At our kids’ graduations, they showed off their yearbooks, autographed both by teachers and classmates.
“Where’s yours, Pops?” they asked me.
“In my days, we never had one, let alone a graduation ceremony,” I said.
“How about you, Mum?” the kids asked Laura.
She shed a tear.
“Coming from a poor family with seven siblings,” she said, “I was given a choice: either a yearbook or a school trip to Cebu, the island next to us. We couldn’t afford both. I actually thought I would never travel so this was my only chance. I chose the trip over the yearbook.”
A decade after our kids’ graduation, I’m sitting in Calgary poring over tax returns that have to be filed within days. Alex, my elder son living in Vancouver calls me.
“Pops,” he says, “did you hear from Mum?”
“No, why?”
“You know she went to Chiang Mai to pick up Chris from where he was working in Northern Thailand?”
“Of course,” I say.
“The resort offered to collect her from the airport, which is about an hour and a half away. And then drive her and Chris back to the airport the next day. She refused. Said she had had a long flight. Was going to stay at the airport hotel, then catch a taxi the next day to Chris’s resort.”
Looking back, Laura had never wanted to leave the Philippines. She had an excellent job with plenty of prospects. Her family was struggling to survive. Being the second oldest child, she felt it her duty to work abroad as a nanny and send her pay cheque back to support them. Never travelled abroad, with minimal English, Laura found herself in transit in Tokyo, on her way to her new job. At that time Japanese language prevailed at the airport. Laura could understand nothing. With no money, she had to spend the night sleeping on the floor, praying she wouldn’t miss her next day’s flight.
“I had the bare minimum of clothing,” she said, “and no spare clothes in my carry-on bag.”
These days, we travel the world. Until now, we have always travelled together. The arrangements are always made for her. She docilely accepts our plan. Imagine my shock today, hearing her stuck in Chiang Mai, yet calling the shots.
Funny how someone who never thought she would travel, ends up in a city north of nowhere and dictates her needs with utter confidence.
I wonder what Laura would choose today if she could relive her graduation.
