Grandmother Trees

When my Grammas died last spring, I bought cherry trees and planted them in their honor.  The first one to bloom was the tree to the East - My Gramma Wille's tree.  The tree to the West - Lola's tree has lots of buds, but she's not quite blooming yet.

Gramma Wille - Tiny heart in the center blossom.

Gramma Wille's Cherry Tree

Cherry Blossom

Back to the Philippines - Strings of the Heart

My cousin, Erik, called me this morning. He needed my email address so that he could send me photos that his brother, Karl, took.  Karl is on a special journey back to his roots.  A spiritual journey of sorts, I imagine.  I feel so loved to have been thought of, when my cousins were sharing the photos.

Karl is standing in front of Lola's birth home.

A wide street view of her birth home.

This is the rice field that Lola Mom played in as a child. Later, she hid from Japanese soldiers here during the war. Then,  Lolo Dad's Army post was set up here in this field - where Lola Mom caught his eye...

for the first time.

Mt. Pinatubo in the background (the volcano that erupted and destroyed Bacolor in 1991, the 2nd largest eruption of the 20th century)

Family in front of the Church of Bacolor, Pampanga. It was built by the Spaniards 300 years ago.

Another Family Group photo.

Karl - My Precious Pinsan on his Journey.

Filippino Foods

Pancit - foreground

Lumpia - background

I am so JEALOUS!!

In a good way though.

I love it when my cousins call me.  I love talking with Erik (and the rest of you!), whenever we talk, we pick up like we just spoke a few days earlier.  My cousin, Jason, said to me, "Talking with you, Tyra, is like going home."  I love that. It totally warms my heart and brings me peace.  I was blessed with a few precious telephone moments with Erik this morning. It totally made my day. Hell! That one telephone conversation, filled with "Cousin-Love" will carry me through the next few months! We talked health and heartache.  I asked Erik how he is faring, without Lola Mom in our physical presence. It's been almost a year for both sides of my family.  We mentioned things like not being able to delete their phone numbers off of our phones. My cousin, Mindy, has a recorded voice message on her answering machine from Grams - she can't bring herself to delete it.  I asked Erik if he felt Lola Mom since she passed, as I had felt my Grams one afternoon.  I thought that Lola Mom had come to all of us in our dreams the morning she left us, but Erik, sadly - so sadly, said she hadn't done that to him.  However, he did mention his sister's dream and how Lola was so concerned for him.  That brought him comfort that Lola WAS indeed trying to reach him before she left us completely.  I was there with Grams while she was talking to whomever it was that I couldn't see. She was telling them my name; and when Lola Mom was leaving us, she woke me up.  I can understand Erik's sadness.  Lola Mom loved us all so much - and in ways that were specifically unique to each one of us.  I am so glad that she permeated our family with love, because it's still there, filling us up - keeping us together in ways that only a modern, spread-around-the-globe-family can be connected - with strings from her heart.

Bangles and Memories ~ 1974-1975

I love my bangle bracelets that jingle and ting-ting along with my movements. I love the look of several jangly bracelets on other women too. Women from India can pull off the look of 15+ bangles on one wrist. I have a friend that has the most beautiful wrists and forearms. She wears several slender bangles, thin bangles and the really thick ones that you have to put on sideways.

A young lady friend of mine makes jewelry. When she told me, I was extremely excited because now, I could actually get bracelets that fit over my wide hands. Typically, off the rack bangles don't fit over my hands. This is probably why I like the look of them on other women so much -- because I rarely find any that fit me. So when my young-jewelry-making friend told me about her business, I placed an order for three. Then, I went to a craft store and found some baubles and trinkets and gems that I wanted to have made in jingly bracelets. I placed another order. Then another...

I'm happy with the jingly ting-ting sounds that my bracelets make. My Lola Mom used to wear gold bangles on her wrists and a slender chain anklet with a tiny charm on her ankle. She would jingle and ting away while she cooked. We could hear her bangles while she puttered around the house. My favorite sound was when she was in the garden.... it was the sounds of the neighborhood, the birds, her laughter and her bangles. Tiny clink-clink and ting-ting, jingling quietly in the thick Pacific heat, under the shade of her exotic trees, plants and flowers.

Two of my Aunties also wore bangly bracelets. They usually were gold or silver. Not the fake stuff, but the real silver and gold. I clearly remember them sitting there in the Pacific heat, drinking wine out of a slender glass and their bangles clinking when they lifted the glass to their lips. The contrast of the silver and gold metal against their Pacific tanned skin was beautiful. In the background Otis Reding was probably singing: ".... sitting' in the evening sun...."

When I hear the quiet jingle of my bracelets, I sometimes think of Lola Mom and my Aunties. When I hear my bangles clink against my desk while I'm at work, I notice that sometimes little girls will look towards the sound and tell me that my bracelets are pretty. I remember being that small; looking at my Lola Mom's bracelets and telling her the same thing... and it brings me peace. I hope it does for you too!