THE "IMELDA" IN ME

I was not born well heeled. In fact, I came from an underprivileged family.  My father is a laborer while my mother is an embroiderer, I am the eldest, I have a sister who is 3 years younger than me.

Combining both my parents’ wages, our family could only afford to pay for our daily meal and nothing more back in the day. Having a very limited income made me & my sister to have very limited stuffs like clothes, toys, shoes etc. I could still remember how my mother will gather all the scrapped fabric from her work so she could sew for us some casual dresses as we can’t afford to buy a ready-made. Our shoes were mostly used ones, those that were “donated” from my cousins & neighbors.

I was an ordinary kid. I grew up with some friends from the neighborhood and classmates at school. I love to play and hang out with them.  School programs, birthday parties, social gatherings, various events & activities etc… that’s what I love the most when I was still a child, it excite me! I love to check out what others are wearing whenever there’s activity at school or if there’s any celebration. I am an extrovert.

I have this huge fascination for shoes. I don’t know why but my eyes “gleams” the most on any pair of new shoes, especially flat ones designed with simplicity & elegance.

I love Cinderella and her glass shoe that shines like crystals, it inspired me knowing that the essence of her story is about a girl who finds her way from rags to riches.

I love Mrs.  Marcos and her more than a hundred pair of shoes. I love her grandiosity & charm; I love her as a woman. Although I despise the possibility that she spent the money of the Filipinos for her lavish lifestyle.

My father & mother were my best mentors & advice givers. They were the best for making me understand that though glamour may be impossible for me back then because of our financial condition, there will come a day when all the shoes I want can be easily mine  through perseverance and hard work. Infact, I am always told that anything I want in life can be mine if I work for it with determination and unfailing faith. That’s when I told myself that when I grow up, I will buy every shoe that I can afford to buy!

I went to high school & managed to graduate college using the same & only pair of shoes I have and that same shoes I wore the first time I landed myself a job. On my first pay day, I scored myself with a black ballerina flats from Parisian Junior. I can’t contain myself with happiness! From that day that I have my own source of income, I pampered myself with every pair of shoes that I can afford to buy.

Today, I have 42 pairs (to be exact) of shoes (in different average brands, nothing extravagant), Please don’t misconstrue that I am bragging about it, that’s not what I intend to do.  It just came to me & was reminded that I was once a child with a “little Imelda” in my heart for being so awestruck with shoes… but was unlucky & deprived to own enough pairs of it.

And unlike with other’s denunciation to the former First Lady (on how she acquired her luxurious shoe collection) I worked doggedly to pay for every cent of the shoes I own. :)

mixed pairs

one of my fave open-toe flats

comfy

wedge & sexy

sporty

smart casual

newest member 

soon to come, my latest prospect

all time fave

TO MY DEAR NANAY

While looking at this picture, I caught myself draped with mixed feelings.

This photo was taken last month when I went home for vacation. I was laughing to myself when I noticed how funny my face was while I’m giving you a kiss. I was in the mood of joking with you that time, playing and goofing around. We were laughing all day. It was one of my cherished and happiest days.

Glancing at your face, I began to notice how time has taken your youth & how your illness (which you’ve suffered from for more than a year now) has stolen your former glow. That’s when I felt a sudden twinge in my heart. The smile on my face has been replaced with melancholy.

 I felt the guilt of not being there to take care of you becauseI can’t remember a day that you’re not there for me especially during hard times.

I may not be with you everyday but that doesn’t mean that I don’t care for you at all. Though distance may keep us apart, Lord knows how hard I pray each and every single day for your fast recovery, for everyday protection and for a lengthened life to be showered upon you. 

Through praying I find real comfort, this is the best way I know to express how much you mean to me and how much I care about you, There’s never a day that I don’t think of you, you are in my mind and in my heart every single day of my life.

I love you and I am so blessed to have you as my mother.