Naning

Naning (unfinished drawing by my father from an old photograph, around 1997 when he was 62 and Ma was 58)

Naning, Auntie Naning, Manay Naning, Viol, Ate Viol, Ate Violy, Manang Viol, Auntie Viol, Auntie Violy, Ate, Mama Viol, Mommy Viol, Auntie Bolet, Ma'am, Mrs. Daen. To me and my 2 older brothers and 1 older sister she is simply "Ma".

I suppose in her younger years schoolmates called her Violy and Violeta and upon becoming a barrio elementary school teacher in the early 1960s she was addressed "Ms. Callos".

She has as many names for as many roles and relationships and here I would like to start a page dedicated to her after Pa's recent passing.

She is the earliest and still is one of the greatest heroes in my life. I have been wanting to write and dedicate a whole section of this blog about her for the longest time.

She was strong though she never talked about women's lib. She was a full-time homemaker and a full-time teacher even while her husband worked as an OFW for 4 straight years. She's the only person I remember whenever I hear Billy Joel's song "She's Always a Woman".

There are so many things to write about her.

Her life is the stuff that books are made of: Started as a public school teacher in a far provincial barrio. The third of 13 children. Daughter of a municipal mayor who was a guerilla fighter in WWII. Defied her father and married an undergraduate. She was strong and career minded but was able to give up graduate studies to balance time with her family.

Join me as I try to extend her mortality the way we all must do for our mothers. Below are links to posts directly about her or about her influences in my life. Posts will be added as I find time to write so please come back from time to time if you are interested.