My first four years!!!

It's not easy to go back 35 years ago:) But I will try to keep it leading to my coming story and experiences:)

After I was born, as in from hospital we went home at my grandmother's house in the city. my mother was afraid to live in the village where transportation was not easy that time. After giving birth and with a little baby, they chose to stay there. It was a good life as far as I can remember. We had a store full of things for sale:) candies, bread, school supplies, and many more! While my mother also continued sewing dresses. So, the income just kept coming that time!

I got my little brother when I was three years old. And between these years, we just kept on visiting the village every now and then:) And everytime we visit, I felt like a star:) I recieved all praises and appreciation. The fact that these age is the attitude foundation of every one. How we were brought up becomes what we are when we become older.

Since, its a city and fortunately we were just a walk away from the church (protestant). And that church has a private school for pre-school. So at the age of 3 I was already attending school as Nursery. I learned songs and rhymes that caused me earning money everytime we visit my granparents in the village. They let me sing or do rhymes for 25cents for example. (already big that time:) This was one of the reason, I turned out smarter than the other kids there, cause they can start go to school at 7 or 8years old that time.

But then, when I was 4years old and Nursery 2, in the middle of school year or like 3 more months before the school year ends, my parents decided to go back and lived there in the village for good! (There were happenings at our place in the city where our house were on. It was like the government will use the lot for school expansion...improvement begun:)

Well... it will be more interesting on the next pages on this chapter ...what happened when we were already back home in our little village.

CHAPTER II- My Childhood Years

This chapter will be sweet and sour. My life during my childhood happened the big twist in our lives, my life and my family as a whole. I can say, this stage was the most unforgettable one in my whole life. Many things happened, abundance and crises, from grace to rugs, problems and promises, dreams and wonders and lots more.

This chapter will be exciting, emotional and lots of changes. These were the years I really want to write. Almost everyday has its own story to tell, I mean as details as that. But no! I will just try to do the most remarkable ones. So I hope you will stick with me and follow these chapter of my life!

Those hairs and pale complexion

As I ponder about my daughter's hair so light, it made me wonder why and that she is more so Swedish that its hard for others to tell that her mother is an Asian. But then my mother told me once that when I was born, I had this goldy colored hair and so few. It was like corn (hair?) and my grandparents said 'nalihi-an daw kog buhok sa ma-is' heheh. And I was so white, but it was found out that it was not a healthy white kind of. My lips were pale. That was one of my mother's reason why we stayed in the city where hospitals and pharmacies were near. It was like I had lack of iron and so my blood platelet must always be checked.

I remember when I was 3years old, we also had a little sari-sari store at home , our house in the city was located near public school, so it was so good to have a little store where many different kinds of candies were there. I had to eat a bowl of 'kalamunggay' a day..take note 'pure' because it has rich of iron and that was recommended by the doctor. And in order for me to eat those, my mother bribe me for a candy. Every bowl of kalamunggay I ate, I had the chance to choose a candy that I like.

NOTE: (that green leafy plants behind me in the picture..thats a kalamunggay:) I forgot the english word for it... whoever knows, please tell me so I can edit this. thanks)

Princess Syndrome!

"What I want I get"...

...this is an attitude of someone who has princess syndrome, and that's what I had when I was little. Since I was the first child, first grandchild, and a girl, I did get what I want. My grandparents in my father side had the biggest store in our village. Almost all villagers got their daily foods from them. Like they pays weekly every salary time. That store as far as I can remember had everything what the people there needs.

So, 'Me' as the first 'apo' (grandchild) of my proud lola can just get as much as I want in that store. And because my mother was a dressmaker, I had the prettiest dresses of all the children living there..heheh. I was the cutest and the finest they said during that time, and that's because I grew up in the city until 4yrs. old. From the time I was born, my mother wanted to stay and live in the city where her mother and sister lived. ( stories about my life in the city will be in the coming chapters). So, by all these, I became the apple of every one's eyes. All these abundance in all areas made me a spoiled child. Crying was my powerful weapon:) Yeah... I knowww! absolutely so familiar and typical for spoiled children.

I admit I have princess syndrome until now. wink*

Chapter I - JEANETHEN

August 31, 1974, 7pm...

Familya Mahusay were in chaos and don't know what to do! My mother was in pain.., so much pain... she was ran to the maternity hospital and direct to the delivery room. At 9pm, a tiny cute baby girl was born! Nothing can beat the happiness my father had on that day! Every one were happy. I was the first grand child. My grandfather said that his knees will easily become weak because her first grandchild is a girl. Heheh.

My mother was a fan of Jonathan in the Bible, the best friend of David. She was touched by their friendship. So, she thought of naming her first child Jonathan and because I became a girl she named me 'Jeanethen'. But then, the secretary at the city registrar's office might be old that she wrote my name as 'Janeth';) only. Hmmmp!
Thus my name become!

Anyway, It was the best time of their lives:)

Prologue

July 14, 1973, evening ...
the whole village was partying! cooking foods on the large cooking material like big pan and casserole at the back of the house of Mr. and Mrs. Miguel Mahusay. Lots of villager here and there,eating, drinking, dancing and playing!children, young people and adults. Every one were happy, shouting, singing and celebrating! "THIER PRINCE IS GETTING MARRIED!" heheh, yap it was the wedding of my dear father, the eldest among seven siblings. He lives in a small village where their family were the prominent. Almost everyone were relatives, they call it "Baranggay Mahusay". My greatgrandfather was the eldest and everyone respects him. And everyone loves my father.

Ormencita (taken from our city name Ormoc City), a city girl from a broken family. She learned to earn her own money at her early age due to the hard life in the city. She made dresses and barter it for grains to different rice fields in the villages. The reason she met my father. As my mother said; she already knew that my father is her soul mate. She has a dream before she met my father. She saw papa's back standing in the middle of the rice field! Hmmp! drama!
She was pretty and fragile despite of being brought up in the city. So the whole village also likes her and my father's parents likes her too.

It was a grand wedding of their time! My mother felt so lucky because after the wedding, as to follow the tradition that the wife should stay 3days on the grooms family but she knew that after 3days, they have to start their new family to their new house given by my father's family with 10sacks of rice, (pasaka) a piece of rice field for their living, 2 pigs and a carabao. as the old people said; " the ship should be full before it sails".

Thus, this chapters of my life begins.