So Lyra up and did what she said she had long planned. One evening last week she came home laughing and gleeful from a jaunt with a friend, toting a shiny black box marked “Motorino” and daring her sister and me: “Guess what! Guess what!” But I was distracted and annoyed by breaking news on...
I remember my other mother
In a recent phone conversation with my mom, she mentioned my nanny, who lived with our family for almost 60 years before passing away in 2014. I told my mom—she is based in the United States; we speak daily—that we were both lucky to have been cared for by a remarkable woman who loved us...
Ensuring a happy end of life for a loved one
Dear Cathy and Mark, My 82-year-old father was recently diagnosed with end-stage heart failure. His doctor informed us that he would likely not survive another year. My mother is 78 and has a number of medical ailments, but overall is in good health. My parents have adequate health insurance to cover my father’s medical care....
Remembering: From Cavite to Upi to greener pastures
(Fourth of five parts) We were 11 in the family. Our tatay, Deogracias, was born in 1902 and died in March 1986; our nanay, Obdulia, was born in 1908 and died in April 2006. We were nine children—two daughters (my eldest sister and the eighth) and seven sons. The eldest was born in 1927 and...



