brothers

i am blessed with four brothers! after my penultimate brother was born, i had stopped hoping for a sister. rightly enough, when my dad called from the hospital to proclaim the birth of my final brother, i wasn't surprised to hear, "it's a boy!" whoopee!!!

having brothers has its ups and down. since i am the only girl, they all feel that they have a right to protect me, even the little one. i am to be protected and to be watched over at all times, lest i be abducted or more commonly come home late.

before i turned 18, it was even worse. my eldest brother would watch all my suitors with an eagle eye. kulang na lang suntukin nya. (he might as well have hit him.) i would just begin to say i met someone and he would expectedly reply, "you want me to beat him up" as if it was some kind of standard operating procedure. oh well, i turned 18 and he learned to leave me alone on my dates. but coming home late was still unforgivable. i would turn off my phone and sometimes put it on silent so i wouldn't be bothered. then, he came up with the idea to have my two younger brothers call me while i was out. so that i'd feel guilty. sometimes, it would work but oftentimes, it wouldn't.

living far now from my two "older" brothers - one is actually younger than me but i have to separate the two younger ones from the two older ones, hence "older" - i am left with two younger brothers here in geneva. i come home usually late from my gimmicks and my younger brother would call out before i leave, "what time are you coming home?" i'd say i don't know. and then when i'd be out too late, he'd call to check up. it's really touching but sometimes it can get a bit annoying.

anyhow, we were talking in the kitchen earlier and he was hoping that i get a better job that will allow him to stay here in geneva. then he added a post script to his statement. he said, "before you get a nice job, i hope for a good love life for you." he continued, "it doesn't matter if you have a good job, you need to have a good love life first because even if you have a good job and you're unhappy, you could still kill yourself." he was speaking in general in this case.

it's surprising how my brothers can be so protective and caring at the same time. one time this particular brother told a friend of mine to comfort me because i was having a rough time. it really is amazing how caring he is. and this last statement at dinner was certainly unexpected. but i appreciate his wishes for me. he has such a good heart.

having four brothers more than makes up for the lack of a sister. anyway, you never really miss what you never had. i am just thankful that no matter how "sisterly" i get to my brothers, they are always there for me.