where he is now dean; when JC transitioned our medical transcription (MT) school into online learning that requires his constant presence; and when I am stressed out over alien technology as the invited speaker for online book talks,  as our MT school’s English trainor, and as our church’s Sunday school facilitator for the women’s group—while writing.   

Teresa freed us from housework so we can focus on our new loads.  

I have always believed that the Lord makes us feel His love when we so thirst for it. In our case, as we slogged through the fearsome pandemic and the disorienting changes it brought to our lives, He sent us not one, but three angels in (mother) Teresa.