Your Beautiful Mother is My Daughter

Congratulations, Baby Gage for picking Toni to be your mother!  Your mother is a real beauty.  She stands 5'6" tall, weighed 118 lbs. before she got pregnant with you.  Often times, she was mistaken as a model because of her height and exotic beauty; she's a mixture of Filipino, Brazilian, Spanish, and Chinese from both her parents.  She is indeed,  a very extraordinary woman.  She always wanted to be a mother, but she waited 38 years to have you because there were so many things she wanted to do first.  After living an amazing life and learning so much from it, there is no doubt that she will make a wonderful mother to you.  And unequivocally, you will be the center of her world with the proclivity to spoil you forever! 

Over time I will share with you stories about your mom which would help you get to know her not only as your mother, but also as a person.  Here are some of those stories like what was she like as a child, where and how did she grow-up, what were her hobbies and interests, what did she study, where did she travel because everything we do in life becomes an experience and each experiences help and shape the person we become.

 

When your mom is wallowing contentedly, she is sensible, sensual and sensitive, sweetly naive, caring, self-sacrificing, erudite, talented, open-handed, candid, outgoing, amusing, charitable, obliging, graciously hospitable and virtuous.

In the last 15 years, your mother has devoted herself to working on human rights advocating for fairness and equality of treatment for all, raising awareness, understanding and appreciation of diversity, creating programs to promote respect of cultural differences as well as recognizing similarities synergistic to human growth.  That’s what she does in her profession.  Human rights, diversity, and cultural awareness are issues very close to Lola’s heart, too.  Without a doubt, you will grow up in a family where these issues will be a main stay of discussions at the dinner table.

You are truly very special to your mom and you are one lucky baby to have her for your mom.  I hope that you will inherit some of her wonderful traits.  Here are some of her traits as well as things she’s done over her lifetime before you came into her life:

It was legal to drink alcohol in the car during the Melbourne Cup, Australia

·         She is smart!

·         She is artistic!

·         She is athletic!

·         She is gorgeous!

·         She is good in math!

·         She has a great voice!

·         She has the total package:  “Brains & Beauty!”

·         She has excellent mechanical and engineering aptitude!

 

And …

·         She could ski!

·         She could sing!

·         She’s an excellent writer!

·         She likes to swing dance!

·         She could shoot pool left hand!

·         She could change oil in her car!

 

·         She can play golf as good as a boy!

·         She could strum her guitar and play organ!

·         She has the perfect balance of right and left side of her brain!

Melbourne Cup, Australia

And …

·     She was a jetsetter.

·     She owns Henri Bendell clothes.

 ·         She  owns Louis Vuitton wallets and purses.

·         She owns Tag Heur and David Yuman watches.

  

·     She lived in Canada, Europe & Australia.

·         She's been at the Melbourne Cup for the two weeks celebration with Members' Reserve tickets.

·     She owned a race horse in Australia named Après Ski and a trainer, Rodney Strong.

·         She lived in Australia for nearly 4 years in Noosa and Byron Bay.

·         Noosa is a small beach resort like Carmel in Monterey, California. 

·         She had maid and personal trainer in Australia, San Francisco and even Ohio.

And …

·         She attended public schools.

·         She was a Brownie and a Girls Scout.

·         She always received awards in school.

·         She was raised with Religion in her life.

·         She has excellent communication skills. 

·         She was always placed in “Gifted & Talented” classes.

·         She took Catechism classes in the weekends as a young girl.

·         She was baptized and confirmed in the Roman Catholic Church.

·         She likes to read and uses words that not many people understand!

·         She is listed in the President’s Circle at USF for her generous philanthropy.

·         She went to Sunday morning mass with her mom and sister until high school.

·         She spent her childhood in Central Valley and pre-teen to adult life in a cosmopolitan city, San Francisco, California.

·         She earned her Bachelor of Science degree @ the University of San Francisco and graduated at the top of her class.

Toni's horse, Apres Ski, Trainer in the background

And last but not least ...

• She’s adventurous!
• She has bungee jumped in Tahoe, and Zip-lined in the Hocking Hills.
• She used to own a motorcycle, but sold it once she was pregnant with you!

One of her millionaire suitors drove a Ferrari.

· She likes to fix things. She's good at figuring out how to fix most things that are broken.
· She loves gadgets. She usually has a tool for everything--from the garage to the kitchen.
· She’s dined at the most posh restaurants and drank exquisite wine from all over the world.

Congratulations again, you are one lucky duck!  Your mother will love you abundantly, protect you, get you involved in all kinds of activities; sports, academics, art, culture, religion, travel to become a well-rounded person and she will also teach you to be fair, respectful, caring and compassionate gentleman. 

♥♥♥

Introspection - Mother > Daughter > Grandmother

I took these pictures of your mom after I arrived in Ohio six (6) days before you were born.   I flew in from San Francisco to be with your mom.  I was thrilled to be able to stay for a month to help and to take care of you and your mom until she felt well enough to take care of you.  By the way, your Auntie Angela also flew in from San Francisco to help take care of you a few days before I left.

I loved every minute of the time I spent with you and your mom.  It was very hard for me to leave.  The experience reminded me of my own mother when she took care of my sister, Linda when she had her first child, Jay, for a month at our home in the Philippines.  My mom, Adele was your great-grandmother; she passed away on December 14, 2008 in San Diego, California.

Although it has been 39 years ago, the memories are still vivid in my mind.  My mom kept Linda in bed for a month!  She even gave her sponge baths in bed and made sure she was nourished for the baby while she took care of Baby Jay 24/7.  She was there for mom and baby; devoted and attentive to their every needs. 

I was a young woman then, but I could tell how much my mom loved the experience.   I saw the joys and immense love in her eyes when she held Baby Jay.   She was so proud!  She loved him unconditionally.  I also saw her motherly love and tenderness from the way she took care of her daughter.  And so today, I can truly say that those were the very same feelings that I had and felt taking care of you, my grandson,  Baby Gage and your mom, my daughter. 

I am so lucky to have shared my mother’s experience as well as the order of life: Daughter, mother, grandmother.  There are many women who would never become a mother, grandmother or feel the amazing experience of unconditional and infinite love.   

Lola loves to spoil Baby Gage.

Thank you, my daughter for my first grandchild and thank you, God for your beautiful miracle!

Flight 965 Milwaukee to San Francisco

Baby Gage, happy and content in Lola's arms

I'm on a full flight #965 on a Sunday evening from Milwaukee to San Francisco.  There are families and young children aboard.  About 6 rows down was a baby.  The baby was fussing, crying, screaming; totally unhappy for an hour!  I seriously considered walking up to his mother to ask if I could hold the baby in my arms for "Lola's magic touch" to calm him down. 
 
Funny how we change based on life's circumstances.  A year ago I would have been unhappy being on the plane with whining children.  But this time, I actually found the baby's "noise" quite sentimental. The "noise" reminded me of my Baby Gage, my first grandchild except he has his own unique, loud sounding piercing cry.  

You see, I was deep in my thoughts thinking about Baby Gage.  I flew to Ohio to be with his mother for his birth.  I just left him only three hours ago.  He's only 26 days old and I've fallen in-love with him! 

I love Baby Gage so much.  I love kissing his forehead and holding him in my arms.  I love smelling his pure baby smell.  And I could stare at his beautiful face forever.  I miss him so much!
http://www.studiowilliams.com/blog/?p=2242