But these 4 past months have been quite a revelation too as Kibs death also gave me so much clarity and insight into his life and the way he lived it. And so the saying above spoke volumes to me when I read it as I immediately related it to my brother's life. The bottomline for me was....Kibs lived a life that mattered! Before he died, he built, he shared, he lived a life with character and significance and most of all, he lived a life that mattered and lived it with love. Nevermind that Kibs had a lot of ups and downs and challenges...more than we sisters had. He still lived his life the best way he could and tried to do right. He just didn't have enough time.That is why I always mention his signature smile and hold on tightly to that image of him smiling because to me, that smile just says it all about how my brother lived his life.
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On another happier and more merrier note, Hotch just celebrated her birthday....yesterday Philippine time and today in US time. And Hotch is no other than our youngest in the family, Jojing, the youngest of us 3 sisters.
In our family, my siblings and I all have 2 names each, one real, legal one and the 2nd one, a nickname or "angga." Our dearly departed brother Marlon was called "Ekieboy", me (Rita) as "Pinky", then Carla as "Lalay" and Josephine as "Jojing". But with Mommy, she had a special angga for Jojing. Mommy called Jojing "Hotch". This was slang for "hotchie pina", the bisayan version of "josefina"...hence the name Hotch. You will never hear Mom address Jojing with any other name except "Hotch"! And today is Hotch's birthday! So to our youngest sister, Happy Birthday Hotch!!!!!Hotch or Jojing was the little princess in our family when she came into the world 51 years ago. She was the cutest baby and as a little child, she looked like a little Shirley Temple with curly hair and blushing red chubby cheeks. She was the kind of little baby and little girl you would love to make "kusi" to her cheeks because she was just that irresistably cute as a button! :) Being the youngest in the family did have its advantages as everyone doted on her and by her time, Mommy was not as strict and stern anymore as she was with us older kids. As the youngest, she was showered with a lot of attention and actually spoiled in more ways than one. I guess that is how youngest siblings are and of course we older siblings are the ones who spoil them. And then of course, we all grew up and had our own lives and just now look back fondly to those childhood days.
Though I know Jojing's birthday is not as happy as it should be without Kibs now there celebrating in Cebu with her, I am positive and hopeful that she will have a very good 51st year in her life! This year, Jojing like all of us had to go through Kibs loss and just recently she also had to let go of her job at United Airlines where she spent 21 years of her life with. She put in for early retirement and is now "landed"....
Though she is feeling 2 losses now, Kibs loss and the end of her United career, I am sure managing the 7 David Salon branches in Cebu will keep her very busy while being landed now. My sister is one amazing woman...she is still so much a baby sister to me and Lalay being the youngest, but she has evolved to become someone I am so proud to call my sister, a very accomplished woman of the world. She might have a headstrong and stubborn streak in her but she has the biggest heart and has always been such a kind and loving sister, daughter, aunt, cousin and friend to her family and friends alike. She amazed me with her strength of steel when Kibs was sick and dying and she was a source of strength and inspiration to me so many times in my own life. So today, on her natal day, I celebrate the blessing of a sister in Jojing! Happy Birthday Jing! I love you and thank God for you!
