Long before XOXO was an iconic digital language, my first memories of dad were exactly a manifestation in real life regarding these x's and o's.  My most vivid thought was when I fell asleep in front of the TV one night ( I think I was 8 or 9 yrs old) and he probably got home so late from work.  Instead of going straight up to bed to rest, he picked me up, carried me through the stairs to tuck me in.  But, not only did he scoop me up from the sofa but he gave me so many hugs and kisses.  Halfway through the stair well  towards our family bedroom, I woke up and was so happy seeing him.  He kept telling me how much he missed me and how much he loved me and all I said was I loved him too and where was my "pasalubong" (take out food, or a toy or any gift) and he said " of course anak (my child), I did not forget", and I went back to sleep.  I felt so safe and thankful that my daddy is home. (by everly)

 On February of 2010 Marissa and I had to go back home because our dad was rushed to the hospital and he was not in good shape.  I had to take a one week leave from work and so does Marissa.  As we were watching over our dad in the hospital we managed to dig out some of his childhood memories.  Because he already had a trach on which made him unable to speak, also, cancer cells were building around his throat, writing was the best way he could communicate. He would write on ruled paper that 1st grade or 2nd graders would use in school.He remembered his 7th birthday, he wrote that they had no money at that time but his mom made sure he would have the best birthday ever.  She prepared "Matsakaw" cookies and calamansi juice.  Then he started crying, tears constantly flowed from both his eyes to the sides of his cheeks, which made us cry too.  Dad told us how he loved his mom because she gave the best birthdays for her children even with the simple things in life. He also wrote that he always knew God gave him the best mother in the world because he always felt her unconditional love. (by everly)

 According to our grandmother Lola Ining, ( dad's mom), he was so smart despite his lack of height and their lack of money. He also had to go to school barefoot at some point. Being poor was not an excuse to miss school he truly loved education and was always on top of his class.  Our grandmother told us one night while she was tucking us to sleep on a muggy evening which was an annual summer vacation in Bani. She said that because they were so poor they could not afford to buy some books for our dad.  So what our dad would do was borrow books and memorize everything from page one to the last page. One day in school, the teacher asked him to read a few paragraphs from a reading book, he was doing well until he accidentally dropped the book on the floor, while the book was on the floor he kept on reciting each word in the paragraph without the book.  The whole class was amazed and even his teacher was dumbfounded.  I think this happened in first grade. How I wish we knew our father when he was younger that would be so cool.  All I remember is that our father could finish up the Bulletin Today crossword puzzle which is at par with the New York Times crossword, in less than an hour.  And, he uses a pen not a pencil. Watching him answering the daily puzzle is like seeing magic up close and personal. ( by everly)