On record, the youngest MVPs are Derrick Rose and Wes Unseld, both 22 years old when they were proclaimed.
Much younger and more precious than those two is our very own Most Valuable Player, all of eight years old. She was our clan's unanimous choice during our last clan reunion. Why?
Why not? She particpated in every game (sports and parlor). Alas, she could not yet qualify for the adult basketball and volleyball for obvious reasons. But that didn't stop her from coaching along the sidelines. She had the spirit and the verve to have won with any of the competing teams.
Her name: Jeza, my grandniece.
Yes, she was in the pool, in the field, in the hall--here, there, everywhere! Catch the pink markers and arrows below, if you can.
Are you huffing and puffing yet? Not only is she a dynamo, she embodies what our patriarch (Lolo Berto, my grandfather on my mother's side who, together with my grandmother, started our reunion 79 years ago) required.
A disciplinarian like a Spanish monarch of old, Lolo's order then was to continue the annual reunion even after they're gone. He bequeathed lands to all family members so that the produce/income can be used to finance the reunions.
He expected everyone to participate in all activites. If called upon to sing or dance or compete, he must not be kyok (he has to deliver!).
Jeza is a true-blue descendant of Lolo Berto, and then some. Young as she is, she taught everyone over the age of eight how to be an authentic reunionite. We thank the Lord for this gift of grace.
The oldies (like me, whose knees can no longer cooperate even if the mind insists) simply cheered and applauded behind shades and shadows.
(Aside: Jeza does not live in the Philippines. Her parents dropped everything in some faraway land so their family can attend our annual clan reunion.)
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